By David Williams

You don’t have to tell Carys Phillips how difficult Saturday’s opponents Spain are going to be for Wales when the two teams clash at Cardiff Arms Park (kick-off 2.00pm) in a massive WXV play-off match.

The Harlequins and Wales hooker was captain the last time the two teams met in a friendly at Madrid University in 2019.
It ended with a crushing 22-5 victory for the home side.

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The stakes will be a lot higher this weekend when the Spaniards come to the Welsh capital for a game that will not only decide who gets into WXV 2 next season, but also who automatically qualifies for the World Cup in England next year.

“It’s a massive game for both teams – like a cup final. It’s very much a must win game,” said Phillips.

“My 50th cap was against Spain and they beat us. They are fit, fast and physical and they have a good set piece.

“A number of their girls have been professionals on the sevens circuit for quite a while and they are fast and tricky behind. It promises to be a real physical battle, but hopefully we can break them down up front.

“There is a lot of pressure on this game given that World Cup qualification is riding on the outcome.

“We all know that if we want to progress as a team we need to be playing in Tier 1 or Tier 2 of WXV.”

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Wales found themselves in Tier 1 in the inaugural WXV competition last year. That meant they had to face New Zealand, Australia and Canada, returning from their trip without a win.

They then failed to win any of their opening four games in the Six Nations before finally getting some joy in their last outing against Italy in Cardiff, where they won 22-20 in April to end a run of seven straight defeats.

“We all know the Six Nations didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. There is more investment going into women’s rugby across the board and every team is improving,” added Phillips.

“Spain used to play in the Six Nations and are a very good outfit. We will have to bring our ‘A’ game at the weekend to ensure we end a very long year of rugby on a high.”

Phillips isn’t the only player in the current squad who has had experience of playing against the Spaniards.

Kerin Lake, who is hoping to win her 50th cap in the game, played along with Robyn Wilkins, Keira Bevan, Georgia Evans, who made her debut, Abi Fleming, Alex Callender and Gwenllian Pyrs.

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The Spaniards warmed-up for the vital fixture with a seventh consecutive European title, going through the 2024 Rugby Europe tournament undefeated.

They beat Portugal 24-0 at home, went to the Netherlands and triumphed 22-5 before thumping Sweden 53-0 with nine tries in Trelleborg.

Four of those tries came from danger-woman Clara Piquero, who also scored against the Netherlands. She plays on the wing in a side that is led by centre Alba Vinuesa.

Spain and Wales first met in the World Cup in 1998, when Spain won 28-18, and they followed that up with a 14-9 win in the European Championships a year later.

They won the first five matches and currently lead the series 7-2 with one game drawn in 10 contests.

Thank you to all who came to Girls' Rugby Day including our new Girls' Rugby Head Coach, Lee Rees & the Wales Women's Head Coach, Ioan Cunningham cementing the future of girls' rugby in Wales! We have a Girls' Rugby Residential in early August details here https://t.co/uTc6QZ5vch pic.twitter.com/X4ZDlGZo9n

— Llandovery College (@LlandoveryColl) June 24, 2024