TEAM NEWS | Worcester Warriors v Saracens Women
Head Coach Alex Austerberry has named an experimental line up as Saracens head to Sixways to get their Allianz Cup campaign underway on Sunday afternoon.
There are six debutants in the starting XV for the Round One encounter against Worcester, with a further four on the bench as a large number of players will get their opportunity to perform in a Saracens shirt.
With 14 players on international duty the new Cup competition gives the squad the perfect chance to get valuable game time over the coming weeks.
Rocky Clark, May Campbell and Kelsey Clifford start in a strong front-row, with Fiona McIntosh and Sophie Tansley forming a new-look second-row pairing.
Cece Gordon-Hill will make her debut at blindside flanker, and Katie Barnes will be at openside who will also be running out in a Sarries shirt for the first time following her summer move from Western Force. Sarah Bebbington completes the back-row from number eight.
Jodie Mallard and Ellie Lennon will operate as half-backs in a pairing which has plenty of potential, whilst Cara Wardle and Hannah Casey start in a familiar midfield.
Coreen Grant is on the left wing, with Tilly Vaughan-Fowler on the right and captain Lotte Clapp moves to full-back.
Some stars of the future take their place on the bench, but there is also plenty of experience with the likes of Jeanine Stephenson, Sonia Green and Sarah McKenna ready to be called upon as replacements.
Austerberry is excited to see how this group perform on Sunday afternoon.
“The cup is a great opportunity for us to keep momentum building and for players to be exposed to top flight rugby this season. With some of the players away on international duty, it is a great chance for players to showcase their abilities and push for selection once league restarts.”
He continued: “For some of our younger players and those new to the club it will enable their learning to be accelerated and allow them To showcase their talents. As a group we are excited about this block of fixtures.”
Saracens Women team to play Worcester Warriors Women:
1 Rocky Clark
2 May Campbell
3 Kelsey Clifford
4 Fiona McIntosh
5 Sophie Tansley
6 Cece Gordon-Hill
7 Katie Barnes
8 Sarah Bebbington
9 Jodie Mallard
10 Ellie Lennon
11 Coreen Grant
12 Cara Wardle
13 Hannah Casey
14 Tilly Vaughan-Fowler
15 Lotte Clapp (c)
Replacements:
16 Jodie Turl
17 Jeanine Stephenson
18 Sophie Lorenz
19 Sonia Green
20 Storm Cobain
21 Anna Goddard
22 Sophie Shams
23 Sarah McKenna
