Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham has made two changes for the visit of England this Saturday in round three of the Women's Six Nations (2.15pm kick-off).
Lowri Norkett comes in on the wing to replace Carys Wiliams-Morris, who is away playing for the RAF in the Inter Services rugby championship, while Hannah Bluck replaces centre Kerin Lake in the midfield. Lake has suffered a calf injury and is being assessed.
Uncapped backrower Bryonie King comes in on the bench, which sees a six-two split, and she looks set to become Wales’ second new cap during the 2023 tournament after flanker Kate Williams, who is also named among the replacements.
Wales' powerful front row of Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones and Sisilia Tuipulotu start once again, having remained on the field for 79 minutes against Scotland last time out.
They return to the Arms Park this weekend, where a sell-out crowd of more than 8,000 fans will watch on.
Wales opened their campaign with a home 31-5 victory over Ireland in front of a then-record crowd of almost 5,000, then ground out a 34-22 win against Scotland in Edinburgh in round two. Reaping the benefits of having a full-time pro squad of 25 players compared to 12 this time last year, Wales have progressed hugely in recent months but face an acid test against reigning champions England. The defending champions, who have been fully pro since 2019, top the table ahead of Wales on points difference after emphatic wins over Scotland (58-7) and Italy (68-5).
All of Wales' matchday 23 ply their club rugby in England's Premier 15s competition alongside this weekend's opponents.
Wales boss Cunningham said: “England are coming to town and there is no bigger test. The Red Roses set the benchmark for all of us in the TikTok Six Nations and around the world, and that’s why we are relishing the task ahead of us. England have been professional longer than most of the teams in the tournament and the challenge for us all is to show that we are now ready to meet that.
“We are excited by the challenge and the Welsh rugby public have shown they are too with a historic sell-out crowd at the Arms Park, our spiritual home in the Welsh capital city.
“Our performances against Ireland and Scotland have shown we can score tries, deal with adversity and show the togetherness and resilience of this Wales squad. We are now starting to see the benefit of the competition for places that has really started to show in the squad as this TikTok Six Nations campaign has progressed.
“All of the players, coaches and staff are excited to see what we can achieve and to see where we are after this game against England.”
Wales: 15. Courtney Keight, 14. Lisa Neumann, 13. Hannah Jones (capt), 12. Hannah Bluck, 11. Lowri Norkett, 10. Elinor Snowsill, 9. Keira Bevan, 1. Gwenllian Pyrs, 2. Kelsey Jones, 3. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 4. Abbie Fleming, 5. Georgia Evans, 6. Bethan Lewis, 7. Alex Callender, 8. Sioned Harries.
Replacements: 16. Carys Phillips, 17. Cara Hope, 18. Cerys Hale, 19. Natalia John, 20. Kate Williams, 21. Bryonie King, 22. Ffion Lewis, 23. Robyn Wilkins.
England: 15. Emma Sing, 14. Jess Breach, 13. Lagi Tuima, 12. Tatyana Heard, 11. Abby Dow, 10. Holly Aitchison, 9. Lucy Packer, 1. Mackenzie Carson, 2. Lark Davies, 3. Sarah Bern, 4. Zoe Aldcroft, 5. Cath O’Donnell, 6. Sadia Kabeya, 7. Marlie Packer, 8. Alex Matthews.
Replacements: 16. May Campbell, 17. Hannah Botterman, 18. Maud Muir, 19. Delaney Burns, 20. Sarah Beckett, 21. Ella Wyrwas, 22. Sarah McKenna, 23. Ellie Kildunne.
READ NEXT:
Cardiff chief makes worrying admission after losing two stars
The battle to be Wales' top region and what each team has left to play for
