Head coach Stuart Barrow has added York Valkyrie duo Lacey Owen and Jas Bell to the England Women National Performance Squad.
Uncapped 22-years-old backrower Owen returns to the senior squad after a three-year hiatus, while her ex-Castleford Tigers colleague Bell steps up from England Women Knights after an impressive start to the 2023 season. The pair will link up with the rest of the squad for training in Leeds this weekend.
England beat France 64-0 in Barrow’s first game in charge at Warrington in April and, with Hollie-Mae Dodd and Georgia Roche having departed for Australia and the Women’s National Rugby League, Barrow is keen to strengthen his squad in plenty of time for his side’s Autumn international against Wales.
England Women Head Coach, Stuart Barrow, says:
“Both Lacey and Jas have been in great form since the beginning of the Betfred Women’s Super League season. Their performances with York Valkyrie have been outstanding, so their promotion from England Women Knights into the full international squad is well deserved.
“We are really looking forward to our fixture against Wales in the Autumn and we will be working hard to make sure that we have the strongest squad possible, which means that there are likely be more new faces joining us. I look forward to confirming these as the season progresses.
"We've got a really good group of players and an increasing number of young players knocking on the door."
England Women National Performance Squad
- Savannah Andrade (York Valkyrie)
- Caitlin Beevers (Leeds Rhinos)
- Jas Bell (York Valkyrie)
- Keara Bennett (Leeds Rhinos)
- Chloe Billington (Featherstone Rovers)
- Leah Burke (St Helens)
- Jodie Cunningham (St Helens)
- Hollie-Mae Dodd (York Valkyrie)
- Grace Field (York Valkyrie)
- Fran Goldthorp (Leeds Rhinos)
- Amy Hardcastle (Leeds Rhinos)
- Zoe Harris (St Helens)
- Zoe Hornby (Leeds Rhinos)
- Shona Hoyle (St Helens)
- Tara Jones (St Helens)
- Eboni Partington (St Helens)
- Sinead Peach (York Valkyrie)
- Tamzin Renouf (York Valkyrie)
- Georgia Roche (Leeds Rhinos)
- Emily Rudge (St Helens)
- Tara Jane Stanley (York Valkyrie)
- Paige Travis (St Helens)
- Vicky Whitfield (St Helens)
- Georgia Wilson (Wigan Warriors)
- Liv Wood (York Valkyrie)
England Women return to action this Autumn against Wales at Headingley Stadium on Saturday 4 November – part of an international double header also featuring the Third Test Match of the Men’s series against Tonga.
Tickets for the Headingley double-header, and for the first two Tests of the England Men versus Tonga series, are on sale now at eticketing.co.uk/rugbyleague from £25 Adults and £12.50 Under 16s. Those looking to book 10 tickets or more can save 30% on single matches, with prices from £17.50 for Adults and £8.75 for under 16s – available now via the Groups Sales team at groups@rlcommercial.co.uk or 0844 856 1115.
