John Mitchell reveals two Red Roses who could offer scrum-half cover at World Cup
Red Roses head coach John Mitchell has revealed that England are looking at wings Claudia MacDonald and Mia Venner as possible options as scrum half cover ahead of naming their squad for the Rugby World Cup on home soil later this year.
Mitchell has begun the process of whittling down his wider squad to the 32 names permitted to be named in his group for the tournament, with England's selection set to be confirmed on 24 July. The veteran coach intends to take a split of 18 forwards and 14 backs to the World Cup, leaving positional versatility required in several areas of his squad.
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Predecessor Simon Middleton took only two specialist scrum halves to the last World Cup in New Zealand, with veteran Natasha 'Mo' Hunt a surprise omission with MacDonald covering as the third nine despite operating largely on the wing during the tournament.
Injury then struck first-choice scrum half Leanne Infante on the day of the final, leaving the relatively untested Lucy Packer to start at short notice with MacDonald playing half-an-hour off the bench.
While the pair produced good performances, Middleton faced criticism for his selection gamble at the time and in retrospect, and Hunt has since returned to seize the starting shirt with Packer now her back-up.
Scrum halves Ella Wyrwas and Flo Robinson are both part of the Red Roses training squad but Mitchell has confirmed that he is looking at the options that forgoing a third specialist nine might present.
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'I've already said that I'm planning on taking an 18-14 split,' Mitchell reiterated. 'That helps us prepare, especially in our units. And that just means that some girls will have versatile roles.
Claudia MacDonald may provide scrum half cover (PA)
'It'll be hard on some players in the sense that some specialists might miss out as a result of the versatility that's needed in an 18-14 split. Claudia MacDonald is definitely being looked at as a scrum half option. Mia [Venner] also presents that as well. Mia also presents the versatility as a full-back. The outside backs, you've got to fit six girls into five, so that's going to be a challenging selection, but a good one.'
Venner operated at scrum half earlier in her career and filled in impressively while Hunt was in the sin bin during Gloucester Hartpury's Premiership Women's Rugby final win earlier this year. MacDonald, meawhile, has battled back from a career-threatening neck injury to push for a starting place on the wing.
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Throughout his tenure, Mitchell has made an effort to keep players fully informed of their place in the make-up of the squad and likely roles, something he intends to continue ahead of the World Cup.
Hunt's omission came as a surprise ahead of the last tournament, with her exclusion reported in the press ahead of the announcement with a delay between Middleton telling his players and the squad being officially revealed.
Natasha Hunt (left) is one of a quartet of Red Roses hoping to win a second World Cup (Getty)
Mitchell is unconcerned about the prospect of a possible repeat of that scenario, with most players informed of his plans for them after a warm weather training camp in Treviso from 7 July to 12 July. 'I'm not really worried about anything leaking or when it is. I think that we've been pretty consistent. If you look at the group that's come in, the wider group that's part of the group, they know what's expected of them.
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'They also are aware of the intentions and the purpose of why they're doing things. Eventually, as we get down the track, everyone will know our pool plans as well. So we work on the people that are probably on the fringes first. That's very clear to them what's expected of them. They just need to be ready because if they get that phone call from me, it could be in a World Cup or a match, it could be in a World Cup quarter-final.'
Centre Emily Scarratt is hoping to make a fifth World Cup, with flanker Marlie Packer also pushing for selection despite losing the captaincy at the start of this year.
England take on Spain and France in two warm-up games ahead of the tournaments, which will both be capped internationals. A renewed list of Red Roses contracts is expected to be confirmed imminently ahead of the tournament.
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