By Basant El-Faramawy
England's women's rugby team, the Red Roses, have made six changes for Friday's Test against the United States in New Jersey, with star full-back Ellie Kildunne named on the bench for the second match in a row.
Kildunne retains bench role
The 27-year-old was dropped for the 31-22 defeat by Canada last Saturday, with head coach John Mitchell saying she needed to show "greater consistency." Despite that loss, Kildunne will again start among the replacements, while Emma Sing keeps the starting full-back position. Kildunne, a 67-cap international, was named World Rugby's player of the year in 2024 and played a key role in England's 2025 World Cup triumph.
Six changes across the side
Mitchell has shuffled his backline, handing first tour starts to Tatyana Heard, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, Flo Robinson and Holly Aitchison. In the forwards, Mackenzie Carson and Maud Muir come in for Hannah Botterman and Sarah Bern.
Mitchell explains rotation
"Our intent is to start this next phase strongly against the USA, with six months until our next Test in the Women's Six Nations," Mitchell said. "We're rotating some positions this week to refresh the group, create opportunities and continue building our depth. Selection is driven by what the team needs against the USA, the behaviours we value and the performance we're preparing to deliver. Everyone has a role, and everyone is accountable for our standards."
England team to face USA
England: Sing; Venner, Jones, Heard, Moloney-MacDonald; Aitchison, Robinson; Carson, Cokayne, Muir, Talling, Ives Campion, Burton, Kabeya, Feaunati. Replacements: Field, Botterman, Bern, Short, Matthews, Hunt, Harrison, Kildunne.
