Wales Happy With Underdogs Tag For France Test
Wales host France at the Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday hoping to win their first game in this years Six Nations.
The home side haven’t beaten France since 2016 and have lost each of their last six games in all competitions.
After a 36-5 defeat in Ireland last Saturday, Wales’ Carys Cox said she and her teammates were “hurting” and face a tough task this weekend against a French side who beat New Zealand in last years’ WXV1.
Wales’ back three player Courtney Keight said her side have “drawn a line in the sand” following the defeat to Ireland.
“We’ve got two matches to put the things right we didn’t against Ireland,” said Keight.
“We haven’t put our best foot forward, ultimately we want to show what we can do as a team because we are a very good team but haven’t put our best performances in yet.
“France are a very physical team, they’re going to pressurise us with a lot of line speed, it’s about balancing how we play and where we play.
“We know we’re the underdogs going into this weekend, France are a fantastic team but we’re fantastic as underdogs and perform well under that pressure so I think we can put the performance in we’ve wanted to and we’re confident we’ll do that.”
Keight started all five of Wales’ games in last years Six Nations but suffered an ACL injury in training for Bristol Bears’ Premiership play-off semi-final which meant she missed the WXV1.
Capable of playing both full back and winger, she made her comeback in a Welsh jersey off the bench against England alongside Bristol and Wales teammate Kayleigh Powell and is loving the opportunity to be back in the red of Wales.
“Tearing my ACL was tough, as it is for any professional sportsperson,” said Keight.
“It makes you step back and focus on other things outside of rugby, but I’ve enjoyed getting back to where I was pre-injury.
“It makes you stronger as teammates, going through the tough times together.
“Kayleigh and I both got our first cap back from ACL injury against England and it’s nice to have that relationship with someone who knows what you’re going through and someone who understands it as well.”
Powell and Keight have both worn the 15 jersey for Wales in the past but the current incumbent is another Bristol player in the form of 21-year-old Jenny Hesketh.
Wales are spoilt for choice at fullback with fellow squad members Jasmine Joyce, Nel Metcalfe and Niamh Terry all capable of playing at fullback, Keight believes the competition for places will spur them on.
“We’ve got a lot of strength in depth in the squad which is a fantastic thing,” said Keight.
“It excites me to see a lot of young girls coming through showing what they can do, playing rugby from such a young age and their skillset is fantastic.
“We’re enjoying learning from each other, we’re very different players, I would say I’m more of a power back three, get go-forward more than I would kick or use my footwork to beat a player.
“It’s good having different players to learn from and it’s competitive but we all know how we play and communicate, it’s working really well in training and we know each other’s strengths which helps as well.”
