By Hannah Blackwell
New faces Alaw Pyrs, Maisie Davies and Rosie Carr have all held their places in Ioan Cunningham’s Wales squad for the WXV2 tournament in South Africa.
The trio made their senior debut appearances in the recent defeat to Scotland, but have stayed in a new-look squad to compete in South Africa at the end of September.
Lock Pyrs, prop Davies and hooker Carr have all been retained and there is also a place for uncapped prop Jenni Scobie.
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Cunningham has named a 30-strong squad to represent Wales when they face Australia, Italy and Japan in three Test matches across three weekends in Cape Town.
Centre Hannah Jones will captain the squad, after being rested against the Scots, along with a number of other senior players.
Lock Gwen Crabb, who returned from long-term injury against Scotland earlier this month, has been left out, along with centre Megan Webb, who scored in the 40-14 defeat in Edinburgh.
Gwennan Hopkins, who made her first start in that game, have also been dropped.
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Cunningham, said: “We have rewarded players who have impressed in our recent training camp and have selected the squad with an eye on the World Cup.
“As coaches and staff, we know we need to drive competition for places and build the strength-in-depth in the squad with England 2025 less than a year away.
“The likes of Alaw, Maisie and Rosie have impressed us all since they have been with us and deserve this opportunity to experience tournament rugby at the highest level.
“Jenni is the only uncapped player and was part of the last season’s Six Nations squad and impressed for Gwalia Lightning during last season’s Celtic Challenge.
“Some players have missed out on selection, but the door is still open, and we know this is going to be a demanding season, with a Six Nations and World Cup still to come.”
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Pyrs is the younger sister of prop Gwenllian Pyrs, and they became the first sisters to play for Wales in the recent match against Scotland since he Horgan twin sisters against France in 2008.
Kayleigh Powell, who became an Olympian with the GB Sevens at Paris 2024, returns to the squad as a fly-half.
Wales face the Wallaroos in their final WXV warm-up game at Rodney Parade, Newport, on Friday, September 20th (KO:7pm).
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Wales WXV squad
Forwards: Gwenllian Pyrs, Abbey Constable, Maisie Davies, Carys Phillips, Molly Reardon, Rosie Carr, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Donna Rose, Jenni Scoble, Abbie Fleming, Natalia John, Georgia Evans, Alaw Pyrs, Alisha Butchers, Bryonie King, Alex Callender, Kate Williams, Beth Lewis.
Backs: Jenny Hesketh, Jasmine Joyce, Courtney Keight, Nel Metcalfe, Hannah Jones (captain), Hannah Bluck, Kerin Lake, Carys Cox, Lleucu George, Kayleigh Powell, Keira Bevan, Sian Jones.
Wales WXV2 fixtures
Australia v Wales, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (KO:11.30am, UK), Saturday, September 28th
Wales v Italy, Athlone Stadium, Cape Town (KO: 3pm UK), Friday, October 4th
Wales v Japan, Athlone Stadium, Cape Town (KO: 3pm UK), Friday, October 11th