When Sean Lynn took the reins of Wales Women, he rolled the dice on youth — and it’s paid off.
Fresh faces have brought fire, energy, and depth to the squad, plus one notable victory this summer in Australia.
But as the countdown to the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 ticks down, Lynn won’t be short on battle-hardened veterans either.
Yes, all eyes might be on 18-year-old Branwen Metcalfe — joining big sister Nel in the national side — but this World Cup will also mark the fourth for former captain Carys Phillips.
The 32-year-old Harlequins hooker first wore the red jersey on rugby’s biggest stage as a fresh-faced 20-year-old in 2014, later leading the side into the 2017 tournament.
This year, the daughter of former Wales dual code forward Roland Phillips – and a coaching predecessor of Lynn’s - steps into legendary company.
“It’s a bit surreal, a mind-blowing time to get a fourth call up. It’s going to be a really exciting experience for all of us,” said Phillips.
Her mind still drifts back to her rookie year.
“I was 20 when I went to my first tournament in France, although I only looked about 16 in the team photo, and I remember facing the Haka for the first time during the pool matches. That was quite scary.
“This year it’s going to be one of the biggest sporting events in the UK. England are No 1 in the world rankings and the rush for tickets for every pool game, not just theirs, has been amazing.
“It’s going to be one hell of an experience for all of us.
“If we can get out of the pool stages then anything could happen. We could meet England in the quarter-finals in Bristol, which would be a massive event.
“But for now we have to concentrate on one game at a time and that means fully focusing on Scotland.
“It is a repeat of our first game in New Zealand in 2021 and it is massive for us.
“All eyes are on that and we have to get our performance right to give us the momentum we need in the competition. Pre-season has been tough, but really good for us.
“Ben Flower has come in to help us on the contact area, which was a massive work-on for us after the Six Nations.
“The tour to Australia was much needed and we are now much closer as a group heading into the World Cup.”
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Wales’ style has evolved since Phillips’ early days. Against the Wallaroos in July, three tries were scored — all by the backs — a far cry from the hooker’s own history as the team’s go-to finisher off a driving maul.
“We had a little joke after the first Test in Australia, when Nel Metcalfe scored twice, that there were no forwards on the scoresheet.
“That’s different to how it used to be, but we all want to play a more expansive game,” said Phillips.
And that expansive spirit is fuelled by the next generation.
“It’s great that the youngsters are really bringing it in training. I was a lot more shy when I first came into the squad than they are now - players like Maisie Davies love bringing it large.
“That makes it exciting and we are all being pushed for our places. Branwen Metcalfe is only 18 and she has come in to join her sister after captaining the Wales U20 team – it’s great!
“Everyone is pushing each other. We have a good connection as a group of hookers – Kelsey Jones and Molly Reardon and myself - and we all help and drive each other each other on.”
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Phillips isn’t the only World Cup veteran in the dressing room.
Six more players — Lleucu George, Hannah Dalavalle, Jasmine Joyce-Butchers, Keira Bevan, and Gwenllian Pyrs — will be on their third appearance at the tournament.
Pyrs, the loosehead prop, will share the moment with her younger sister Alaw, a 20-year-old lock making her debut.
Like the Metcalfe sisters, both hail from Nant Conwy RFC — a grassroots powerhouse that has now produced four World Cup players.
That feat puts them alongside the likes of Cardiff Quins (multiple eras), Cardiff Met (formerly UWIC), and Llandaff North in Wales’ proud rugby history.
Club connections also run deep in this Wales squad — 11 of the players ply their trade at Gloucester-Hartpury, the club Lynn himself once led to three straight Professional Women’s Rugby titles.
It’s the same number of Gloucester-Hartpury players Wales took to New Zealand in 2021 — proof that Lynn’s past and present are still tightly linked.
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