England interim head coach Louis Deacon says his successor John Mitchell has been involved in picking the Red Roses side to face Canada in WXV1.

England have made nine changes to the side that beat Australia last week.

"He [Mitchell] is involved [in match selections] and he is building relationships in the group," Deacon told BBC Sport.

"He is still working out people and understanding where we are as a group, but he has been involved in a lot of things. He is a massively experienced coach and we have really valued his input this week.

"We are learning all the time and the experience he is passing on to us coaching staff is brilliant."

Mitchell left his role as Japan men's defence coach after their final World Cup pool game with Argentina on 8 October.

Mackenzie Carson, Sarah Bern and Lark Atkin-Davies make up a new front row against Canada, while Cath O'Donnell and Morwenna Talling are also in the forwards.

Ellie Kildunne returns at full-back with Claudia MacDonald on the wing, Amber Reed at centre and Natasha Hunt at scrum-half.

"It's the team we think is best for Canada," Deacon added.

"Canada are a great team and they have given us some tough fixtures in the pre-season. It's a very experienced squad we have picked with 785-odd caps.

"When you have a squad of 30 players and you come to the other side of the world you have to have players that are adaptable."

'World-class' Canada await

England beat Canada in last year's World Cup semi-finals and claimed a 2-0 series win this summer before the start of WXV1.

Like England, the North American side won their opening WXV1 game with a 42-22 victory over Wales and Deacon expects them to pose a greater challenge in Dunedin.

"They are a world-class team," said Deacon.

"They will be very different to the pre-season fixtures. We are in a tournament now and they will pose a lot of threats to us.

"They are a good at the set-piece, are a physical team and are very fit, as we saw in the World Cup semi-final last year.

"On their day they are a threat to anybody."

Those warnings were echoed by captain Marlie Packer, who says England must pay special attention on the talents of back-row forward Sophie de Goede.

"Canada are a very athletic side," Packer said.

"Their set-piece is very good and their standout player is Sophie de Goede. She can make anything happen and her vision and the way she sees the game is exceptional.

"We need to be very aware of her. They have had a lot of time together with the two games against us and then the Wales game.

"It should be a really exciting opportunity we will relish."