Wales international Abbie Fleming will captain the side at lock for Round 1 in the pilot season of the cross-border competition and fellow Rugby World Cup forward Kat Evans starts at hooker. Lauren Smyth, who has 12 Wales caps, the most recent coming against France and Ireland in 2020, gets the nod at outside-half alongside Niamh Tinman at scrum-half.
Starting tighthead prop Danielle Dinapoli and full-back Leanne Burnell have trained with Wales squads in the past but aren’t yet capped.
There are five Pontyclun Falcons in the starting line-up with two more on the bench and six players in the matchday squad representing Cardiff Met. Gwennan Hopkins, starting at blindside flanker and Jenna De Vera, inside centre both captained Wales U18 last season, while replacement prop Dali Hopkins also represented Wales in the inaugural U18 Six Nations festival.
Mike Hill said, “We are all excited about the opportunity we have this weekend to put into practice on the field what we have been working on over the past few weeks. The whole experience of travelling, preparing for and competing against cross-border opposition will be invaluable for everyone involved.
“We’ve picked a real mix of exciting youngsters alongside some more experienced club and international players. All the selected players have really put their hands up for selection in training and merit their place in this first game of the campaign.
“Abbie (Fleming) is someone who always commits 100% and leads by her actions on and off the field. She has been great in the environment over the past month and shown great leadership within the forwards and the rest of the team. She fully deserves the captain’s armband for this game.”
WRU Development XV v Thistles:
15 Leanne Burnell (Pontyclun Falcons)
14 Amelia Tutt (Loughborough Lightening)
13 Catherine Richards (Cardiff Met)
12 Jenna De Vera (Scarlets U18s/ Burry Port)
11 Anwen Owen (Nelson Belles / Bristol Bears)
10 Lauren Smyth (Bristol Bears)
9 Niamh Tinman (Pontyclun Falcons/ Cardiff Met);
1 Rosie Carr (Pontyclun Falcons/ Cardiff Met)
2 Kat Evans (Saracens)
3 Danielle Dinapoli (Cheltenham Tigers)
4 Charlie Mundy (Pontyclun Falcons)
5 Abbie Fleming (capt, Exeter Chiefs)
6 Gwennan Hopkins (Hartpury College)
7 Katie Hopkins (Pontyclun Falcons)
8 Mel Gnojek (Seven Sisters)
Replacements:
16 Tara Finnegan (Pontyclun Falcons)
17 Dali Hopkins (Ospreys U18s/ Greyhounds)
18 Abbey Constable (Gloucester Hartpury / Cheltenham Tigers)
19 Ffion Owen (Pontyclun Falcons / Cardiff Met)
20 Kira Philpott (Llandaff North)
21 Seren Singleton (Cardiff Met)
22 Chelsea Jones (Nelson Belles)
23 Danai Mugabe (Cardiff Met)
