Hooker Phillips will lead her team into battle on Wednesday for their tournament opener with New Zealand.
Pool clashes with the Black Ferns and Canada – ranked second and third in the world – will test Wales to the full, but Phillips believes they can take on the game’s best sides.
“We were disappointed with some of our results and performances in the Six Nations and I think that was down to us as a group more than the opposition,” said Phillips, who yesterday met with the Taoiseach – the leader of the Irish Government – as part of the tournament welcoming ceremony.
“We’ve ironed out a few things and the squad we’ve picked for the World Cup is the best team we have. All in all we’re very happy with where we’re at.
“If you want to become better players you have to challenge yourself against the best. We’re lucky enough to have New Zealand and Canada in our group. Personally I’m really looking forward to the tournament starting and I think when we play New Zealand we can put in a good showing and a performance people might not expect of us. I believe we can get a result.”
Wales arrived in Ireland on Sunday ahead of the start of the tournament with the squad in fine spirits. The players are taking inspiration from the British & Irish Lions who drew with New Zealand’s men’s side away from home earlier this summer.
“The Lions went out to New Zealand and everybody said it would be 3-0 to the All Blacks,” said Phillips. “They came away with a draw and that was a massive boost to us.
“It showed they can be beaten and aren’t invincible. The Lions had immense physicality and line speed in that series and we need to do something similar when we play New Zealand. I’m not sure their men’s side had seen that before, so we can definitely take a few pointers from the Lions.”
Wales are in Pool A at the World Cup, Hong Kong completing the numbers alongside New Zealand and Canada. Warm-up games with Spain, Japan and England have put Wales in a good place.
Phillips now can’t wait for the action to begin later this week. “Nobody thinks we can get out of the pool and that’s great for us. We’re the underdogs and if we do make it out then it will be a big World Cup shock,” she said.
“I can’t really put into words how excited I am to get out there and play. That’s what you look forward to as a player. Our set-piece is phenomenal. We’ve put in a lot of work there and I think we can really take it to New Zealand up front. We need to be clinical when we’re given opportunities and if those areas of the game fall into place then I think we can challenge any team.
“If you ask anyone, their dream is to win a World Cup. It would be immense to get out of the pool, but we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves and we have to take one game at a time.”
Wales’ Pool A games will be streamed live on S4C Chwaraeon’s Facebook page.
