The former England Red Roses captain is not in the matchday 23 to face Wales on 29 March
England will play Wales at the Principality Stadium on Saturday in the Women’s Six Nations.
The team will be doing so without vice-captain Marlie Packer, who has been dropped from the matchday 23. She played in their tournament opener against Italy, which the team won 38-5.
Read more: Red Roses reveal all about camp
Her absence is due to Red Roses head coach John Mitchell trialling different combinations ahead of the Rugby World Cup later this year. It is also the reason he changed the captain before the Six Nations.
He appointed Zoe Aldcroft as skipper in January and she is just one of two players to keep her starting shirt from round one. The other player in Maddie Feaunati, who was player of the match against Italy.
Feaunati is at number eight and Aldcroft is at blindside flanker. Instead of Packer, Sadia Kabeya comes in at openside flanker to round off the back row.
Abi Burton, who can play across the back row, is on the bench and is in line to win her first cap.
Marlie Packer: When was she captain?
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 29: Marlie Packer of England celebrates with the trophy after the TikTok Women’s Six Nations match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium on April 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)
Packer was captain from 2023-2024. She won two Women’s Six Nations titles and two WXV 1 trophies as skipper. Her career has spun over 13 years with her first Red Roses cap coming in 2008. She won the World Cup in 2014 and will be bidding to do so again this year.
Her exclusion this weekend is by no means a mark as to what is to come. Packer is still a key fixture in the England team and their leadership group.
Mitchell said of Packer when he told he about the captaincy change: “I went to see Marlie, which I think is important when you’re making a hard decision.
“As much as Marlie definitely will be hurting, she has already contributed in the camp. It’s a real testament to her, the way in which she has taken it on the chin.”
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