Overview
- England confirmed captain Zoe Aldcroft will miss the rest of the pool stage with a knee injury and made 13 changes for Samoa, with Marlie Packer captaining and Helena Rowland and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald returning from knocks.
- Fly-half Holly Aitchison remains out for England, while Jess Breach and Meg Jones are the only starters retained from the 69-7 win over the USA as John Mitchell executes his pool-stage rotation plan.
- Canada made six changes to face Wales, starting veteran lock Tyson Beukeboom for her 80th cap to tie the national all-time mark, and can secure a quarter-final spot with a victory in Salford.
- Australia introduced four changes for the USA game but will again be without injured skipper Siokapesi Palu; coach Jo Yapp framed the fixture as effectively a knockout with qualification scenarios hinging on Saturday’s results.
- Scotland kept continuity with only one injury-enforced change to face Fiji after beating Wales, while South Africa reset focus after a 66-6 opening win over Brazil ahead of a tougher test against Italy.