Richards set for debut as Cunningham rolls the dice

CATHERINE Richards will win her first Wales cap as head coach Ioan Cunningham rolls the dice and makes seven changes as he looks for his first win of the campaign.

Cunningham has dropped some of his big names for the French challenge with speedster Jasmine Joyce, Keira Bevan, Kerin Lake, Bethan Lewis and Jenny Hesketh all losing their places from the side defeated by Ireland.

Kayleigh Powell comes in at full-back, Richards and Courtney Keight start as wings, with Carys Cox moving to centre.

Sian Jones is preferred at scrum-half, while in the pack Natalia John is back in the second row with Georgia Evans moving to No.8.

“Catherine Richards has had to wait for her Wales cap and will be the fifth new cap during this campaign,” said Cunningham. “She deserves her opportunity having shown what a threat she can be during the Celtic Challenge and in the PWR.

“Kayleigh and Courtney have impressed and made an impact when they have come on and deserve their places in the starting line-up.”

Fly-half Mollie Wilkinson is set to win a first cap from the bench, which features last weekend’s try-scoring debutant Gwennan Hopkins.

Wales sit bottom of the table after defeats to Scotland, England and Ireland. Wales have targeted a top three finish which would secure 2025 Rugby World Cup qualification and retain their place in WXV1 this autumn, but France in fine form their chances of a top half finish now look remote. Their final match is against Italy at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

Wales have lost heavily to France in recent meetings and les Bleues are currently in second place in the table with three wins from three.

“France are one of the best teams in the world, they are a real force in the world game and are a major challenge for us, and they are favourites for this Test match,” added Cunningham.

“We have all taken a long, hard look at ourselves this week and have stripped our game back and focused on what we have to do. We have drawn a line in the sand, and we need a performance at Cardiff Arms Park.”

France second row Madoussou Fallis not taking Wales lightly. She said: “I played against Wales in Cardiff two years ago, and it is a really memorable match. “The supporters are really close to you, and they try to play with the ball as much as they can which the supporters like.

“Wales have improved over the last few years and they just need to correct one or two things. We will have to improve our levels from last week and focus on what we are doing, not what our opponents are doing.”