The captains of the Wales Women’s and Men’s teams were announced on Wednesday 23 June for the unique double header game against the Barbarians at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham at the weekend.
Alex Callender will lead the Wales Women’s team having battled her way back to full fitness, while Dewi Lake will captain the Men’s side firstly in this fixture and then in Wales’ three away matches for the inaugural Nations Championship which begins on 4 July.
It will be the first time the two national teams have played back-to-back at the same away venue on the same day. The Men face the Baa-Baas at 2.00pm with the Women kicking off at 5.00pm.
As well as being photographed together, the two captains also held a joint press conference ahead of other weekend matches – ‘Two Teams, One Wales’.
This is what they had to say:
ON CAPTAINCY
Alex
It’s an honour to be able to captain the side and this game against the Barbarians is really important. I wasn’t involved in the Guinness Six Nations campaign, but as a group I think we’ve taken so many strides forward – especially with the young girls coming through and putting their mark on positions.
It has been tough being injured, but it’s just part and parcel of the sport. Sean Lynn was great with me and I was in with the group and helping as much as possible. I put no pressure on myself to come back for any particular game, but being back for this weekend is a bit of a bonus. I won’t be putting any pressure on myself, I just want to go lead the girls out and enjoy it.
Dewi
It’s always a massive honour to captain Wales and wear the red jersey. We’ve got an incredible leadership group. It’s full of leaders after the past couple of campaigns – Dafydd Jenkins, Jac Morgan, Tomos Williams and Josh Adams – so it won’t be a job I’ll do alone.
You never expect anything and it’s always a surprise to be made captain. Jac’s an incredible leader, unlucky with injury otherwise he’d still be in this role. But we all help each other when it gets to game day, and everyone is called upon in certain areas.
On the Barbarians Game
Dewi
First and foremost, we’re excited for this weekend against the Barbarians and then to be able to watch the women play afterwards. I think it’ll be a great occasion.
It’s not going to be a game in which you feel things out and then pick it up. We want to set down a marker early. We got to a really good place at the back end of Guinness Six Nations in those last three games, so for us it’s about starting where we left off.
Defensively, we took massive strides forward, as we did with our set piece. We will definitely be looking to pick up where we left off in those aspects.
Alex
It’s massive for us having this double header with the men’s team. The last time we played the Barbarians was in 2019 at Principality Stadium, but this weekend it will be ‘Two Teams, One Wales’. That’s so important to help take Welsh rugby forward.
We normally miss each other in camp, and our paths haven’t crossed that much this time because we’ve been using the same pitch at separate times. I just hope the guys can put in a great performance on the weekend and build on what they did in the Guinness Six Nations.
We’ve seen the quality that the Baa-Baas have selected for the women’s team, but we’ve just got to relish both the occasion and the opportunity. I know our young guns are raring to go and can’t wait to pull on that red jersey. I’m really excited for the game and the occasion as well.
You’ll see a very mixed squad going onto the field at the weekend, which I think is so exciting for the future of Welsh Women’s rugby. Having the pathway, having that development coming through and having strength and depth as well within the squad is great for our game.
We’ve lacked that in a lot of positions over the years, but having that strength coming through now will boost competition within the squad. That’s exactly what we need going forward.
On the Nations Championship
Dewi
The Nations Championship is a new competition and we’re expecting everyone to bring their best. It will be a bit different from the usual summer tour where you go to one place.
I think Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium is going to be class. It’s going to be a hell of an occasion to play there. Then it’s Argentina, which will be great for us. They were one of the first teams we played under the new coaching regime, so we will be able to see where we are at after two campaigns.
Everybody knows what the South Africans are going to bring in Durban, so that’ll be another incredible test – and another chance to really see how much we’ve come on in those two campaigns.