England v New Zealand: Poppy Cleall to captain England for first time – BBC News

England head coach Simon Middleton said Poppy Cleall was one of the best players in the world during the 2021 Women's Six NationsVenue: Franklin's Gardens, Northampton Date: Sunday, 7 November Kick-off: 14:45 GMTCoverage: Watch on BBC Two and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

Poppy Cleall will captain England for the first time in Sunday's rematch against New Zealand as regular skipper Sarah Hunter is pushed to the bench.

The 29-year-old said leading her country was "a huge honour".

Scrum-half Leanne Infante starts in place of Claudia MacDonald and will be vice-captain at Franklin's Gardens.

Cleall added: "I'm going to have to tell the girls what an honour it is because I'm not sure they quite realise how special it is to lead a team of incredible rugby players and people. I'm hugely proud."

Head coach Simon Middleton said: "With less than a year to go until the World Cup, it's important our leadership group is broad.

"We know what the side looks like when Sarah captains it against New Zealand. We wanted to know what it looked like with another captain. Poppy was perfectly placed to do that."

Helena Rowland, usually a fly-half for England, starts at inside centre in Northampton.

Zoe Harrison retains the starting 10 shirt after a player of the match performance Middleton described as "sensational" in Exeter.

Rowland's inclusion means Lagi Tuima is on the bench, with Holly Aitchison maintaining her place at 13 in the absence of injured star Emily Scarratt.

Middleton has also made changes in the front row, with prop Vickii Cornborough and hooker Amy Cokayne starting and Hannah Botterman and Lark Davies on the bench in an inversion of last weekend's line-up.

Cleall's move to number eight leaves room for Zoe Aldcroft to return to the second row, while Alex Matthews is called into the back row.

Last Sunday's 43-12 defeat was New Zealand's biggest losing margin in 100 Tests and came less than a year before the Black Ferns host the World Cup - a tournament they won for the fifth time in 2017.

For England, another victory is needed in Northampton to avoid New Zealand taking their spot at the top of the world rankings.

The Black Ferns will be buoyed by the return of Olympic sevens gold medallist Portia Woodman as the wing plays her first XVs Test since New Zealand's 2017 World Cup win.

England: Kildunne; Thompson, Aitchison, Rowland, Dow; Harrison, Infante (vice-capt); Cornborough, Cokayne, Bern, Aldcroft, Ward, Matthews, Packer, Cleall (capt).

Replacements: Davies, Botterman, Muir, Millar-Mills, Hunter, MacDonald, Tuima, McKenna.

New Zealand: Robins-Reti; Woodman, Fluhler, Brooker, Leti-I'iga; Demant, Cocksedge; Love, Houpapa-Barrett, Nelso, Ngan-Woo, Wills, Bremner, Elder (capt), Mikarele-Tu'u.

Replacements: Ngata-Aerengamate, Itunu, Rule, Roos, Simon, Bayler, Maliepo, Hohepa.

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England v New Zealand: Poppy Cleall to captain England for first time - BBC News