The two best women’s sides in Europe meet at Twickenham
How to watch England v France Women
Less than 36 hours after they were drawn in the same pool at the 2021 Rugby World Cup, England and France will play at Twickenham.
The two best women’s sides in Europe have been using this two-Test series to start their preparations for the global showpiece, the irony being that the familiar foes will now face each other in Pool C in New Zealand next year.
The Red Roses moved to No 1 in the Women’s World Rugby Rankings following last weekend’s 33-10 victory in France – their sixth straight win over the French.
They will be looking for their seventh at noon on Saturday – only the second time they have played at Twickenham before the men, who face Ireland in the Autumn Nations Cup at 3pm.
Both England and France have made changes for this Test. Experienced forward Safi N’Diaye returns to the French XV, which also features a new midfield pairing of Elise Pignot and Jade Ulutule.
Katy Daley-Mclean, who didn’t play in last week’s win in Grenoble, will captain England from fly-half while Lagi Tuima starts at outside-centre – her first Test in nearly 18 months – and Claudia MacDonald, more usually a scrum-half, is on the wing.
Kicking on: Lagi Tuima will start at outside-centre for England (Getty Images)
England coach Simon Middleton said: “Last week we had to see how we coped without the experience of Katy at fly-half, this week is an opportunity to see how we fare without Emily Scarratt in the starting XV.
“Lagi was out for a long time, she’s now back playing for Harlequins and in training with us and we’re looking forward to seeing what she can do on the Twickenham stage.”
England: Ellie Kildunne; Claudia MacDonald, Lagi Tuima, Zoe Harrison, Abby Dow; Katy Daley-Mclean (captain), Leanne Riley; Vickii Cornborough, Lark Davies, Shaunagh Brown, Abbie Ward, Morwenna Talling, Harriet Millar-Mills, Alex Matthews, Poppy Cleall.
Replacements: Amy Cokayne, Ellena Perry, Laura Keates, Sarah Beckett, Marlie Packer, Natasha Hunt, Helena Rowland, Emily Scarratt.
France: Shannon Izar; Cyrielle Banet, Elise Pignot, Jade Ulutule, Coralie Bertrand; Caroline Drouin, Laure Sansus; Annaelle Deshave, Agathe Sochat, Rose Bernadou, Celine Ferer, Safi N’Diaye, Marjorie Mayans, Gaelle Hermet (captain), Emeline Gros.
Replacements: Laure Touye, Maylis Traore, Clara Joyeux, Coumba Diallo, Romane Menager, Pauline Bourdon, Morgane Peyronnet, Jessy Tremouliere.
Here’s how you can watch France v England for free…
How to watch England v France Women in the UK
The good news is that the England v France match at Twickenham (kick-off midday UK time) will be shown live on free-to-air television in the UK, with BBC Two’s coverage starting at 11.45am. You can also watch via the BBC iPlayer.
Sara Orchard will provide commentary for the match alongside former England wing Kat Merchant.
How to watch England v France Women in France
The match kicks off at 1pm French time and will be shown live on free-to-air television channel France 3.
How to watch England v France Women from outside your country
If you’re abroad, but still want to watch your local coverage of England v France Women you can do so by using a VPN – Virtual Private Network.
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