Wales Women head coach Rowland Phillips has named his team for this
Saturday's opening Women's Six Nations match against Italy in Ancona
(14:00 GMT).
Seven players remain in the starting line-up from last year's team that
took on Italy at the Talbot Athletic Ground, including captain and
hooker Carys Phillips and openside Rachel Taylor.
Since taking charge of the team, along with assistant coaches Nick
Wakley and Paul Young, Wales Women have won all four of their past four
fixtures - including victories against upcoming opponents Ireland and
Scotland.
Phillips believes that, thanks to a rigorous schedule and fixture list
implemented in the latter part of 2016, his team is now more ready for
top-flight international competition. "We're definitely prepared," says
Phillips. "Our progress to this point has been excellent. There are
going to be big challenges ahead, and Italy is as big as any for us, but
we'll grow as a squad for that."
On the subject of his consistent selection policy - all 23 players have
featured regularly in the past four matches - Phillips underlines the
performance-related nature of his squad. "There is consistency, but the
players are aware there's strong competition for places," says the head
coach, "and their performances are driven by that. They've been rewarded
for continuing to push themselves to keep hold of their jerseys."
More familiar with Italian rugby than many, having coached Aironi and
Viadana, Phillips commends the strength of the Azzurre: "They're very,
very good, but the focus for us is really on ourselves. We've been
improving our in-game management, which was evidenced in our game
against Ireland a couple of weeks ago in Dublin, but we have to ensure
we get our game right this Saturday."Â
Note: This match will be streamed live on the Women's Six Nations
Facebook page and YouTube channel.
**Wales Women team to face Italy**
15 Dyddgu Hywel (Scarlets)
14 Elen Evans (Scarlets)
13 Kerin Lake (Ospreys)
12 Robyn Wilkins (Ospreys)
11 Adi Taviner (Ospreys
10 Elinor Snowsill (Newport Gwent Dragons)
9 Keira Bevan (Ospreys)
1 Caryl Thomas (Scarlets)
2 Carys Phillips (c) (Ospreys)
3 Amy Evans (Ospreys)
4 Rebecca Rowe (Newport Gwent Dragons)
5 Mel Clay (Ospreys)
6 Sioned Harries (Scarlets)
7 Rachel Taylor (Scarlets)
8 Shona Powell-Hughes (Ospreys)
**Replacements**
16 Lowri Harries (Scarlets)
17 Cerys Hale (Newport Gwent Dragons)
18 Gwenllian Pyrs (Scarlets)
19 Siwan Lillicrap (Ospreys)
20 Alisha Butchers (Scarlets)
21 Sian Moore (Newport Gwent Dragons)
22 Gemma Rowland (Newport Gwent Dragons)
23 Jessica Kavanagh-Williams (Scarlets)
