Craig Richards has said former Woman of Steel Courtney Winfield-Hill could finally make her England debut on Saturday.
The Australian now qualifies for England on residency grounds and was set to make her debut against Wales on Sunday but failed to produce a negative test result in time following a recent bout of Covid-19.
Winfield-Hill’s Leeds Rhinos team mate Keara Bennett also missed out on her debut after falling ill in the build-up to the Wales game.
The duo were replaced in the squad for Wales by St Helens duo Tara Jones and Beth Stott.
But Winfield-Hill and Bennett will now get a second chance at featuring before the World Cup when England host France at Warrington on Sunday, if what could be the squad’s final game before the Tournament gets underway against Brazil on Tuesday, November 1.
“Covid got to Courtney, but she is fine now and recovered,” said England head coach Richards.
“She didn’t really have any symptoms and hopefully she’ll be right to go on Saturday depending how the squad looks.
“Keara was really unlucky too. She was taken ill, it was nothing serious and she was recovering at home. She’ll rejoin the squad this week.
“It was a shame to lose them, but the beauty of the squad at the minute is that we lost two real quality players, but brought two quality players in, which shows where we’re heading right now.
“These two games are very important for our preparations for the World Cup. They are more than likely our last two hit outs before the tournament, so we need to see some fruition from all the hard work we’ve been putting in.
“We need to nail how we want to play and see how people slot in to the squad and act around the place and that is crucial in doing what we want to do, which is going out and winning the World Cup.”
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