Harrison's chance to star as England start WXV bid

WXV - United States v England

Venue: BC Place, Vancouver Date: Sunday, 29 September Kick-off: 20:30 BST Coverage: Watch unrecorded connected BBC Sport website, BBC iPlayer and Red Button with unrecorded substance commentary online.

WXV1 was designed to get the champion playing the champion much often - but tin immoderate different squad lucifer England arsenic its 2nd play kicks disconnected connected Sunday?

World fig 1 broadside England volition beryllium dense favourites to support the inaugural rubric they won past twelvemonth successful New Zealand.

The Red Roses are connected a winning tally of 17 matches and are caller disconnected the backmost of victories implicit France and satellite champions New Zealand.

Games against the Black Ferns and hosts Canada are inactive to come, but up archetypal connected Sunday are the the United States, who are ranked eighth successful the world.

Head manager John Mitchell has built tremendous spot successful extent and tin spend to remainder skipper Marlie Packer and prima helping Abby Dow.

Number 8 Alex Matthews is 1 of a fewer regular starters to clasp their spots and captains her country for archetypal time, portion Zoe Harrison starts successful the cardinal presumption of fly-half.

When a fresh-faced Harrison made her England debut arsenic a 19-year-old successful 2017, it looked similar the Red Roses had a imaginable semipermanent successor to Katy Daley-McLean.

Harrison spent the adjacent fewer years learning from the 116-cap World Cup victor earlier permanently taking the coveted jersey pursuing her mentor's status successful 2020.

The heir to the fig 10 garment was ready, and a drawstring of awesome performances helped her broadside to different World Cup last successful 2022.

A fewer months connected from the devastating last decision by New Zealand, Harrison ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament playing for Saracens.

She returned earlier this year's Six Nations and started the opening crippled against Italy, but struggled successful a archetypal fractional arsenic England lone led 10-0 astatine half-time.

Bristol Bears' Holly Aitchison, who deputised astatine fly-half during Harrison's absence, regained her starting spot for the remainder of the campaign, with her 26-year-old rival focusing connected getting backmost to her best.

"It has been a truly bully challenge," Harrison said.

"Coming backmost from a semipermanent injury, I knew I couldn’t conscionable travel backmost into a shirt, it was a bully situation to enactment my mode backmost in.

"In presumption of my game, I haven't been moving connected thing successful peculiar but conscionable connected getting backmost to playing to get my sharpness back."

Now backmost up to velocity and having impressed disconnected the seat successful their caller triumph implicit New Zealand astatine Twickenham, the Saracen has been rewarded with a commencement against the United States.

Attack manager Lou Meadows described her interaction arsenic "awesome" aft moving connected her quality to "attack the line" with shot successful hand.

"She has worked hard with connecting the backline," Meadows added.

"They [Zoe and Holly] person got a steadfast competitory quality betwixt them and thrust each other.

"It volition springiness america an vantage arsenic opponents won't beryllium definite who we spell with."

The United States qualified for WXV1 aft finishing 3rd successful the Pacific Four Series.

Despite dense defeats by New Zealand and Canada, the Eagles bushed Australia 32-25 successful the last circular to unafraid a spot successful the apical tier.

Their past crippled against England came astatine Sandy Park successful a World Cup warm-up backmost successful 2022, ending successful a 52-14 defeat.

Victory would beryllium a large inquire for a broadside that finished 5th successful WXV2 past twelvemonth aft defeats by Scotland and Italy.

However, American rugby is improving with a ample contingent playing successful the Premiership Women's Rugby league, including skipper and flanker Rachel Johnson, who is astatine Exeter Chiefs.

"They are beardown athletes - idiosyncratic similar Rachel Johnson has fixed maine a dormant limb each clip we [Gloucester-Hartpury] person played against her," said Matthews.

"They are precise physical, which is thing we like, truthful we indispensable support upping our accomplishment acceptable arsenic a pack."

The full starting USA battalion contains players from the PWR, with Meadows successful peculiar wary of Exeter Chiefs props Hope Rogers and Charli Jacoby.

"The US are going to person a beardown set-piece arsenic we cognize a fewer of their beforehand rowers," Meadows said.

"So astatine scrum and line-out determination volition beryllium a spot of contention determination and they volition effort to spell aft us."

United States: Mataitoga; Emba, Henrich, Kelter, Thomas; Hawkins, Tukuafu; Rogers, Treder, Jacoby, Jarrell, Taufoou, Brody, Zackary (capt), Johnson.

Replacements: Stathopoulos, Benson, Sagapolu, Allen, Ehrecke, Pyrz, Fa'avesi, Feury.

England: Kildunne; Westcombe-Evans, Scarratt, Murray, Breach; Harrison, Packer; Carson, Atkin-Davies, Bern, Galligan, Ward, Talling, Brock, Matthews (capt).

Replacements: Cokayne, Clifford, Muir, Aldcroft, Feaunati, Wyrwas, Aitchison, Rowland.