Wales Women make five changes for England game

Wales head coach Rowland Phillips has made five changes for their Women's Six Nations meeting with England on Sunday.

In the home side's pack, 18-year-old flanker Alex Callender is set for her first start, after making her debut against France in the opening game of the tournament, while Mel Clay returns into the second row after recovering from a leg injury.

Callender and Clay take the places of Manon Johnes and Natalia John respectively.

Three further changes come in the back-line as the experienced Elinor Snowsill, who plays domestically for the Bristol Bears, arrives at full-back instead of Lauren Smyth who drops to the bench.

Hannah Bluck will start at inside centre and Jess Kavanagh is given the nod on the left wing.

"England are such a powerful team and that gives them attacking opportunities," said Phillips.

"It will be up to us to meet that physical challenge but it's tests like these that can make players and teams.

"Alex [Callender] has impressed coming off the bench in both our Women's Six Nations games so far and deserves a chance to start.

"We are developing a nice pool of players to select from in the back three and Elinor and Jess will no doubt put their own stamp on the game on Sunday and Hannah Bluck's physicality will give us some extra options in the centre.

"Manon Johnes and Lauren Smyth have been excellent since making their international debuts in the autumn but they are 18 and 17 and it's a case of managing their progress."

The home side go into the contest off the back of two tough matches as a heavy defeat to Frances was followed by a competitive 3-3 draw against Italy.

"We showed the strength of our team spirit and commitment in the final 10 minutes against Italy and we will need to bring the same approach and work ethic to Sunday's match," continued the head coach.

"We are determined to continue to develop as a team and compete against the best sides in the world.

"We know we still have a lot of work to do but there is a lot of momentum in our young group and in the talent coming through in Wales at the moment.

"Cardiff Arms Park is a great home for us, we are looking forward to benefiting from some vocal support from across the rugby community after two away fixtures. The players really appreciate the support, not only for them as players but for all those they represent."

Wales Women: 15. Elinor Snowsill, 14. Jasmine Joyce, 13. Hannah Jones, 12. Hannah Bluck, 11. Jess Kavanagh, 10. Robyn Wilkins, 9. Keira Bevan; 1. Caryl Thomas, 2. Carys Phillips (c), 3. Amy Evans, 4. Gwen Crabb, 5. Mel Clay, 6. Bethan Lewis, 7. Alex Callender, 8. Siwan Lillicrap.

Replacements: 16. Kelsey Jones, 17. Cara Hope, 18. Cerys Hale, 19. Natalia John, 20. Alisha Butchers, 21. Ffion Lewis, 22. Lisa Neumann, 23. Lauren Smyth.

Watch Wales Women against England Women in the Six Nations live on Sky Sports Arena and Mix from 12.25pm on Sunday.