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England confirmed their status as the best side in the world after victory against France in the Women’s Six Nations - Getty Images/David Rogers
The British and Irish Lions men’s squad are heading to Australia this summer, but who would make the team if the women were touring? Here is the match-day 23 I would pick for the first Test if that inaugural tour was this summer rather than to New Zealand in 2027, based on form in the Women’s Six Nations. It is dominated by England players because they are the best team in the world but talent from the other home nations also makes the cut.
15. Ellie Kildunne (England)
Who else can you put in that shirt? She has developed so much. Her super-strength is her running game and X-factor feet, but her overall game has really come on with her kick returns, her work from kick-offs, her linking of the back three and the centres, her taking of high balls.
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14. Abby Dow (England)
A great finisher – she scored the most tries in the Six Nations with six – but she is also able to come infield and crash through the middle. She made the most metres and line breaks in the championship too. She complements my other wing really well in that she has that strength and physicality.
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13. Meg Jones (England)
She is such a creative player and she wants the ball in her hands, which has worked really well for England. She works really well in the collective but it is also about what she can do individually. If you need a game-changing moment, she can give you that.
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12. Tatyana Heard (England)
I thought about picking Scotland’s Lisa Thomson here because of her kicking game, but if you have Meg at 13, Tatyana works really well with her in midfield. She runs hard and straight at the line, but she also has a real finesse to her touches.
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11. Amee-Leigh Costigan (Ireland)
She is quick. She has really good feet, is a great reader of the game and has a good relationship with whatever half-backs she is playing with. She is such a smart rugby player and that got her the nod over the likes of Jess Breach and Claudia MacDonald.
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10. Zoe Harrison (England)
She is really starting to develop her run-kick-pass game and is picking the right options. People assume she just has a kicking game but she has always had that passing and running ability, and she is attacking the line a lot more these days. Then if you want to play a territory game, she can kick deep.
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9. Natasha Hunt (England)
Pauline Bourdon-Sansus was the standout nine in the Six Nations but she is French. I like the young Irish and Scottish nines, Molly Scuffil-McCabe and Leia Brebner-Holden, but in a Lions Test experience is crucial. Mo has 80 caps for England, has played in numerous World Cups and could be a double World Cup winner come September.
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1. Hannah Botterman (England)
Her scrummaging is always sound and her work off the ball is outstanding. Her two turnovers against France came at key moments when England needed to get the ball back. She plays the role a seven previously would have done and is good with her timing and speed around the breakdown.
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2. Lark Atkin-Davies (England)
In a heated Lions Test when there is a lot of energy, you want someone who will stick to the process and not get caught up in that. Lark is that player. She hits her line-outs, organises mauls, works hard and is one of those under-the-radar kind of players.
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3. Sarah Bern (England)
She will send a statement from the off. She is such a rampaging forward she can set the tempo – and intent – of the game. And do it in spades. She carries hard through the middle and the wide channels, and is almost like a fourth back row.
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4. Abbie Ward (England)
She has been in great form throughout this Six Nations and is another player who gets stuff done. She leads the line-out, she hits a lot of breakdowns, she makes a lot of tackles, she carries if she needs to and she has a hell of a work ethic.
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5. Morwenna Talling (England)
I would have picked Dorothy Wall because she has been playing brilliantly – I really like her balance and athleticism – but unfortunately she got injured in Ireland’s last game. So it is an all-England front five. With Botterman and Bern carrying, you need your second rows to hit things and work hard. Talling does that.
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6. Zoe Aldcroft (England)
She was outstanding against France and is a lead-from-the-front kind of girl. No one could ever doubt Zoe’s desire and work ethic, and she would also be my captain. If you look at the history of men’s Lions captains, like Alun Wyn Jones, Martin Johnson and Sam Warburton, she demonstrates the same qualities.
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7. Aoife Wafer (Ireland)
Ireland’s standout player. She has been playing eight but can play seven. She is an explosive ball-carrier and it generally takes two players to bring her down; she is up there for post-contact metres. Erin King would have been in the mix but she picked up an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
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8. Evie Gallagher (Scotland)
Good players stand out against average sides, the best players stand out when their team is underperforming. Scotland had a tough Six Nations but Gallagher was great. She gets turnovers, carries well and if you put her in a pack going forward, you will see so much more of her.
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Replacements: Amy Cokayne (England), Gwenllian Pyrs (Wales), Linda Djougang (Ireland), Sarah Bonar (Scotland), Kate Williams (Wales), Keira Bevan (Wales), Helen Nelson (Scotland), Emma Orr (Scotland).
The front row is really competitive and these three are still very explosive and can carry hard. Sarah Bonar has plenty of experience and could take over from Abbie Ward in calling line-outs while she does the hard craft. I like Kate Williams because she can play across the back row and has been one of Wales’s best players.
I thought about Dannah O’Brien as the replacement 10 but I think it is too soon for her. Keira Bevan and Helen Nelson are experienced half-backs and know how to close out games or win them late on. Emma Orr could start at 13 if it was not for Meg Jones because she has gone so well and she has the gas to play on the wing if needed.
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