Wales Women were defeated 29-15 in their final autumn Test against the Barbarians, despite showing signs of a successful comeback. The Barbarians produced a dominant first-half performance and were first on the score sheet with Charmaine McMenamin diving over the line for the try just after kick-off. Wales women barely left their own half in the opening 40 minutes, allowing the visitors to score a further four tries.

Wales women take on the Barbarians on Saturday at the Principality Stadium, on the back of an impressive run of three straight victories. It’s another chance for Gwen Crabb to prove she made the right call when she swapped her goalkeeping gloves for a rugby head guard, as she tells Graham Thomas. Gwen Crabb always wanted to catch balls for a living, but just never imagined it might one day be as a rugby player. The Wales women’s rugby star – whose team are set to appear in front of their biggest crowd on November 30 – once dreamed of being the next Wayne Hennesssey.

Ospreys duo Robyn Lock and Niamh Terry, plus Cardiff Blues wing Rebekah O’Loughlin, have been handed their first starts for Wales against Scotland on Sunday’s women’s international. The Test at Scotstoun – which is live on S4C from 3.00pm – will see Lock and Terry build on their Wales debuts against Spain earlier this month while former tennis international O’Loughlin got her first cap in the last-minute win over Ireland last Sunday. Uncapped front row forwards Molly Kelly and Sarah Lawrence are named on the bench as the coaching team continues to use the autumn reries to develop strength in depth.

Wales Women will welcome Italy, France and Scotland to Cardiff Arms Park in this season’s Women’s Six Nations. All of Wales’ fixtures will be broadcast live on TV or online by either BBC Wales or S4C with the home matches to be shown on television. Wales – who had their best Six Nations tournament in a decade last season with two wins and a draw – open their campaign against Italy on Sunday 2 February (1pm).

Jasmine Joyce and Hannah Jones and have been named Wales women co-captains for two European Sevens tournaments. Both players were part of Wales’ Commonwealth Games squad last year and were key figures in this season’s Women’s Six Nations. Olympian Joyce has also starred for the Barbarians in their recent fixtures against USA and England.

Warren Gatland’s first match after stepping down as Wales coach later this year will be against the team he has guided for over a decade. Gatland, who leaves his post after the World Cup in Japan, has been appointed Barbarians coach for a fixture against Wales in Cardiff on 30 November. The first meeting between the sides since 2012 will also be Wayne Pivac’s first outing as Gatland’s successor.

Jasmine Joyce has her sights set on England after marking her Barbarians debut with a stunning four-try display. The Wales wing – who was part of the Great Britain Olympic women’s Sevens squad that played in Rio de Janiero in 2016 – could also be back in the short form of the game this summer. Wales are bidding to qualify for the Sevens World Series with qualifiers due to start at the end of June. Before then – on June 2 – the Baa Baas face England at Twickenham where Joyce could be looking to add to her hugely impressive strike rate.

Jasmine Joyce believes Wales Women are closing the gap on the major forces in the Six Nations. They may not be striding quite as rapidly as the Great Britain Olympic wing does when she starts to fly, but the Scarlets player reckons Rowland Phillips’ side have started to reel in the opposition. Wales finished fourth in their Six Nations campaign – not much to shout from the rooftops at first glance compared the men’s Grand Slam masterclass, but it’s the upward trend that is worth noting.

Injured Wales Women star Sioned Harries saluted her teammates after the finished their Six Nations in style by hammering Ireland, 24-5. Harries has been forced to sit out the whole tournament with an ankle injury, but had her spirits lifted by a hugely impressive Wales display that was rewarded with fourth place in the final championship table – their best finish since 2016. The bonus point victory was built on rock solid defence, but Wales also showed they could cut loose as they claimed a four-try bonus point victory at Cardiff Arms Park with tries for Jess Kavanagh, Carys Phillips, Beth Lewis and Jasmine Joyce.

Amy Evans says Wales Women are determined to finish the Six Nations with a flourish when they host Ireland on Sunday. The Ospreys prop was player of the match in the dramatic 17-15 victory over Scotland at the weekend and insists Rowland Phillips’ side are in the mood for back-to-back victories to end their campaign. Wales had gone four matches without a win – including three in the tournament – before their triumph in Glasgow and now Evans believes the momentum is in their favour.

Lleucu George ensured Wales Women secured a dramatic Six Nations victory on Friday night that Scotland coach Shade Munro admitted, “felt so cruel”. George snatched a nerve-jangling 17-15 win – Wales’ first of the tournament – when she held it together to kick an awkward, into the wind conversion of Siwan Llilicrap’s try which came from the last move of the match at Scotstoun. “That felt so cruel,” said Munro. “But it comes down to playing the conditions – we played them well in the first half but we should have played more territory in the second half. Wales made it difficult but ultimately you want to play the game in their half.”

Rowland Phillips has praised the efforts of his Wales women’s team, but warned that paying players on its own will not close the gap on England. The head coach watched his team lose 51-12 at Cardiff Arms Park in their Six Nations clash, a scoreline that did not reflect the balance of play for the middle part of the match. Wales scored two tries and had periods when they put England under sustained pressure but the ruthless manner in which England took their nine touchdowns reflected the fact that the fixture is one between a fully professional outfit and a largely amateur one.