Siwan Lillicrap warns against writing off Wales

Wales skipper Wales has warned against writing off her side following a defeat to New Zealand in their second game of the Rugby World Cup.

Having started the tournament with a narrow 18-15 win over Scotland, Wales had a tough outing against the Black Ferns, who ran a 10-try riot including a double apiece from Portia Woodman and Sylvia Brunt to complete a 56-12 victory.

The win also took New Zealand to the quarter-finals while Wales' fate will now depend on the result against Australia to be played at Northland Events Centre on 22nd October.

“Don’t write us off, we are fighting for those quarter-final spaces it’s a huge game next week (against Australia) and we will recover quickly and we will move forward to that game quickly,” said Lillicrap.

“We are seeing glimpses of what this side is capable of, we haven’t seen a rounded performance yet.

"We are new in the journey, we are new to professional rugby, we have been working hard and I think you can see that.”

Lillicrap also highlighted the areas they need to improve ahead of a vital clash against the Wallaroos.

“Our set-piece was really dominant today. Our pack did exceptionally well in that area,” said the Wales captain.

“Lineouts, driving mauls, scrums there was a lot of penalties there. We didn’t capitalise on the opportunities in that area and didn’t front up physically enough in that area. Credit to the Black Ferns they put everything at us.