[ Richardson to captain England Sevens in Houston

Richardson, who takes over the captaincy armband from Michaela Staniford for round two,  is leading a side that includes some seasoned Sevens players including Staniford, Heather Fisher, Katherine Merchant and Joanne Watmore. Lichfield’s Emily Scarratt has also been named as vice-captain. There’ll also be some new caps with England’s XVs captain Katy McLean set to make her Sevens debut at an IRB tournament alongside Alexandra Matthews and Marlie Packer.

“To be named as captain was quite unexpected to be honest but I am delighted and honoured to have been given this opportunity,” said Richardson, who has six England Sevens caps. “I am excited to have the opportunity to lead a fantastic team and great group of friends. There are lots of leaders in our squad who have different but all equally valuable attributes so it doesn't ever feel like just one person is leading.

“We’ve got an experienced squad but at the same time we have some new players to the World Series which will make for a good mix as we continue to build our depth ahead of RWC 2013.”

England head into round two of the World Series on the back of a seventh place finish in Dubai after fielding a young side for the series opener. This time around England have more experience but they face a tough start after being drawn against New Zealand, the Netherlands and Trinidad & Tobago in their pool.

“There are no easy games in this series; all the pools are equally as tough now,” added the Richmond player. “We know all three games in our pool stage will be hard fought and all the teams have certain strengths and traits but we will focus on our game and what we are about rather than the opposition.

“This is a great team to be a part of and everyone is looking forward to the challenge ahead of us. We always set high expectations but treat every game as a final which I see as important, especially now the series is so competitive and games are won and lost on a single try or conversion.”

England Sevens

Heather Fisher (Worcester)

Sarah Guest (Worcester)

Natasha Hunt           (Lichfield)

Ruth   Laybourn       (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)

Alexandra      Matthews       (Richmond)

Katy    McLean          (Darlington Mowden Park Sharks)

Katherine      Merchant       (Worcester)

Marlie Packer            (Bristol)

Alice   Richardson (C)         (Richmond)

Emily  Scarratt (VC) (Lichfield)

Michaela        Staniford        (Wasps)

Joanne          Watmore        (Worcester)

Women's Sevens World Series RND 2 Houston, Texas

Feb 1

England v Netherlands KO 810pm GMT

England v Trinidad & Tobago KO 10.54pm GMT

England v New Zealand KO 1.38am GMT

Feb 2

Knock out stages