Wales Woman Six Nations squad announced as six uncapped players called up

Wales coach Ioan Cunningham has announced his 36-strong squad for the upcoming 2023 TikTok Women’s Six Nations, with six uncapped players making the final cut.

Centre Hannah Jones will captain the squad as she resumes her role following Wales’ quarter-final exit to eventual winners New Zealand in the women’s Rugby World Cup in the autumn.

Wales kickstart their campaign with an opener against Ireland on 25 March at Cardiff Arms Park. Matches against Scotland, England, France and Italy follow, with the England match set to be played on Welsh soil.

Prop Abbey Constable, flanker Bryonie King, lock Charlie Mundy, flanker Katie Williams and centres Catherine Richards and Jenna De Vera represent the six uncapped players in Cunningham’s ranks as the manager bids to grow the strength in depth within his side before next year’s World Cup.

Williams – born in Swansea but raised in Auckland – is named in the squad after pledging her future to her country of birth. The backrower trained with Wales during the World Cup.

Centre De Vera has been called into the senior side after impressive performances with Wales under-18s and the Development XV.

Speedster Jasmine Joyce and full-back Kayleigh Powell are two notable absentees, having committed their careers to Great Britain’s Sevens for the 2022-23 World Series following the World Cup exit.

Elsewhere, scrum-half Meg Davies and wingers Courtney Keight and Hannah Bluck return to the squad as Wales look to emulate last season’s third-place finish, their best position in 13 years.

This year, however, England and France remain the dominant front runners in the tournament. And with Ireland, Scotland and Italy all making strides towards professionalism since last year’s tournament, the onus is on Wales to continue improving on the pitch and deliver a successful campaign.

On the announcement, Cunningham emphasised the importance of using the Six Nations campaign as a springboard for sustainable squad development off the back of Wales’ World Cup exit:

"This is very much a fresh start after the recent World Cup and we cannot wait to get back out there and to play again.

"We are building nicely, the tournament is not too far away and Ireland will be our first challenge and we are looking to star the campaign well. We have six uncapped players named in the squad and we know it’s important we expose some new players.

“We need to grow the depth in our squad and we have to have one eye on the 2025 World Cup and build on the performances we produced in last season’s Six Nations and the World Cup in New Zealand.”

Twenty-five full-time Wales Women playing contracts were announced earlier this month, more than double the number of historical professional contracts awarded by the WRU last January in the lead-up to the Six Nations tournament to see Wales tout professional status alongside England and France.

And Cunningham said the contracts offer Wales more time to build the squad’s strength.

On captaining the side, Jones said: "It’s a really proud moment to be named captain and we have all worked really hard as a group over the last few years and to have the opportunity to lead this squad is an honour.

"We want to build on what we did last year. We finished third and that was brilliant but we know we have to keep building performances and that will then transform into results."

FORWARDS: Abbey Constable, Abbie Fleming, Alex Callander, Bethan Lewis, Bryonie King, Cara Hope, Caryl Thomas, Carys Phillips, Cerys Hale, Charlie Mundy, Georgia Evans, Gwen Crabb, Gwenllian Pyrs, Kat Evans, Kate Williams, Kelsey Jones, Natalia John, Sioned Harries, Sisilia Tuipulotu.

BACKS: Amelia Tutt, Carys Williams-Morris, Catherine Richards, Courtney Keight, Elinor Snowsill, Ffion Lewis, Hannah Bluck, Hannah Jones (C), Jenna De Vera, Keira Bevan, Kerin Lake, Lisa Neumann, Lleucu George, Lowri, Norkett, Megan Davies, Niamh Terry, Robyn Wilkins