Leicestershire’s Emily Scarratt will earn her 100th cap at her hometown stadium as England host Ireland at Mattioli Woods Welford Road on Sunday.
England head coach Simon Middleton has named his matchday squad for the game in the fourth round of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations (kick-off 12.00pm) with a record crowd of more than 15,000 expected at the home of the Leicester Tigers.
Scrum-half Leanne Infante reaches the 50-cap milestone, Zoe Aldcroft returns at lock for her first appearance of the tournament after injury and Sarah Hunter captains the side at No8.
Long-term absentees Amy Cokayne and Hannah Botterman are named on the bench.
Middleton said: “We’re really looking forward to our second home game of this Six Nations campaign.
“It will be a very special day for two of our players. I’d like to say a huge congratulations to Emily Scarratt and Leanne Infante on their 100-cap and 50-cap milestones.
“It will be an incredible occasion for ‘Scaz’ in her hometown. You couldn’t write it and the stars have really aligned.
“We’ve had another good few days of training and are looking forward to travelling to Leicester to finalise our preparations.
“We look set to break Red Roses home attendance records again which is remarkable and we thank the people of Leicester and beyond for their support.”
Tickets for Sunday's game are still available at the Tigers ticket office. Book online, phone 0116 319 8888 (option 2) or in person.
England
15 Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 13 caps)
14 Lydia Thompson (Worcester Warriors, 51 caps)
13 Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 99 caps)(vc)
12 Holly Aitchison (Saracens, 6 caps)
11 Jess Breach (Harlequins, 20 caps)
10 Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 36 caps)
9 Leanne Infante (Bristol Bears, 49 caps)
1 Vickii Cornborough (Harlequins, 67 caps)
2 Lark Davies (Loughborough Lightning, 38 caps)
3 Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 43 caps)
4 Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 28 caps)
5 Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears, 53 caps)
6 Alex Matthews (Worcester Warriors, 48 caps)
7 Marlie Packer (Saracens, 81 caps)
8 Sarah Hunter (Loughborough Lightning, 133 caps)(c)
Finishers
16 Amy Cokayne (Harlequins, 60 caps)
17 Hannah Botterman (Saracens, 26 caps)
18 Maud Muir (Wasps, 7 caps)
19 Rosie Galligan (Harlequins, 4 caps)
20 Poppy Cleall (Saracens, 53 caps)
21 Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury, 57 caps)
22 Amber Reed (Bristol Bears, 60 caps)
23 Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 21 caps)
Ireland Women
15 Molly Scuffil-McCabe (Railway Union/Leinster)*
14 Aoife Doyle (Railway Union/Munster)(8)
13 Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere/Leinster)(46)
12 Enya Breen (UL Bohemian/Munster)(12)
11 Eimear Considine (UL Bohemian/Munster)(25)
10 Nicole Cronin (UL Bohemian/Munster)(19)
9 Kathryn Dane (Old Belvedere/Ulster)(21)
1 Linda Djougang (ASM Romagnat Rugby/Leinster)(20)
2 Neve Jones (Gloucester-Hartpury/Ulster)(9)
3 Christy Haney (Blackrock College/Leinster)(2)
4 Nichola Fryday (Exeter Chiefs/Connacht)(25)(capt)
5 Aoife McDermott (Railway Union/Leinster)(18)
6 Dorothy Wall (Blackrock College/Munster)(13)
7 Edel McMahon (Wasps/IQ Rugby)(17)
8 Hannah O'Connor (Blackrock College/Leinster)(10)
Replacements:
16 Emma Hooban (Blackrock College/Leinster)(10)
17 Chloe Pearse (UL Bohemian/Munster)(4)
18 Katie O'Dwyer (Railway Union/Leinster)(8)
19 Grace Moore (Railway Union/IQ Rugby)(1)
20 Maeve Óg O'Leary (Blackrock College/Munster)(1)
21 Aoibheann Reilly (Blackrock College/Connacht)(3)
22 Michelle Claffey (Blackrock College/Leinster)(12)
23 Niamh Byrne (Railway Union/Leinster)*
* Denotes uncapped player
