The Welsh Rugby Union has announced a further investment in the Wales Women’s senior squad with appointment of key personnel in Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham’s backroom team ahead of the WXV in New Zealand.

Four new key appointments are now in place and have been added to the professional staff as Wales prepare to take part on World Rugby’s new global tier 1 tournament, including New Zealand, England, France, Australia and Canada.

Gwennan Williams is appointed as the Wales team doctor and comes with the experience of having been a match day doctor for the Scarlets.

Elin Drake is the team’s new sports therapist and was appointed after an impressive internship with Cardiff Rugby, while Eve Holcombe is the new kit-coordinator and arrives having worked for the Football Association of Wales and Cardiff City Football club.

Angela Daw, who has worked for the WRU for six years, comes in as the new Wales team manager for the WXV1 and Six Nations tournaments as cover for Hannah John who is on maternity leave.

Wales will face USA at Stadiwm CSM in Colwyn Bay on Saturday, September 30^th(KO: 2:30pm) before heading to New Zealand next month where they will face Canada on Saturday, October 21^stat Wellington’s Sky Stadium (KO: 4pm local time), New Zealand on Saturday, 28th, at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium (KO: 4pm local time) and Australia on Friday, November 3^rd, at Auckland’s Go Media Mount Smart Stadium (KO: 7pm local time).

Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham, said: “We welcome all four new members of the backroom team, and they have all been appointed because we believe they will add real expertise to the environment we have.

“Ask any player or coach and they will all tell you how important the team behind the team is and the key role they play in setting the standards and creating the culture for every successful team.

“We recently announced another seven professional player contracts and for the players, and having the staff and that expertise to support them is vital as we continue to invest in women’s rugby in Wales.

“We will be facing teams in the WXV who are making significant strides on the pitch because of the investment they are making off it. We know we have to match that to be competitive as we head to the 2025 World Cup.”

Interim WRU CEO Nigel Walker, said: “We have made no secret of our ambition of building a world class programme and the vision from when we first introduced our first professional contracts was to compete with the best in the world.

“These appointments are another vital building block to match the ambitions of the players, coaches and staff, and to provide an environment to match our vision to show young players in Wales we can match their aspirations.”

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