England Women include four uncapped players for Six Nations
Tamara Taylor is two caps short of reaching a century for England
©PA
England Women have included four uncapped players in the 33-member squad for the upcoming 2017 Six Nations tournament.
Simon Middleton's team will kick start their campaign against France Women on 4th February at Twickenham following which they will take on Wales, Italy and Scotland and will sign off with their visit to Dublin on 17th March when they take on Ireland.
Worcester's Bianca Blackburn and Lark Davies, Heather Kerr of Darlington and Aylesford's Leanne Riley are all part of the squad and will replace Claire Allan, Emily Braund and Abbie Scott, who will miss the tournament with their respective injuries. Vickii Cornborough is also part of the squad despite facing a suspension until 27th February.
Meanwhile, Darlington lock Tamara Taylor is set to make her 100th appearance for England with two more games.
Head coach Middleton believes Six Nations will play a vital role ahead of their title defence in the 2017 Women's World Cup.
"This is a huge year and we now have a squad training full-time," said Middleton. "The Six Nations forms a key milestone ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup in August."
England Women squad:
Forwards: Zoe Aldcroft (Darlington), Sarah Bern (Bristol), Rochelle Clark (Worcester), Poppy Cleall (Bristol), Amy Cokayne (Lichfield), Vickii Cornborough (Aylesford), Lark Davies (Worcester), Vicky Fleetwood (Saracens), Sarah Hunter (Bristol), Laura Keates (Worcester), Heather Kerr (Darlington), Justine Lucas (Lichfield), Alex Matthews (Richmond), Harriet Millar-Mills (Lichfield), Izzy Noel-Smith (Bristol), Marlie Packer (Bristol), Tamara Taylor (Darlington).
Backs: Bianca Blackburn (Worcester), Rachel Burford (Aylesford), Natasha Hunt (Lichfield), Megan Jones (Bristol), La Toya Mason (Darlington), Sarah McKenna (Saracens), Katy McLean (Darlington), Fiona Pocock (Aylesford), Amber Reed (Bristol), Leanne Riley (Aylesford), Emily Scarratt (Lichfield), Emily Scott (Saracens), Lydia Thompson (Worcester), Danielle Waterman (Bristol), Kay Wilson (Richmond), Amy Wilson Hardy (Bristol).
