Underdogs Wales to unleash teenage sensation George
WALES face a huge battle to get out of their pool but head coach Rowland Phillips is desperate to put a difficult Six Nations behind them and show they can compete against the best in the world.
Given their low seeding of 10th, Wales, who won only one of their Six Nations game, face heavyweights New Zealand, 2014 finalists Canada and Hong Kong in the pool.
Phillips’ side played three warm-up matches against Japan, Spain and England ahead of the tournament and he was happy with what he saw.
“There’s a tremendous amount of excitement within the squad for those pool games,” he said.
“There’s a real enthusiasm among the team about facing two of the top nations in the game, because you play international rugby in order to compete against the best.
“The improvement in performance over those three fixtures is a reflection of the hard work that the players have put in to improve key areas of our game.”
Phillips’ daughter Carys will continue as captain while Elen Evans, Sioned Harries, Shona PowellHughes, Elinor Snowsill, Rachel Taylor and Caryl Thomas are set to feature in their third Women’s Rugby World Cup.
In contrast, 17-year-old back rower Lleucu George could be in line to gain her first full cap for Wales.
“Lleucu’s inclusion highlights the value of our warm-up matches,” added Phillips.
“She was outstanding in the game against Japan. Physically, she’s more than capable enough to deal with the rigours of international rugby, which is impressive for someone so young, but we’ll be smart with how we manage her.”