Some 25 days after John Mitchell posted his England training squad, Sean Lynn has followed up with his Welsh version.
His caution is understandable. He has needed to watch as much of the Celtic Challenge schedule as possible.
And yet his selection has still caused disquiet among Welsh observers. We must hope Courtney Greenway’s omission is due solely to her GB 7s commitments, though the 6 Nations and SVNS Series dates don’t appear to clash.
He has added three new PWR players to the list, Meg Davey, Kendal Waudby and Nikita Prothero. The quality of the several uncapped CC players has yet to be tested.
Some senior players are recalled, though it’s quite a while since they turned a game in Cymru’s favour. Two such are Jasmine Joyce and Lisa Neumann.
Delay, delay
The late start reduces the amount of time together: two days at the end of this month, then another session in late March. Can that possibly be enough to avoid repeating a set of dire results in 2025?
The best was a 21-24 defeat to Scotland. They meet at home this time, but the Scots are likely to prove even tougher this time round.
So much needs to go right for an improved Welsh showing this year. Lynn and his assistants need to rid the squad of any sense of inferiority (no easy task); the PWR players, especially the many at Gloucester-Hartpury, really must retain their form after recrossing the Severn Bridge, and the Gwalia and Brython members must step up to prove their ability at international level.
It’s a big ask. For the sake of the nation and the overall wellbeing of the 6N championship let’s hope it all comes to pass.
Wales 6 Nations fixtures:
R1 v Scotland HOME
R2 v France HOME
R3 v England AWAY
R4 v Ireland AWAY
R5 v Italy HOME
