Warriors Women have made six changes for tomorrow’s Allianz Premier 15s trip to DMP Durham Sharks (kick-off 4pm).
Heather Fisher and Jade Shekells start at inside and outside centre respectfully, while former England Under-20 scrum-half Brooke Bradley partners Sarah Nicholas at the heart of Warriors’ backline.
There are three further changes in the pack, with fiercely competitive hooker El Febrey, second-row Elizabeth Shermer and blindside flanker Taz Bricknell getting the chance to shine from the start.
Experienced tight-head Laura Keates skippers the side, spearheading a Warriors forward line which includes fellow World Cup-winning teammate Alex Matthews who impressed during last weekend’s narrow 34-25 defeat at Saracens.
Matthews moves to number-eight, replacing the injured Sioned Harries, with Bricknell and Alex Callender forming a strong back-row trio.
Matthews, who like Fisher, has been a mainstay of the England Sevens squad, was the catalyst for the opening score last weekend as she found Carys Cox with a neat offload to get Warriors’ campaign up and running.
Meanwhile, England capped back-row Jo Brown is set to make her debut from the replacements bench after recovering from injury, but England star Lydia Thompson is not quite ready for selection as she continues her rehab.
“DMP is a tough place to go to, but we are really looking forward to building on last week’s performance at Saracens,” said Warriors Women Director of Rugby Jo Yapp.
“We’ve worked hard in training this week and we’ve focussed on a few key areas. The changes that we have made shows how competitive the squad is this season.”
Warriors Women | 15 Abi Kershaw, 14 Zoe Heeley, 13 Jade Shekells, 12 Heather Fisher, 11 Vicky Laflin, 10 Sarah Nicholas, 9 Brooke Bradley, 1 Carmen Tremelling, 2 El Febrey, 3 Laura Keates (c), 4 Elizabeth Shermer, 5 Amelia Buckland-Hurry, 6 Taz Bricknell, 7 Alex Callender, 8 Alex Matthews
Replacements | 16 Carys Phillips, 17 Flo Long, 18 Philippa Rawbone, 19 Cara Brincat, 20 Jo Brown, 21 Caity Mattinson, 22 Vicky Foxwell, 23 Robyn Wilkins