Isla McMullen’s Wales U18 women’s side will be hoping to end their Six Nations Festival on a high with a win over Ireland in a full 70-minute match at Wellington College on Saturday 19 April (12 noon kick off – Live Stream on WRU You Tube channel)
Having started with a heavy loss to France on the opening game day, 43-0, the Welsh youngsters went unbeaten in their next three 35-minute matches. They beat the Scots 21-7 and then drew both day two matches against England and Italy 0-0.
The Irish beat Italy 29-7 and England 21-0 on Day 1 before downing the Scots 22-7 and losing to the French 14-0 on Day 2.
“We’ve had two great days of preparation for the final game after the girls had a rest day. The quality of their work in training has been really high and everyone is looking forward positively to the Irish match,” said Wales U18 head coach Siwan Lillicrap.
“We’ve had to cut the matchday squad down to 23 for this 70-minute fixture and all the players have taken on the learnings from the first two game days. The great thing is that all the girls, including those not involved, have put the team first and worked so hard to get the team in the best shape possible for this final game.
“We want to finish with a bang, and this will be a last chance for many of the players before they transition out of this age group. We’re looking for some exciting rugby.”
While McMullen leads the side from the Welsh midfield, back rower Amelia Bailey will be an influential figure up front having led the side in previous matches. With Charlie Williams and the outstanding Chiara Pearce she will form a back row unit that should test the Irish defence.
The carrying power and effectiveness of front row forwards Taufa Tuipulotu and Evie Hill, along with lock Jorja Aiono, will be critical to Welsh success, while Seren Lockwood will be another Welsh threat at half back in tandem with Ffion Williams.
Wales U18 v Ireland: Megan Jones; Beatrice Morgan, Katie Johnson, Isla McMullen (captain), Lily Foscolo; Ffion Williams, Seren Lockwood; Crystal James, Taufa Tuipulotu, Evie Hill, Jorja Aiono, Tegan Bendall, Charlie Williams, Amelia Bailey, Chiara Pearce
Reps: Shanelle Williams, Georgia Morgan, Ciara Taylor, Erin Jones, Chloe Roblin, Lily Hawkins, Sienna McCormack, Saran Jones