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Cunningham names seven uncapped players in Wales squad for the Guinness Women's Six Nations

WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 21: Wales line up for the national anthem during the WXV1 match between Canada and Wales at Sky Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Ioan Cunningham has named seven uncapped players in his 37-player squad for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

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While the majority of the squad is made up of familiar faces from last year’s Six Nations and WXV 1, Jenny Hesketh, Cath Richards, Molly Reardon, Jenni Scoble, Gwennan Hopkins, Mollie Wilkinson and Sian Jones will all be in contention to earn their first Test caps in this year’s competition.

Full-back Hesketh previously captained England U20s and currently plays for Bristol Bears alongside Wilkinson. They join club teammates Courtney Keight, Gwenllian Pyrs, Bryonie King, Kayleigh Powell, Alisha Butchers, and Keira Bevan in the national squad.

Fellow West Country outfit and defending Premiership Women’s Rugby champions Gloucester-Hartpury have 12 players in Cunningham’s squad, including Hannah Jones, who has been named captain.

There are 16 players included in the squad who represented Celtic Challenge teams Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning, who finished third overall this season, including four of the uncapped players.

Among the 30 returning players, Natalia John and Gwen Crabb feature in the squad after returning from injuries that saw them miss out on the inaugural WXV 1 competition last autumn.

In addition, Shona Wakley, who represented Brython Thunder in the Celtic Challenge, returns to the squad with hopes to build on the 45 caps she has earned since her debut in 2010.

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This year’s Six Nations campaign will see Wales women play their first-ever standalone Six Nations fixture at the Principality Stadium when they face Italy on the final weekend (27th April).

In the previous edition of the Women’s Six Nations, Wales finished third to seal the final remaining place in WXV 1 that was available from the tournament.

Once again this year, the top three teams at the end of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations will join the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series in WXV 1, which will take place in Canada later in the year.

The fourth and fifth placed teams at the end of this year’s Six Nations will play in WXV 2, won by Scotland last year, while sixth place will take part in a playoff with the winner of the Rugby Europe Championship to determine whether they take place in WXV 2 or WXV 3 in 2024.

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Last year, Wales reached their highest-ever place in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings powered by Capgemini at sixth.

Wales will play Scotland on the opening weekend (23rd March) at Cardiff Arms Park before going on to face England at Ashton Gate (30th March), Ireland at Virgin Media Park (13th April), and France at Cardiff Arms Park (21st April) before their historic finale at the Principality Stadium.

Cunningham said: “This was the hardest squad to select since the game went professional in 2022 and there was plenty of debate within the coaching group around selection.

“This 2024 Six Nations campaign promises to be the biggest and toughest tournament so far but we are all excited to see the players named set new standards and take this team to new heights.

“The Welsh public’s support proved massive for the squad last season and a first stand-alone game against Italy in Principality Stadium is a mouthwatering end to the campaign, but we know we have some major challenges ahead of us before we get to that final weekend.

“We have named a squad full of proven experience at international rugby and a mix of exciting young talent we have seen emerge at club and Wales U20s level, especially through the new expanded Celtic Challenge tournament.

“The bulk of the squad played in WXV1 in New Zealand and have the experience of playing in a tournament for the best six teams in the world. We have named seven uncapped players who have impressed for their clubs so far this season.

“Jenny Hesketh and Cath Richards have impressed with their performances in the Premiership and Molly Reardon, Jenni Scoble, Gwennan Hopkins, Mollie Wilkinson and Sian Jones have done the same in the Celtic Challenge.

“We welcome back Welsh international Shona Wakley and her performances demonstrate that the door is always open for selection if a player’s performances warrant it. All the players, coaches and staff are excited to meet the challenge of a new Six Nations campaign.”

Wales Women’s Six Nations squad

Forwards: Gwenllian Pyrs, Abbey Constable, Carys Phillips, Kelsey Jones, Molly Reardon, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Donna Rose, Jenni Scoble, Abbie Fleming, Natalia John, Gwen Crabb, Bryonie King, Shona Wakley, Alisha Butchers, Georgia Evans, Alex Callender, Kate Williams, Bethan Lewis, Gwennan Hopkins

Backs: Jasmine Joyce, Nel Metcalfe, Jenny Hesketh, Courtney Keight, Kayleigh Powell, Cath Richards, Lisa Neumann, Amelia Tutt, Hannah Jones (captain), Kerin Lake, Hannah Bluck, Carys Cox, Lleucu George, Mollie Wilkinson, Niamh Terry, Keira Bevan, Sian Jones, Meg Davies.

Five Development players – Hanna Marshall, Seren Singleton, Maisie Davies, Cadi-Lois Davies and Alaw Pyrs – have been invited to train with the squad.

