Liz Crake, a dentist and lecturer, has been named on the bench for England's grand slam decider against France on Sunday after Kelsey Clifford was ruled out with injury. Crake, who has two caps, was called into the squad following Hannah Botterman's ankle issue that sidelined her for the entire Six Nations. Second-choice loosehead prop Clifford picked up a leg injury against Italy last weekend, so Mackenzie Carson will start. Head coach John Mitchell, who has been forced into 20 player changes across the tournament due to pregnancy and injury, is testing his side's depth.
Part-Time Professionals in the Squad
Crake, 31, had a contract with England in the 2024-25 season but has returned to dentistry for this campaign. She is the second part-time professional player to compete for the Red Roses during this Six Nations. Christiana Balogun, a recruitment consultant, came off the bench against Italy due to an injury to Maddie Feaunati. The Rugby Football Union has 32 full-time contracts for Red Roses players; those not contracted are paid for camp days and a matchday fee.
Captain Meg Jones praised the resilience of Crake and Balogun: "The players are full of resilience, the way they are able to come in and switch on and switch off based on their other circumstances. It's definitely probably one of those things that you take for granted when you've been in it [professionalism] for so long. I think I've been pro now for over 10 years, which is huge, but there's still players within the PWR and still having to come into England's setups and still having to earn their cash and their way to live. We're fully aware of that. We empathise. But to be honest, you wouldn't notice any difference. They understand when you come in, you're switched on and this is the game at hand and this is what you have to turn up for."
Team Boost Ahead of Le Crunch
England have been boosted before the match with Sadia Kabeya, Lilli Ives Campion, and Feaunati returning from injury as three of seven changes Mitchell has made to his starting XV. Kabeya starts at openside flanker, dropping Marlie Packer to the bench despite being the tournament's top try scorer with seven. Feaunati is at No. 8, Campion slots back in at lock, and Sarah Bern starts in the front row with Maud Muir on the bench. In the back line, Jess Breach and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald return as the wing pairing, with Ellie Kildunne shifting to full-back.
The Red Roses will win their eighth Six Nations title in succession if they beat France in Bordeaux.
