Wales Women announce squad to face Ireland

Wales Women’s senior head coach Ioan Cunningham has named his side to open the 2023 TikTok Six Nations against Ireland at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, March 25^th (KO: 2.15pm).

Centre Hannah Jones will captain the side and will be partnered by Kerin Lake in the Wales midfield. Swansea-born and Auckland-raised Kate Williams will make her Wales debut off the bench against the Irish.

Back rower Williams joined up with the Wales squad at the recent World Cup in New Zealand and has now moved to Wales to fulfill her international ambitions.

Elinor Snowsill and Keira Bevan have been partnered at half-back while the Wales wings are Lisa Neumann and Carys Williams-Morris, with Courtney Keight at full-back.

Sisilia Tuipulotu, who made her Wales debut off the bench the last time the two sides met in Dublin back in 2022, packs down with Gwenllian Pyrs and Kelsey Jones in the front row.

Abbie Fleming and Gwen Crabb are selected in the second row, while Georgia Evans, Alex Callander and Bethan Lewis make up the back row.

Cunningham, said:

“There were some tough calls around this selection and the competition for places is what every coach wants. We are excited to get started and cannot want to kick off the tournament.

“We know Ireland will pose a formidable challenge but we finished third in last season’s TikTok Six Nations and want to improve on that. As a team, we know we can create opportunities and we just need to finish them off and score more tries.

“The squad have worked really hard and we have prepared really well and we are looking to make a positive start at Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday.

“It is great to have Gwen Crabb back at second row, she has worked really hard to get back and to have a player with all her experience is a real positive for us.

“It’s great to see Kate Williams in the squad and she has really contributed to the squad since she has been here and it’s great to give her an opportunity to win her first cap.

‘Overall, we have looked for settled combinations and partnerships and the focus has been very much on selecting a side to face Ireland.

“We want to back up what we achieved last year but we also feel we should have won three games last season. So we want to build on last year and starting at home is real positive for us.

“We want to start well and to give our supporters something to cheer, inspire the next generation of players and build some real momentum for the rest of the campaign.”

Wales Women’s Senior team to face Ireland in the 2023 TikTok Six Nations
15 Courtney Keight
14 Lisa Neumann
13 Hannah Jones (captain)
12 Kerin Lake
11 Carys Williams-Morris
10 Elinor Snowsill
9 Keira Bevan;
1 Gwenllian Pyrs
2 Kelsey Jones
3 Sisilia Tuipulotu
4 Abbie Fleming
5 Gwen Crabb
6 Georgia Evans
7 Alex Callender
8 Bethan Lewis

Replacements
16 Katherine Evans
17 Caryl Thomas
18 Cerys Hale
19 Kate Williams
20 Sioned Harries
21 Ffion Lewis
22 Lleucu George
23 Hannah Bluck