Worcester Ladies flanker Sian Williams has been handed the captaincy while Shona Powell-Hughes, Rhian Nokes and Jess Kavanagh will make their debuts although Powell-Hughes is no stranger to international rugby, having played 32 times for her country in the fuller version of the game.
Wales were runners-up last year to the Australian Development team (Tribe 7s) but will face an uphill task to repeat that achievement as the quality and number of international teams has increased significantly for this year’s competition.
Only four of the squad which reached the final last year – Sioned Harries, Elinor Snowsill, Laurie Harries and Williams – return this weekend.
Wales coach Rhys Edwards, said: “Amsterdam is going to be a very competitive tournament this year with nearly twice the number of international teams entering. Therefore it’s a great opportunity for us to implement what we have learnt since our China training week and set ourselves the target of being competitive in game 1 on day 1 this weekend.”
Williams is looking forward to taking her side into battle for the first time. “I’m really excited at the prospect of going to Amsterdam with this squad. We have got a good mix of experienced players and talented newcomers.
“We have to hit the ground running as we don’t want to be chasing the tournament on day two,” she said. “As a group we’ve trained well so we are all looking forward to getting our season underway in Amsterdam.”
Wales Women’s Sevens squad
Melissa Clay (Pencoed)
Sioned Harries (Whitland)
Shona Powell-Hughes (Skewen)
Laurie Harries (Llandaff North)
Elinor Snowsill (Bristol)
Keira Bevan (Skewen)
Adi Taviner (Skewen)
Rhian Nokes (Maesteg Celtic)
Jasmine Joyce (Pontyclun)
Ffion Bowen (Maesteg Celtic)
Jess Kavanagh (Caernarfon)
Sian Williams (Worcester – Capt)
