Five Exeter Chiefs Women involved in WXV’s opening weekend

Five Exeter Chiefs Women’s players will be in international action as the WXV Global Series begins this weekend.

Exeter Chiefs winger Katie Buchanan is poised to make her Scotland debut from the bench against Canada at the Hive Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday (KO 16:10). She will come up against fellow team-mates prop DaLeaka Menin and centre Alex Tessier, the two most experienced players in the team.

Meanwhile, No 8 Maddie Feaunati and winger Claudia Moloney-MacDonald have been selected to start the Red Roses’ WXV Global Series opener against Australia.

Saturday’s England match marks the first fixture of this new-look international tournament which will see the 12 top ranked nations go head-to-head in the next two months.

Moloney-MacDonald said: “We’ve been really pushing ourselves through preseason both physically and mentally. And we’re now in a good place where we feel ready as a squad to take on WXV.

“Personally, I’m excited to get this new season underway and challenge ourselves to be better than we’ve been before. That’s our ultimate aim - to keep pushing how we play, to continuously push the product we create, and to bring people into our game because we’re exciting to watch.”

Six teams will also compete in the WXV Global Series Challenger, including Linde van der Velden’s Netherlands.

In the first weekend, France will also play New Zealand in Lyon. The Challenger teams will play on Sunday.

CANADA

15 Claire Gallagher (Ealing Trailfinders, 22 caps)
14 Fancy Bermudez (Loughborough Lightning,19 caps)
13 Florence Symonds (Loughborough Lightning, 18 caps)
12 Alexandra Tessier (Exeter Chiefs, 68 caps) - captain
11 Charity Williams (Markham Irish, uncapped)
10 Taylor Perry (Oakville Crusaders, 26 caps)
9 Olivia Apps (Saracens, 25 caps)
1 Brittany Kassil (Ontario West, 56 caps)
2 Kiki Idowu (Loughborough Lightning, 3 caps)
3 DaLeaka Menin (Exeter Chiefs, 72 caps)
4 Rachel Smith (Loughborough Lightning, 6 caps)
5 Laetitia Royer (St-Anne-de-Bellevue, 25 caps
6 Julia Omokhuale (Saracens, 9 caps)
7 Lizzie Gibson (Queen’s University, 2 caps)
8 Gabrielle Senft (Stade Bordelais, (43 caps)

Replacements:
16 Emily Tuttosi (Calgary Hornets, 44 caps)
17 Sophie McDonald (Ottawa Rugby Club, uncapped)
18 Brooke Rempel (Loughborough Lightning, 2 caps)
19 Sophie de Goede (Saracens, 44 caps)
20 Pamphinette Buisa (Loughborough Lightning, 21 caps)
21 Justine Pelletier (Stade Bordelais, 46 caps)
22 Savannah Bauder (UBC Thunderbird, uncapped)
23 Asia Hogan-Rochester (Toronto Nomads, 11 caps)

RED ROSES

15 Ellie Kildunne (Bristol Bears, 62 caps)
14 Mia Venner (Gloucester Hartpury, 4 caps)
13 Megan Jones (Trailfinders Women, 38) – captain
12 Tatyana Heard (Sale Sharks, 36 caps)
11 Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs, 40 caps) 
10 Holly Aitchison (Sale Sharks, 49 caps)
9 Natasha Hunt (Gloucester Hartpury, 89 caps)
1 Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester Hartpury, 28 caps)
2 May Campbell (Saracens, 5 caps)
3 Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 84 caps)
4 Delaney Burns (Bristol Bears, 6 caps)
5 Lilli Ives Campion (Loughborough Lightning, 8 caps)
6 Abi Burton (Trailfinders Women, 9 caps)
7 Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning, 32 caps) – vice-captain
8 Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs, 27 caps)

Replacements:
16 Bryony Field (Saracens, uncapped)
17 Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears, 62 caps)
18 Maud Muir (Gloucester Hartpury, 53 caps)
19 Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks, 29 caps)
20 Marlie Packer (Harlequins, 116 caps)
21 Lucy Packer (Harlequins, 44 caps)
22 Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 70 caps)
23 Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 51 caps)

SCOTLAND

15 Chloe Rollie (Edinburgh Rugby, 86 caps)
14 Rhona Lloyd (Sale Sharks, 66 caps)
13 Rachel Philipps (Edinburgh Rugby, 4 caps)
12 Meryl Smith (Bristol Bears, 27 caps)
11 Shona Campbell (Sale Sharks, 14 caps)
10 Helen Nelson (Trailfinders Women, 80 caps) - vice-captain
9 Rhea Clarke (Glasgow Warriors, 4 caps)
1 Leah Bartlett (Sale Sharks, 54 caps)
2 Lana Skeldon (Bristol Bears, 87 caps)
3 Elliann Clarke (Glasgow Warriors, 29 caps)
4 Emma Wassell (Trailfinders Women, 78 caps)
5 Hollie Cunningham (Bristol Bears, 7 caps)
6 Rachel Malcolm (Trailfinders Women, 64 caps) - captain
7 Evie Gallagher (Bristol Bears, 40 caps)
8 Becky Boyd – Glasgow Warriors (6)

Replacements:
16 Aicha Sutcliffe (Glasgow Warriors, 2 caps)
17 Anne Young (Glasgow Warriors, 22 caps)
18 Molly Poolman (Edinburgh Rugby, 12 caps)
19 Eva Donaldson (Sale Sharks, 26 caps)
20 Adelle Ferrie (Edinburgh Rugby, 7 caps)
21 Ceitidh Ainsworth (Glasgow Warriors, uncapped)
22 Hannah Ramsay (Edinburgh Rugby, 2 caps)
23 Katie Buchanan (Exeter Chiefs, uncapped)