Capt Gemma Rowland (RA) is on the Wales Women bench for their Six Nations warm-up game against the USA Falcons on Saturday afternoon.
The Welsh start their Six Nations away to Ireland on March 26th, and go into the tournament on the back of wins over Japan and South Africa from their Autumn Series.
For their part, the USA are ranked sixth in the world rankings, despite a poor second half to 2021 which saw them lose all four games played to Canada (twice), Ireland and England.
Head Coach Ioan Cunningham is using Saturday’s non-cap friendly to run the rule over the players who have the potential to run out against the Irish, and says that it will be a good test against an American team which, despite having taken their time to get back into the swing of international rugby since the end of lockdowns, nevertheless has a squad packed with top flight experience.
“It’s a great opportunity to see some players in a Wales jersey for the first time, along with some players who are returning to the side that we as a management team haven’t seen before,” he commented.
“Everyone has a chance this weekend to put their hands up for inclusion in the Six Nations squad along with starting berths and potentially additional contracts.
“USA Falcons will be a good side. All of their players are involved with Allianz Premier 15s clubs and will give us a very competitive hit-out ahead of Ireland in two weeks’ time.”
Kick off at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday is 1400hrs.
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