Wales U18 head coach Liza Burgess believes the inaugural U18 Six Nations festival in Edinburgh has provided invaluable experiences for her young players - as she names three Dragons in the squad to face Ireland on Wednesday.
“The whole week has been amazing. We have trained against England and France, beaten Scotland (24-0) and Italy (14-0) in 35 minute matches and now we get to play a full match against Ireland.
"We’ve also taken part in other development activities in areas such as analysis and game understanding and as a coaching team we’ve had time to discuss on and off-field development pathways with the players.
“The girls’ attitude has been outstanding. They have embraced every opportunity they’ve been given and grown as they week has gone on.
“We were very pleased with the games on Saturday. The whole squad took on board everything we’d asked and came off the field wanting to improve again, despite the excellent results. Ireland will be a step up again tomorrow. They are a similar side to us in many ways and will challenge us physically.”
Liza has selected a starting XV but with ten rolling subs believes everyone has a role to play.
“It really is about the whole squad. Many of these players could go on to play at a higher level and this is a brilliant opportunity for them all at the start of their international journey.”
Wales U18 v Ireland (Wednesday 13 April, 12 noon, DAM Health Stadium, Edinburgh)
1 Chelsea Chesters (Scarlets)
2 Molly Wakely (Dragons)
3 Lowri Pritchard (Scarlets)
4 Erin Jones (RGC)
5 Catrin Stewart (RGC)
6 Jess Rogers (Ospreys)
7 Lucy Isaac (Dragons)
8 Gwennan Hopkins (co-captain, Cardiff)
9 Molly Reardon (Cardiff)
10 Mya Dixon (Cardiff)
11 Nel Metcalfe (RGC)
12 Jenna De Vera (co-captain, Scarlets)
13 Gabby Healan (Cardiff)
14 Grace Bellamy (Cardiff)
15 Mollie Wilkinson (Exiles)
Replacements:
16 Dali Hopkins (Ospreys)
17 Georgia Morgan (Cardiff)
18 Maisie Davies (Scarlets)
19 Milly Summer (Scarlets)
20 Fern Cumine (Cardiff)
21 Katy Hudd (Cardiff)
22 Sian Jones (RGC)
23 Lowri Elias (Scarlets)
24 Molly Powell (Dragons)
25 Rachel Thomas-Evans (Cardiff)
