Alex Callender has given the Wales Women’s side the biggest boost they could have had going into the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 next week by declaring she is on course to be fit to face Scotland.
The new Wales co-captain limped out of the second Test against the Wallaroos in Sydney with an ankle injury she picked up in the opening three minutes. She returned home with her foot in a boot, but was back on both feet at Wales’ open training session at Cardiff Arms Park.
Sean Lynn’s side kick-off their Pool B campaign against the Scots in Salford on Saturday 23 August and there were almost a thousand fans at the Arms Park to cheer them on and wish them well ahead of what is going to be the biggest Women’s World Cup of all time.
“I thought my World Cup dream may have been over when I first got injured, but I only came off as a precaution. Now I’m raring to go to face Scotland – I can’t wait!” said Callender.
“If you had told me four years ago that I would be co-captain of the Wales team going to the World Cup I would probably have laughed at you. It is a huge honour to be leading the team alongside Kate Williams.
“We live for moments like these and everyone in the squad is really excited.”
Lynn’s tough pre-season culminated in a drawn series down under against the Wallaroos with Wales picking up a famous victory in the opening game. Now he wants a repeat of the victory secured against Scotland in the first game at the last World Cup in New Zealand.
“You have to build momentum in a tournament and we have to learn quickly from or defeat in the second Test in Australia,” added Lynn.
“I know this group will continue to work hard and I know we are going to be a hard side to beat when we get into the tournament. We are very much underdogs as a nation, but that’s the way we like it.
“We are going to enjoy being part of the biggest Women’s World Cup to date. I think I’ve put my stamp on the team and we are more proactive than reactive.
“I just want the players to go into the tournament and believe.”
READ MORE: Sean Lynn Hopes For Pay Back After Making Tough Calls as Wales Finalise 32-Player World Cup Squad
Meanwhile, flashing LED mouthguards will be used at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in the latest development for player welfare.
It is the newest advancement in technology for smart mouthguards, which were first introduced in 2021, with the most recent addition having been trialled in Major League Rugby and at the U20 World Championships.
The LED gumshields will flash red when a player experiences a head impact that passes a threshold determined by World Rugby.
“We are absolutely delighted to be introducing the LED into the mouthguard,” Dr Lindsay Starling, science and medical manager at World Rugby said.
“Previously, throughout 2024, most of the smart mouthguards you will have seen players wearing are white.
“Mouthguards players are wearing now are clear, and so on the side, you can see the LED board, the accelerometer and the gyroscope.
“When a player sustains an impact that results in an alert being triggered, not only is that alert being sent by Bluetooth to the match doctor on the side of the field, but the LED board on the side of the mouthguard flashes red.
“This will now be formally implemented as part of the HIA protocol in the Women’s Rugby World Cup and at every tournament that makes use of smart mouthguards starting after the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“The reason for this is to create awareness; now everybody will be able to tell when a player has sustained a significant head impact during the match such that it has triggered an alert.”
A head impact that results in 65Gs for women and 75Gs for men, which relates to the linear movement of the head, and 4500 radians per second for both men and women, which is the speed of rotation, triggers an alert.
World Rugby are keen to stress the mouthguards do not detect concussion, with some knocks below the threshold for an alert leading to concussion, while some players who experience an impact that triggers an alert will pass a Head Injury Assessment.
The women’s game has led the way in terms of implementation around smart mouthguards and concussion protocols.
The instrumented gumshields were first formally used at the 2022 World Cup, while WXV was the first tournament to implement new HIA protocols.
READ MORE: Sean Lynn Insists Wales are Still on the Rise Despite Wallaroos Walloping
