Following a successful autumn – during which Wales notched up convincing victories against Scotland and the UK Armed Forces – head coach Rowland Phillips has shown continuity in his selection for the meeting with Las Leonas this weekend.
“We’ve kept the spine of the squad from the autumn, whilst also giving some new players the opportunity to put their hands up,” said Phillips, who has selected back row Kelsey Jones and wing Jasmine Joyce among the replacements. “These are players we would have liked to have looked at late last year but didn’t get the chance to, so it’s good we’ve got the chance to take a look at them before the Six Nations begins.
“We’re approaching this weekend in Spain very much as a competitive training camp, with a full-on training session on Friday, so there certainly won’t be any relaxing going into Saturday’s game. We’re doing this with a view to putting players under pressure and seeing how they can implement our structures and game plans.”
Wales will travel to Dublin next Sunday for their second warm-up match, where they will face Ireland at Donnybrook Stadium (14:00). Phillips says the main aim is for his team to be ready for the Six Nations, which for Wales includes hosting two significant fixtures against England and Ireland at home at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
“We view these warm-up matches as part of a bigger picture. We’re not going to Spain and Ireland with just those games in mind: we’re working on our structures in live situations and really testing ourselves against strong opposition, so we’ll be ready come early February.”
The match against Spain, which will be played at Villajoyosa, will be streamed live here.
Wales Women will name their Six Nations squad later this month, and tickets for their home matches are available here.
Wales Women team to face Spain
15 Dyddgu Hywel (Scarlets)
14 Jessica Kavanagh-Williams (Scarlets)
13 Kerin Lake (Ospreys)
12 Rebecca De Filippo (Newport Gwent Dragons)
11 Elen Evans (Scarlets)
10 Robyn Wilkins (Ospreys)
9 Keira Bevan (Ospreys);
1 Cerys Hale (Newport Gwent Dragons)
2 Lowri Harries (Scarlets)
3 Amy Evans (Ospreys)
4 Rebecca Rowe (Newport Gwent Dragons)
5 Mel Clay (Ospreys)
6 Sian Williams (Newport Gwent Dragons)
7 Rachel Taylor (Scarlets)
8 Sioned Harries (Scarlets)
Replacements
16 Gwenllian Pyrs (Scarlets)
17 Kelsey Jones (Ospreys)
18 Caryl Thomas (Scarlets)
19 Siwan Lillicrap (Ospreys)
20 Shona Powell-Hughes (Ospreys)
21 Sian Moore (Newport Gwent Dragons)
22 Elinor Snowsill (Newport Gwent Dragons)
23 Gemma Rowland (Newport Gwent Dragons)
24 Adi Taviner (Ospreys)
25 Jasmine Joyce (Scarlets)
