England A Womenâ€™s team for Spanish international

Head Coach Mike Barnett has named Wasps prop Claire Purdy as captain for the fixture after Richmond’s Karen Jones’ call-up to the England RBS 6 Nations squad.

Forward Purdy put in an impressive performance against the Nomads on Saturday at London Irish RFC, which England A lost 27-12 against an experienced outfit that boasted 854 international caps between them.

England A will also be boosted by the addition of capped England internationals Emma Layland, who will be starting the game at hooker, and backrow player Sarah Hunter, who has six caps for England.

Wasps lock Natalie Binstead also moves off the bench to start, while Saracens’ Sonia Green will start at flanker. Richmond back Fiona Pocock moves to the wing after a good game at fullback against the Nomads while Vicki Jackson wears the number 15 jersey. Darlington Mowden Park Shark centre Georgina Roberts also comes off the bench.

There are also call-ups for Richmond’s Rowena Burnfield, who played for England Under 20s on Sunday and Worcester’s Lois Moulding.

England A will be taking on the senior Spain team, who previously competed in the six nations championship, and Barnett said: “It’s great that we have got another international fixture so soon after playing the Nomads. It is really important that we can keep the consistency going as this will only help to develop the players. The Nomads game will still be fresh in everyone’s mind, so that means we can learn from that defeat and take it forward against a tough Spanish side.”

England A

1 Claire Purdy (C) Wasps

2 Emma Layland Richmond

3 Rosemarie Crowley Lichfield

4 Sara Anastasi Richmond

5 Natalie Binstead Wasps

6 Sonia Green Saracens

7 Gemma Sharples Worcester

8 Sarah Hunter Lichfield

9 Georgina Rozario Plymouth Albion

10 Christina Lee Clifton

11 Fiona Pocock Richmond