Wales have named the side to face Australia in the WXV2 opener at the DHL Stadium, Cape Town, Saturday, September 28 (kick-off11.30am, UK) - with Dragons RDC ace Mlly Reardon named among the replacements.
Scrum-half Keira Bevan captains the side for the third time and leads a side made up of the bulk of the squad that recorded a historic first win over the Wallaroos at Rodney Parade, last weekend.
Experienced hooker Carys Phillips returns to the front row, alongside props Gwenllian Pyrs and Donna Rose. Natalia John and Georgia Evans are selected at second row.
Flanker Alisha Butchers joins Kate Williams and Bethan Lewis in the backrow.
Bevan partners fly half Lleucu George at half-back, with experienced centre Kerin Lake and Carys Cox in the Welsh midfield.
Jenny Hesketh, Jasmine Joyce and Nel Metcalfe form an exciting back three for Wales against the Wallaroos.
Prop Jenni Scoble is set to make her Wales debut off the bench.
Cunningham, said: “This selection shows we are starting to build the competition for places and the strength in depth that we need as a squad. Australia will be hurting after our first historic win at Rodney Parade, and we expect them to come out firing and with a point to prove in Cape Town.
“We can take confidence from the performance last time out and we will need to show the same calmness and composure against one of the top six teams in the world.
“We welcome back Hannah Jones and Alex Callender back into the matchday squad and the fact we can introduce them off the bench shows the depth we are building. While Sisilia was unavailable for selection, Donna Rose has been pushing for selection and deserves this opportunity.
“All the players know international rugby is about the whole squad and we expect them to fulfil their roles and make an impact in what we expect to be an intense Test match. We are an ambitious group of players, coaches and staff and WXV2 is the first real test of where we stand in an exciting and demanding season.”
Prop Sisilia Tuipulotu is unavailable for selection due to an administrative oversight regarding her Visa.
Wales: Jenny Hesketh, Jasmine Joyce, Carys Cox, Kerin Lake, Nel Metcalfe, Lleucu George, Keira Bevan (captain); Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Georgia Evans, Alisha Butchers, Kate Williams, Bethan Lewis
Replacements: Molly Reardon, Abbey Constable, Jenni Scoble, Abbie Fleming, Alex Callender, Sian Jones, Kayleigh Powell, Hannah Jones
Wales WXV2 fixtures
- Australia v Wales, DHL Stadium, Cape Town (KO:11.30am, UK), Saturday, September 28th
- Wales v Italy, Athlone Stadium, Cape Town (KO: 3pm UK), Friday, October 4th
- Wales v Japan, Athlone Stadium, Cape Town (KO: 3pm UK), Friday, October 11th
