Sean Lynn has given his Wales Women’s squad a week off to recover after back-to-back games against South Africa and USA before they reassemble to head to Japan to play two more Tests in the WXV Global Series.
Having kicked off with a 50-19 win over the Springbok Women hopes were high for another win against the Americans. Despite another hugely encouraging display, USA went away with a 26-24 win.
Even so, the results over the past few weeks have seen Wales rise two places in the World Rankings to 11th and there was a very positive feeling at the Arms Park at the weekend despite the narrow reverse.
“Going in at half-time, I told the players I’d seen real grit and effort. To be down 21–7, dig in, and come back to lead 24–21 at the break showed our identity and character,” said head coach Lynn.
“From the start of this campaign, our goal has been to become a truly competitive 80-minute team. There are massive learnings to take from the USA game – in Test match rugby you cannot make that volume of individual errors and expect to get away with it.
“We need to review closely those errors when we get back together. We had opportunities to exit our 22 cleanly, and chances to press into their 22, but we couldn’t look after the ball well enough.
“When we got within 10 metres of their try line in the first half, we came alive, but in the second half we never sustained that pressure. There are plenty of work-ons, both inside our own 22 and higher up the pitch.
“Scoring tries and being ruthless is what we’re striving for. When you look at the upward curve of where this team is heading, taking what would be seven points from 10 in a normal league context from these two fixtures is a positive foundation to build on.”
Co-captain Kate Williams was upbeat at the end of the game and looking forward to getting back into action in Japan. The Japanese women were beaten 55-21 in Italy and then lost 31-24 in Ireland last weekend as they dropped to 13th in the rankings.
“We felt a bit deflated at the end because at around the hour mark we were right in the fight. We just needed to execute, but we failed to do that,” explained Williams.
“When mistakes happen in quick succession, people start looking around. What we needed to do was re-group and return to what we do best – bringing the physicality, taking the game to them, and playing on our terms.
“It didn’t feel like a match where they completely outplayed us. It felt like a game we lost through our own errors.
“At times towards the end, it almost felt like we were compounding our own mistakes. It’s deeply frustrating, but the big takeaway is learning how to close out tight Test matches.
“The USA brought different strengths to South Africa, and we needed to adapt faster than we did. We needed to return to what worked so well for us in the first half to establish momentum and control the game in the second half, but we drifted away from it.”
Lynn firmly believes the competition for places within his squad, the greater depth and the kimpact his new coaching team is having on the players is pushing his side forward.
“Looking at last week and the glimpses we saw against the USA, the grit and determination were clear. Previously, at 21–7 down, heads might have dropped, but this group showed the belief to fight back into a 24–21 lead,” added Lynn.
“The next step in our growth is learning how to seal off games, manage the final quarter, and stick to the simple things we do well.
“This definitely now feels like my team, and you can see the squad coming together. We have fresh faces earning caps, Keira Bevan covering No 10, Carys Cox returning, and a settled coaching and S&C staff.
“We have full belief in our processes, and we are far more competitive. We are also significantly more clinical when we enter the opposition 22.”