Keira Bevan will captain Wales for the first time in her career against Scotland in their pre-WXV2 warm-up friendly in Edinburgh on Friday evening.

Scrum half Bevan, 27, will lead a young Wales side, with three potential debutants on the bench.

Prop Maisie Davies, hooker Rosie Carr, and lock Alaw Pyrs – younger sister of loosehead prop Gwellian – are all in line for first caps.

Gwellian and Alaw Pyrs will be the first sisters to play for Wales since twins Claire and Louise Horgan back in 2008.

Many changes for Wales

Elsewhere in the squad, Alisha Butchers is set to win her 50th cap off the bench, while highly rated number eight Gwennan Hopkins is in line for her first start for Wales.

There are nine changes in total from Wales’ 52-20 victory over Spain, that sealed World Cup qualification.

Jasmine Joyce-Butchers returns after featuring in a third Olympic Games, while a number of experienced players sit out.

Captain Hannah Jones, Carys Phillips, Alex Callender, Abbie Fleming, Georgia Evans, Kayleigh Powell, and Courtney Keight are all not involved.

“It’s the start of a new season and we know we need to expose more players to the demands and intensity of Test match rugby,” added Cunningham.

“As coaches and staff, we know we need to build the squad’s depth and need competition for places.

“We have given some new players who have impressed in training and in the Under-20 Six Nations an opportunity to show what they can do at the highest level.”

Captain Bevan

“Keira, firstly, is a very experienced player, and she’s a bit of a heartbeat for us in our group,” said Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham.

“We do want to grow that and share that leadership.

“Keira is close to the action, whether she’s in between the forwards and the backs. She’s come back from the summer and trained really well, and we want to give her that chance to lead.”

‘Exciting’ Young Talent

Cunningham gave high praise to the three debutants, set to make their international bows from the bench on Friday evening.

“Alaw Pyrs is playing, Gwenny P’s sister, so that’s a great one for the family,” Cunningham said.

“If they all get on the field together, they’ve done extremely well in our pathway, in our under 20s, we went to it to be watched them in the summer in Parma.

“Alaw [Pyrs] is a big athletic second row that brings us something different.

“Similar with Maisie Davis. Maisie is a converted back rower to loose head prop, and she’s done brilliantly over the last nine months to convert, and she loves the physical side of the game, and we’re excited to see their development over the next month into the next year.

“Rosie Carr, too, we’ve been keen to see what she can contribute at this level.

“And then the younger ones who had exposure during the Six Nation: Gwennan Hopkins, Sian Jones, Molly Reardon, Cath Richards as well on the wing. All exceptional young talent, young talented players who need that exposure and more time to grow in the jersey.”

Injury Returns To Boost Competition

As well as the new faces in the squad, lock Gwen Crabb and centre Meg Webb are also making their return to international rugby after long injury lay-offs.

“We’ll see how they go,” said Cunningham, aware that the team will have to managed their returns.

“But obviously it’s great to see them both back. They’ve both done a great job to come back from long periods off.

“And like I said, it’s a great opportunity for them to put their hands up this weekend with the squad of 30 that we have to pick for South Africa.

“Competition drives standards, and we want to give people exposure to make sure that other people have to stay on top of the game, because someone else will take their shirt if they don’t. That’s the competitiveness we want in this group.”

Clean Slate After Disappointing 2023/24 Season

Cunningham was keen to stress that his squad have drawn a ‘line in the sand’ after a disappointing last 12 months, that yielded just two wins, against Spain and Italy.

“We’ve spoken about last season but it’s a brand new season for us now,” Cunningham said.

“Season 23/24 as finished, we’re now looking forward to season 24/25 and the World Cup is less than a year away.

“This is a new start for us, with a line in the sand, and I’m looking to build off the back of two wins, Italy and Spain, and hopefully carry that momentum forward.”

Teams:

Wales: 15. Jenny Hesketh, 14. Catherine Richards, 13. Meg Webb, 12. Kerin Lake, 11. Jasmine Joyce, 10. Robyn Wilkins, 9. Keira Bevan (capt); 1. Gwenllian Pyrs, 2. Molly Reardon, 3. Sisilia Tuipulotu, 4. Natalia John, 5. Gwen Crabb, 6. Bethan Lewis, 7. Kate Williams, 8. Gwennan Hopkins

Replacements: 16. Rosie Carr, 17. Maisie Davies, 18. Donna Rose, 19. Alaw Pyrs, 20. Alisha Butchers, 21. Sian Jones, 22. Lleucu George, 23. Nel Metcalfe

Scotland: 15. Chloe Rollie, 14. Coreen Grant, 13. Emma Orr, 12. Meryl Smith, 11. Francesca McGhie, 10. Helen Nelson (vice-captain), 9. Mairi McDonald; 1. Leah Bartlett, 2. Lana Skeldon, 3. Christine Belisle, 4. Fi McIntosh, 5. Sarah Bonar, 6. Rachel Malcolm (captain), 7. Alex Stewart, 8. Evie Gallagher

Replacements: 16. Elis Martin, 17. Anne Young, 18. Elliann Clarke, 19. Louise McMillan, 20. Eva Donaldson, 21. Jade Konkel, 22. Leia Brebner-Holden, 23. Lucia Scott

---

If you want to read more pieces from Sportin Wales, why not read to our monthly magazine here or subscribe to the magazine and newsletter at https://sportin.wales/subscribe/.

You can also keep track of our pieces on our socials at @Sportin_Wales on X, Sportin Wales on Instagram and Facebook.