Three Chiefs in Red Roses' Six Nations squad

England head coach John Mitchell has named three Exeter Chiefs in his Guinness Women’s Six Nations squad.

Mitchell said: “We have selected a really exciting mix of players and a squad with great depth. Depth provides healthy competition as we look to evolve our combinations. It will be really good to get everyone together; this is an important week to refocus and get everyone on the same page as quickly as we can.”

Maddie Feaunati, Claudia MacDonald and Flo Robinson were part of the 37-player squad that completed a four-day Red Roses camp last week and all three in this revised squad that includes Gloucester-Hartpury and Saracens players, following conclusion of the PWR season yesterday.

Back-row Feaunati will be hoping to add to her 10 caps following her debut in January 2024.

For MacDonald, who already has 32 caps, this is a significant turnaround as it looked like her international and club career could have been over when she seriously injured her neck in February last year. Now she is back, hoping to make her return against Italy this weekend - Sunday, March 23, KO 15:00 - at the LNER Community Stadium in York.

MacDonald said: “I’m really excited to be back with the squad and training; it’s an incredibly inspiring environment. We are all focused on this current tournament and just preparing as well as we possibly can for the games that are to come. I’ve loved every minute of it, and I am very much looking forward to getting stuck in. We are an incredibly determined bunch who are not going to settle for anything less than what we are capable of.”

Robinson, meanwhile, has come close to top honours and moved to Harlequins two season ago to pursue that first cap but did not get as much game time as she wanted at club level to attract the coaches’ notice.

She said: “I'm really excited to be involved in the squad, and to continue learning as much as possible alongside great players and coaches.”

Exeter Chiefs Women’s assistant coach Steve Salvin said: “We are delighted to see three Exeter Chiefs Women in the Red Roses Six Nations squad. For Maddie, it is a continuation of her England journey but for Claud and Flo, this represents recognition after having to watch international rugby from the sidelines.

“Claud worked so hard to recover from that serious neck injury and was back in the starting line-up for us as soon as she was fit again. Flo has been at England training camps before but has yet to be capped. She was a major feature of our team this season and I am pleased to see she has caught the eye of the England coaches.

“We are proud of all three of our players and wish them well for the tournament ahead."