Harries in line for 50th cap
SIONED Harries will earn her 50th cap when Wales Women take on England at the Twickenham Stoop on Saturday (12.15pm).
No.8 Harries and full-back Elinor Snowsill come straight back into the line-up fresh from their outing in the Super 7s Rugby competition in Brisbane.
Siwan Lillicrap move up from the back row to lock, whilst Rhiannon Parker is named at scrum-half. Utility back Hannah Jones takes her place on the bench after also competing in Australia.
Wales started this year’s Women’s Six Nations campaign with a tense 18-17 victory against Scotland which went right down the wire.
“It was a strong team effort, full of heart,” said head coach Rowland Phillips.
“To play the way they did in the first match of the competition, absorbing a lot of pressure from the Scots, was very impressive for a young team.”
They will hope to put in a good show on Saturday against tournament favourites England, whom Phillips earlier in the week suggested were aiming for a repeat of last year’s Grand Slam.
“England are a strong and settled team, who have already made a statement with a powerful, impressive win in Italy, but we need to focus on our game and build on a promising performance in Colwyn Bay,” said Phillips. “It’s up to us to learn from past experiences and show that we can continue to grow as a team.
“It’ll be a step up again for us this weekend at the Stoop. We know that. We’re really excited for the challenge and that’s been reflected in the way we’ve trained this week.” Wales Women: E Snowsill (Dragons); H Bluck (Cardiff Blues), K Lake (Ospreys), R De Filippo (Dragons), J Kavanagh-Williams (RGC); R Wilkins (Ospreys), R Parker (Cardiff Blues); C Thomas (Scarlets), C Phillips (Ospreys, c), A Evans (Ospreys), S Lillicrap (Ospreys), M Clay (Ospreys), A Butchers (Scarlets), B Lewis (Scarlets), S Harries (Scarlets). Reps; K Jones (Ospreys), G Pyrs (RGC), C Hale (Dragons), N John (Ospreys), N E Davies (Scarlets), J Knight (Scarlets), L George (Scarlets), H Jones (Scarlets)