Joyce’s try double lifts Wales to win

WALES WOMEN.................23 JAPAN WOMEN...................5

WALES Women kicked off a new campaign and chapter with a dominant win over Japan, ending their 32-month wait for a victory.

It was the first match for captain Siwan Lillicrap and her team since the Welsh Rugby Union announced it would be offering contracts to 25 players earlier this week, so their longawaited victory – and encouraging performance in front of 1,024 fans – could not have been more timely.

No.8 Lillicrap got her team off to a dream start when she touched down from a driving lineout after just a minute of play.

Player of the match Jasmine Joyce, starting at full-back after lighting up the World Sevens stage in recent months, also scored two tries: one after a moment of magic and side-stepping and another which displayed her power from close range.

Japan scored a late consolation try through Seina Saito.

Wales came out of the blocks firing, with debutant Kat Evans finding the jumper in her first lineout, and Wales were soon over the line thanks to Lillicrap on the back of a strong rolling maul.

Elinor Snowsill was wide for the conversion, while an error from scrum-half Keira Bevan in collecting the ball at the back of the scrum saw Japan - who had not actually played an international in close to two years - pounce before the hosts did well to gather after a chase.

Wales got their first penalty at the scrum at 27 minutes, opting for the posts for Snowsill to increase the lead to 8-0. A second penalty at a scrum soon followed, with the front row experience of Caryl Thomas really showing. Snowsill increased Wales’ lead to 11-0.

Wales brought centre Megan Webb - cousin to Rhys Webb and Tommy Reffell - on early in the second half to earn her sixth cap when replacing Hannah Jones, while Georgia Evans was yellow carded early in the second act for a deliberate knock-on.

Joyce then scored the first of her two second-half tries by getting on the end of a Kerin Lake pass. Snowsill was successful with the conversion, extending Wales’ lead to 18-0.

Webb was almost on the end of a try but was brought down just before the whitewash, leading to Joyce getting her second try and Wales’ third with some force to get over the line from short range. Snowsill missed the conversion, and Japan secured a late consolation try thanks to Saito.

WALES: Tries: Lillicrap, Joyce 2. Pens: Snowsill 2. Con: Snowsill.

JAPAN: Try: Saito.