England captain Zoe Aldcroft has been ruled out of the remainder of the Women's Rugby World Cup pool stage after sustaining a knee injury in the Red Roses' opening 69-7 victory over the USA last Friday. England have two more pool matches, against Samoa on Saturday and Australia on 6 September.
Aldcroft is not the only injury concern for head coach John Mitchell, as Emily Scarratt is also sidelined with a shoulder problem, and Holly Aitchison remains absent with an ankle issue after missing the first game. Mitchell confirmed that Aitchison is expected to be available next week after completing a full week of training, while Scarratt's nerve issue led to her being protected.
Marlie Packer will captain the side against Samoa, making her first appearance of the tournament in one of 13 changes to the starting XV. The 35-year-old, competing in her fourth World Cup, said she and vice-captain Meg Jones have stepped up in Aldcroft's absence. 'We've just been there to support Zoe in whatever she needs,' Packer said. 'Me, her and Meg caught up after the session for a couple of little bits on how we want to work as a group.'
Jess Breach retains her wing spot and is one try away from her 50th for England. Megan Jones also keeps her place, partnering Jade Shekells in the centres, with Shekells making her World Cup debut. Emma Sing starts at full-back, with Ellie Kildunne named among the replacements. Maddie Feaunati is at number eight, while Abi Burton and Lilli Ives Campion make their tournament debuts at blindside flanker and lock respectively.
Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, who was injured for the first game, starts on the wing. She highlighted the squad's depth: 'There's huge competition in this team for every shirt. We have such depth in our squad which is a really good place to be in. It's a long tournament. The main thing for this weekend is continuing that momentum we have created in the first round.'
