Rowland Phillips has named an experienced front row ahead of his first game in charge of Wales Women, as they take up residency in their new BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park home.
Wales face Scotland on Saturday in a 12pm kick-off, and Carys Phillips will captain the coach’s first side from hooker.
She will have Caryl Thomas and Meg York either side of her as Siwan Lillicrap and Rebecca Rowe form the front five.
Alisha Butchers, Sioned Harries and Shona Powell-Hughes make up the back row, with Phillips admitting he had some tough calls to make when whittling the squad down to his starting XV.
“We’re really proud to call BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park home this season,” he said. “And this Saturday’s match is an excellent way to begin our campaign in the capital city.
“We’ve had a very good couple of weeks in camp, so there have been some tough selection calls to make, but the aim is for everyone to get some game time with a fixture against the UK Armed Forces also to come on Remembrance Day.
“The Scotland squad has been in camp together a lot longer than us as they’re seeking World Cup qualification, so we know they’ll be coming to Cardiff well prepared for a tough encounter, so we should be in for a good match.”
Sian Moore will start at scrum-half, with Elinor Snowsill outside her and Ffion Bowen, Charlie Murray and Dyddgu Hywel making up the back three.
Rebecca De Filippo and Kerin Lake are Phillips’ first-choice centre pairing, while the coach also named 12 replacements.
