University of Bath student Jenny Hesketh has been named as captain of England Rugby Women U20s for the first of back-to-back Test matches against France.

The Sport Management & Coaching student is joined once again in the starting XV by fellow Team Bath Dual Career athletes China Kill (Criminology) and Gabriella Nigrelli (Civil and Architectural Engineering) for Saturday’s match in Evreux, Normandy (5pm).

Grace Crompton, who also studies Sport Management & Coaching, is among the replacements after being released from the England Sevens squad for this international window.

Winger Hesketh was vice-captain as an England team also featuring Kill and Nigrelli beat Scotland Futures 38-7 in Darlington last weekend in the U20s’ first Test match since 2019.

“I feel very privileged to be named as captain for this fixture,” said Hesketh. “We are a close-knit group and want to really come alive on the pitch this weekend.

“We have been building in and out of camps for almost two seasons without being able to play any test matches and Scotland was a great opportunity for us to come together as a squad in this environment and put the work we’ve been doing onto the field. As a group we are very excited for this trip to France and are looking to push our standards even higher.”

The match is the first of back-to-back fixtures against France, with England hosting at Henley Hawks RFC on Saturday 2 April (KO 2pm). Entry to the home match will also be free.

As well as being supported by Team Bath’s Dual Career programme, the quartet are also part of the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) delivery centre at the University and all play their Allianz Premier 15s club rugby for Bristol Bears Women.