In the starting line-up, new caps were awarded to Caerphilly’s Paris Nicholas and Neath Athletic’s Rhianydd Morgan who have impressed the coaches in training and during the first defeat to Canada A.
To balance this youth, experienced players such as Becky Newton (1), Amy Thompson (7), Vicky Owens (6), and Levi Hallett (12) also took starting positions, and their impact was certainly noticed as Wales were much improved in the contact area.
A Welsh defensive error out wide saw Canada take an early lead through their left winger Brittany Sommut. Soon after, Thompson left the field with a broken collar bone which disrupted Wales’s attacking flow, leading to a well taken try from Canada’s player of the game, No.8 Jacey Murphy.
Excellent linking play from replacement openside flanker Lisa Newton and tighthead prop Lowri Harries saw Wales gain some moment and territory, but they failed to turn this pressure into points.
A turning point in the game was when Wales captain, No.8 Carys John was forced to leave the field injured. To Wales’s credit, the more experienced players in the team rallied the troops and held the Canadians out till the 56th minute, when replacement Martha Goodrow scored from excellent driving play.
From this point in the game, the Welsh defence was broken on several occasions, but they failed to score through some courageous talking from fullback Mared Evans and centre Hallett. Canada scored two more tries to seal their win, but Wales finished the strongest, dominating territory and possession for the final 13 minutes of the game, which is a testimony to their conditioning.
In the final few minutes of the game, the Welsh coaches awarded two more caps, to youngsters Carys Thomas (Llandaff North) and Yazmin Leung (Caernarfon), who made excellent starts to their international career. Wales’s player of the game was awarded to hooker Amy Lawrence who impressed with her tenaciousness and dogged defence.
Wales face an unbeaten England side in less than 48 hours, which will be a challenge for both players and management, as they look to build on the positives from this 22-0 defeat.
Head Coach Kylie Wilson commented: “Our girls showed great improvements in the contact area which allowed us to get some quality possession, we will now focus on what we do with that possession in order to turn our pressure into points.”
When asked about how the squad will respond to this, Wilson stated: “The girls are shattered, but showed a great deal of character and pride in their jersey to battle to the very end. The management are extremely proud of what the girls produced but are all bitterly disappointed in the result.
“We will pull together and focus on our next challenge as we are a tight-knit bunch who are constantly looking for improvements.”
Wales Women U20 play England Women U20 on Wednesday 16th July at 7.10pm.
Wales Women U20: Mared Evans; Rhianydd Morgan, Heledd Stephens (Vice Capt), Levi Hallett, Paris Nicholas; Elinor Snowsill, Hannah Lerwill; Becky Newton, Amy Lawrence, Lowri Harries, Sian Williams, Megan Snape, Vicky Owens, Amy Thompson, Carys John (Capt)
Replacements: Issy Jones, Carys Thomas, Angharad Kent-McCormack, Lisa Newton, Yasmin Leung, Bethan Preece, Rachel Green
Canada Women U20: Dana Achtemichuk; Kayla Moleschi, Brehannah Hopgood, Liz Wilson, Britanny Sommut; Charlotte Vallieres-Villeneuve, Christina Burnham; Danika Mason, Sarah Stevens, Julie Emmerson, Laura Russell, Brittany Freitag, Mandy Mongeon, Kaitlin Richards, Jacey Murphy
Replacements: Brandi Peakpp van Eeuwen, Jessica Belchos, Martha Goodrow, Kathleen Keller, Jenna Livingston, Devanne Whitney, Karlee Corbert
