A record crowd for the opening match of a female rugby World Cup expects more than 40,000 tickets for the game at the Stadium of Lite.
England, who is a favorite for winning the tournament, is on a 27-game run run with his last defeat against New Zealand in the 2022 World Cup final.
“We are building well in the tournament and now we are excited to get our campaign.”
“Sunderland thus has been a great host city and we know that it will be a record crowd for the opening match of a female rugby World Cup that reflects hunger for rugby in the region and for further competition.
“We want to embrace this opportunity, while we have to understand that we have to earn the right to progress through the pool phase.”
Along with Hannah Bottman, Amy Kokene and Maud Muir, AB Ward and Morvena Tolting continue in the second line.
Vice-captain Megan Jones started with the established midfield partner Tatyana Hurd, while Natasha Hunt and Zo Harrison are again the preferred half-back combinations.
Jessica Breach, AB Dow and Elly Kildune made a joint 18 attempts in six nations of last year and made a deadly three back.
Kelsey Clifford, Maddy Fayunati and Emma are ready for their World Cup debut from the Sing bench.
