Wales head coach Sean Lynn is backing his squad to bounce back from a humbling defeat to England as they prepare to take on an in-form France side in round three of the Guinness Women's Six Nations in Brive.
After opening his tenure with a narrow loss to Scotland followed by a heavy 67-12 defeat against England in Cardiff, Lynn has kept faith with the core of his squad but made a handful of strategic changes in a bid to spark improvement.
“These players deserve another opportunity to represent the Wales family against one of the best sides in the world and we know we face a Test match in front of a hostile crowd in France,” said Lynn, emphasising the size of the challenge ahead.
Fly-half Lleucu George misses out due to an ankle injury, prompting Lynn to shift Kayleigh Powell from inside centre to the number 10 jersey.
Courtney Keight steps into Powell’s former role in midfield, linking up with captain Hannah Jones.
Bristol Bears continue to feature prominently in the Wales line-up, with Keira Bevan — also vice-captain — again starting at scrum-half.
The back three remains untouched, featuring triple GB Olympian Jasmine Joyce-Butchers at full-back, flanked by Carys Cox and Lisa Neumann on the wings.
The forward pack sees no changes, with the front row of Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips, and Jenny Scoble — the sole starter playing her club rugby in Wales — holding steady.
Gwen Crabb and Abbie Fleming continue in the second row, while the back row trio of Bethan Lewis, Georgia Evans, and Kate Williams is also retained.
Among the replacements, Natalia John makes a welcome return from injury to bolster the Brython Thunder contingent.
Lynn insists that the team have responded well to the setback against England, using the tournament's fallow week to regroup and refocus.
“The players, coaches and staff have put the fallow week to good use and worked hard to improve and hone our game,” he said.
With Wales currently winless in this year's campaign and seeking their first Six Nations victory since last year’s tournament — where they finished bottom — Lynn was candid about areas needing improvement.
“We know we can do better. Some aspects of our performance against England were not good enough and we are determined to put that right in France,” he admitted.
“We know France are a world class outfit but we have to challenge ourselves to match them.”
READ MORE: Wales Women Suffer Same Fate As Wales Men – Crushed By England, But Sean Lynn Remains Upbeat
France come into the contest full of confidence, having registered victories over Ireland (27-15) and Scotland (38-15) to sit second in the table behind England.
Coaches Gaëlle Mignot and David Ortiz have made only one change to their side, with Emilie Boulard replacing Mélissande Llorens on the wing.
Match Facts
France
At home, France have not lost to any team other than England since 2003, a run of 42 straight victories.
France have made more offloads (22) than any other team after two rounds of action and have moved the ball wide less often than any other side – just 4% of their plays have gone wide.
Morgane Bourgeois has scored 32 points, more than double any other player so far in the championship. She has landed 11 of her 12 goal kicks, contributing 27 points from the tee.
Wales
Wales have lost eight of their last Six Nations 10 games, with their only wins coming against Italy (2023 and 2024).
Wales have the lowest gainline success rate (57%) and the lowest tackle evasion rate (11%) in the championship so far.
Wales' Abbie Fleming has won more jackal turnovers (three) than any other player in the championship to date. Team-mates Gwenllian Pyrs and Jasmine Joyce-Butchers are two of just nine players to have won two jackals so far.
Line-ups
France: Morgane Bourgeois; Kelly Arbey, Marine Menager (co-capt), Montserrat Amedee, Emilie Boulard; Carla Arbez, Pauline Bourdon-Sansus; Yllana Brosseau, Manon Bigot, Rose Bernadou, Manae Feleu (co-capt), Madouddou Fall-Raclot, Charlotte Escudero, Seraphine Okemba, Teani Feleu.
Replacements: Elisa Riffonneau, Ambre Mwayembe, Assia Khalfaoui, Kiara Zago, Axelle Berthoumieu, Lea Champon, Oceane Bordes, Lina Queyroi.
Wales: Jasmine Joyce; Lisa Neumann, Hannah Jones (capt), Courtney Keight, Carys Cox; Kayleigh Powell, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips, Jenni Scoble, Abbie Fleming, Gwen Crabb, Kate Williams, Bethan Lewis, Georgia Evans.
Replacements: Kelsey Jones, Maisie Davies, Donna Rose, Natalia John, Alaw Pyrs, Bryonie King, Sian Jones, Nel Metcalfe.
READ MORE: Sean Lynn Insists Wales Can Be Inspired By Record Cardiff Crowd
