Lleucu George to make Wales debut against Japan
Wales head coach Rowland Phillips has made a total of nine changes for the upcoming Women's Rugby World Cup clash against Hong Kong scheduled to be played in Dublin on Thursday.
Flanker Lleucu George is set to make his debut for Wales at the age of 17 and will start at blindside. Jodie Evans, Robyn Wilkins, Siwan Lillicrap and Shona Powell-Hughes all have been handed their first start in the tournament while Jasmine Joyce and Keira Bevan make a return at wing and scrum-half respectively.
"We've surpassed many people's expectations in terms of our performances against two of the world's best teams, but we are always looking to improve standards," Phillips said.
"We are not content with just putting up a fight. We're working towards winning big games.
"Our commitment and improvement was there for everyone to see against Canada. We pushed a very good team all the way, and we've got to take inspiration from that.
"The main thing now is to keep up that momentum in this competition, starting with Hong Kong. They will be out to prove a point against us, and we won't be taking them lightly."
Both the teams are already out of the top four contention after losing both the games so far but a win on Thursday will help them compete in the play-offs for 5th to 8th.
Wales squad to face Hong Kong:
Jodie Evans, Jasmine Joyce, Gemma Rowland, Robyn Wilkins, Jess Kavanagh-Williams, Elinor Snowsill, Keira Bevan, Cerys Hale, Carys Phillips, Meg York, Siwan Lillicrap, Mel Clay, Lleucu George, Sioned Harries, Shona Powell-Hughes
Replacements: Kelsey Jones, Gwenllian Pyrs, Caryl Thomas, Rebecca Rowe, Rachel Taylor, Sian Moore, Elen Evans, Dyddgu Hywel
