Women’s Rugby World Cup-winning captain Katy Mclean is poised to make a return to the international sevens circuit for the first time in over 18 months after being named in England’s extended squad for the next round of the Sevens World Series in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The 14-strong travelling party will be whittled down to 12 players ahead of the tournament on 7-8 February, after a week of warm weather training. If selected, Brazil will be Mclean’s first international sevens tournament since Women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013.

Also, back in the mix for their sevens debuts this season are fellow World Cup winners Marlie Packer and Natasha Brennan. Sarah McKenna has also been called up to the travelling squad.

England coach Simon Middleton said: "The majority of this squad were in Dubai but it is important to have some squad rotation and it is great to welcome Katy, Natasha, Sarah and Marlie into the fold.

“Katy is obviously a world class player so it is brilliant to have her experience while I will be looking to Natasha to bring us some of the x-factor we were missing in Dubai on the wing. Marlie and Sarah are, meanwhile, very experienced players.”

Richmond’s Abigail Chamberlain has once again been named as captain and she leads a team who will be looking to improve on their Plate win in Dubai in December.

England will play South Africa, Canada and Russia in Pool C on the opening day of the competition at the Arena Barueri in Sao Paulo.

Middleton added: “We have made a lot of progress since competing in Dubai. That was a really tough competition. I have to say we did a lot of things right, like winning our pool and beating Canada convincingly, but the one game we got wrong was the quarter-final and that was pretty significant. Since then, we have being doing a lot of work on ‘Game Four’ and we are hoping that will make the difference this time around.

“The pool stages will be tough again and South Africa is a side that we haven’t played since I have been here coaching. They don’t seem to get a lot of ball but they are very organised in defence and that is a big strength for them. We certainly know what to expect from Canada and Russia and we know we can’t rest on our laurels. We learnt some hard lessons in Dubai and we don’t want to see a repeat of them.”

England Sevens squad: Claire Allan, Natasha Brennan, Rachael Burford, Abi Chamberlain (captain), Natasha Hunt, Sarah McKenna, Katy Mclean, Marlie Packer, Alice Richardson, Leanne Riley, Michaela Staniford, Danielle Waterman, Joanne Watmore, Amy Wilson-Hardy. 

Jordaan back to lead 'Springbok women

South Africa have made two changes for the next round of the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series with fit-again captain Zenay Jordaan and Siviwe Basweni named in their 12-strong squad.

Jordaan missed the opening round in Dubai in December after having minor surgery on her knee, but the Springbok Women’s Player of the Year in 2013 has made good progress since and is ready to take to the field.

Jordaan and 24-year-old back Basweni replace Sinazo Nobele and Ziyanda Tywaleni respectively.

Springbok Women’s sevens coach Renfred Dazel is delighted to have his regular captain back in the fold as they look to improve on a disappointing showing in the series opening.

South Africa could only manage a draw and two defeats in the pool stages in Dubai and were beaten by Brazil in the Bowl Final, leaving them 17 points off the pace in the overall standings.

“Zenay is a fantastic leader and player. Her experience and play-making abilities will be invaluable in Brazil. She is a key member of the squad and her guidance on the field in the last few months despite being on the sidelines while undergoing rehabilitation has been fantastic,” said Dazel.

Dazel was also excited to see what Basweni could offer, adding: “Siviwe has been working hard at training and she deserves a chance to show what value she could add on the field. We invited Kirsten Conrad, Nolusindiso Booi and former netball player Sunelle Barnard to train with us and this has raised the level of competition in the training squad. I have no doubt that we have selected the best possible squad for this specific tournament.”

South Africa will depart for Brazil on Sunday ahead of matches against England, Canada and Russia in Pool C.

South Africa squad: Siviwe Basweni, Lorinda Brown, Phumeza Gadu, Rachelle Geldenhuys, Nosiphiwo Goda, Veroeshka Grain, Zenay Jordaan (captain), Jacqueline Kriel, Marithy Pienaar, Fundiswa Plaatjie, Mathrin Simmers, Shona-Leah Weston