England Women sevens make two changes for Kitakyushu

England Women head coach James Bailey has made two changes from the squad that won the bronze at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast for the upcoming leg of HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens series in Kitakyushu.

Vicky Fleetwood, who was a travelling reserve in the Commonwealth Games comes into the squad along with Millie Wood. They will replace Emily Scarratt and Megan Jones, who were unavailable for selection due to the injuries they sustained during the Commonwealth Games.

Head coach Bailey was pleased with the performance of the team in the Commonwealth Games and is looking forward to carry on the momentum into the HSBC World Rugby Seven's series.

“What the team achieved in the Commonwealth Games was outstanding and showed how far the programme has come in a very short period of time

"I’m really proud, especially with how the team showed their values throughout and the fight they showed from game one all the way through to the bronze medal match. It sets us up for an exciting future."

Bailey also feels the World Rugby Sevens series will play a pivotal role in them ironing out team strategies and combinations as they head to San Francisco for the Rugby World Cup Sevens in July.

"At the start of the season we set out a strategic plan to peak for the Commonwealth Games and Sevens Rugby World Cup. We are now turning our intentions to best preparing the team for the World Cup in July.

"The World Series plays a pivotal role in helping us achieve this objective, enabling us to better understand areas we need to improve on and to make sure we are in the best place possible when we go to San Francisco later this year."

England Women are placed in Pool C for the Kitakyushu leg of the series along with Canada, Russia and Fiji. The games will be played on 21st and 22nd July.