Vicky Fleetwood, a winner of the 2014 Women's World Cup, has been left out of the England squad for this year's tournament after it was named today.
Fleetwood is accompanied by Sarah Beckett as another back rower surprisingly omitted, whilst Natasha Hunt joins her as a former tournament winner to miss out.
The 20-year-old duo of Sadia Kabeya and Morwenna Talling – who each only have four England caps – are favoured ahead of Fleetwood and Beckett, while wing Abby Dow and scrum-half Claudia McDonald complete impressive recoveries from injury to make the plane.
Captain Sarah Hunter is one of six World Cup winners who do get the nod, while there are 19 players named who have never featured in a tournament.
Head coach Simon Middleton said: “First and foremost I would like to start by acknowledging those who have missed out on selection.
“If between now and the tournament, or during the World Cup, we have to call anyone up, we can do it with 100% confidence that we are bringing a top player in.
“We are really confident with the balance of the squad. I am pleased with the way the team is gelling and how our game is coming together. There is still plenty to work on, we expect to improve game-on-game.
“While this is a squad announcement and not about singling out individuals, it would be remiss not to reference our captain, Sarah Hunter. Sarah is a better captain now than she has ever been. She has owned the captaincy and how she represents the squad on and off the field is absolutely brilliant.
“When you work with someone for so long you sometimes need to remind yourself of her outstanding attributes, she is unbelievable in how she conducts herself. Her pride in and love of representing her country is as strong as ever. She is a class act and we are very fortunate to have her leading the side at this tournament.”
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