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J
JW 1 hour ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

Players like Prendergast and Finn Smith already have a few seasons at top club level under their belt and are now test players, at an age when NZ players make their debuts in SR.

That’s just a difference in standards. You’re confusing SR for being their local domestic comps, where it’s more accurately comparable to Champions Cup, apart from that teams are happy to throw games as it’s in a bit of a limbo in terms of importance atm.


All these kids have been playing for a comparable NPC team for years now. Sam is no where near ready for tests but he has a great temperament, much like Sextons, that makes it a good choice to speed up his development. He wasn’t even a comparable Super Rugby starter before playing for Ireland, so not a great comparison.


Fin would be much better example, but then England don’t have 3 world class Test tens in front of him (not that I’d put Beauden their but obviously in terms of young NZ players chances, he is). Would he otherwise have debuted at the same age as Fergus Burke (injury and leaving withstanding), around 24, a couple of years later? England also aren’t as pedantic to who they give jerseys to, in NZ a test jersey is very hard earned for the most part.


In general I think the effects are as you say, but the only difference is the money involved, as you yourself said, their paths are just as all over the show being loaned out playing for clubs etc. My solution to that, and what you perceive as the problem, would be to introduce university football that utilitizes the large investment they have into high performance sport.

88 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 4 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

The topic of recovery services and the efficacy of Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech warrants a closer examination. Recovery services are a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, as they provide the means to restore systems, data, and operations in the event of a breach or other disruptive incident. Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech is a leading provider in this space, offering a suite of advanced recovery solutions designed to ensure business continuity and mitigate the potentially devastating impacts of cyber attacks. At the core of their offerings is a robust, AI-driven platform that continuously monitors systems, detects anomalies, and triggers rapid, automated recovery procedures. This allows organizations to bounce back quickly, often with minimal downtime or data loss. Wizard Hilton's approach also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive testing and simulation, putting recovery protocols through their paces to validate effectiveness and uncover potential weaknesses. Additionally, their team of seasoned cybersecurity experts provides hands-on guidance, tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each client. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech has established itself as a trusted partner in the realm of recovery services, empowering organizations to safeguard their most valuable digital assets and ensure business resilience in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. Contact: for assistance.

Regards.

28 Go to comments
J
Jennifer Ross 4 hours ago
One rule for Europe's copycats, another for the Springboks

The topic of recovery services and the efficacy of Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech warrants a closer examination. Recovery services are a critical component of any comprehensive cybersecurity strategy, as they provide the means to restore systems, data, and operations in the event of a breach or other disruptive incident. Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech is a leading provider in this space, offering a suite of advanced recovery solutions designed to ensure business continuity and mitigate the potentially devastating impacts of cyber attacks. At the core of their offerings is a robust, AI-driven platform that continuously monitors systems, detects anomalies, and triggers rapid, automated recovery procedures. This allows organizations to bounce back quickly, often with minimal downtime or data loss. Wizard Hilton’s approach also emphasizes the importance of comprehensive testing and simulation, putting recovery protocols through their paces to validate effectiveness and uncover potential weaknesses. Additionally, their team of seasoned cybersecurity experts provides hands-on guidance, tailoring solutions to the unique needs of each client. By combining cutting-edge technology with deep industry expertise, Wizard Hilton Cyber Tech has established itself as a trusted partner in the realm of recovery services, empowering organizations to safeguard their most valuable digital assets and ensure business resilience in the face of ever-evolving cyber threats. Contact: for assistance,

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28 Go to comments
J
JW 4 hours ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

JJ and DMac shows how little attention you actually pay to the substance of the articles.

What do you mean by that? For lack of an answer from you I’d suggest yuo need to look at the game again and then read your article. Because although I’m not going to again but I did quickly review the videos and they all match correctly with my perception.

JTPL is shifting towards overseas players being JQP in future

No they’re not, thats a flatout lie Nick. You can find an article on here with their CEO where they want more out of their deals but it’s standard professional sports fair, nothing underhand like the NH does. I find that quite foul that you would share such a view.


I suppose the new World Club League thats starting would die for the best ABs even for just a year, and probably set them up even better. Mo’unga hadn’t done enough to earn a sabbatical though. This is where NZR needs to start questioning itself. You can’t blame the player if the NZR are not even interesting in offering you a contract. In situations where say NZR aren’t able to reach 70% of the offer I think a great starting point would be for them to be treated differently than someone who just left for money. NZR could say make that player immediately eligible if NZR decide to make a fair offer and they sign to return, with players putting in their overseas contracts a right to leave early if they resign back with NZR.


Even with Japans fading desire for sabbaticals I still think NZ can make it a good destination and have many reciprocal agreements with JRFU and the JRLO teams. The situation still very much favours NZ and Australia but it’s upto them to make the most of it or the JRFU won’t see any reason to be the ones always giving the favours.

88 Go to comments
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