Marlie Packer Misses England's North America Tour — SkimNews
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- Marlie Packer will not travel with England to North America for Tests against Canada and the US, staying in the UK as her partner and Red Roses team-mate Rosie Galligan is due to give birth; Packer is a two-time World Cup winner and England's most capped active player with 119 caps.
- England face Canada on 17 and 24 October (both 00:00 BST) before playing the USA on 30 October (21:15 BST), with the Canada Tests viewed as the culmination of a self-titled three-Test series.
- Kelsey Clifford returns to the squad from a hamstring injury, with the Saracens prop (25 caps) bolstering the pack for the tour.
- Delaney Burns, Haidee Head, and Sophie McQueen will also miss the tour due to injury, joining Packer on the sidelines.
- England enter the tour after September Tests where they beat Australia and New Zealand but ended a record-breaking winning streak with a draw against Canada.
- John Mitchell said the 32-player touring squad has a "great opportunity to elevate our connections" and described recent home Tests as "humdingers that could have gone either way."
Why it matters: Packer's absence removes a 119-cap back-row leader from a 32-player squad heading into a three-Test series against Canada that England are treating as a series culmination. Combined with injuries to Burns, Head, and McQueen, England's depth is stretched right as they aim to bounce back from a draw that ended their record winning streak.
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