Wales Women v Barbarians Women

Wales Women’s autumn series ended in defeat by the Barbarians despite a spirited second-half comeback.

Jo Yapp’s Baa-Baas did all the damage in the first half, running in five unanswered tries.

Wales responded through Lisa Neumann, Keira Bevan and Alex Callender but could not claw back the deficit.

The game was the first of a historic double header at Principality Stadium, with more than 12,600 fans there before the men’s game (14:45 GMT).

Under a closed roof in Cardiff, Wales went into the game with momentum having beaten Ireland, Scotland and Crawshays, but rarely left their own half in the first 40 minutes.

The Barbarians, coached by Yapp and Wales’ Rachel Taylor, were picked from 10 nations and showed the attacking flare synonymous with their brand.

The tourists opened the scoring through New Zealand’s Charmaine McMenamin. The number eight finished off a move started by a cheeky through-the-legs pass by fellow Black Fern and 2017 World Cup winner Eloise Blackwell.

They were in again straight after the restart, with Dyddgu Hywel coming out of international-level retirement to tear down the wing and score against her former Wales team-mates.

Scotland’s Lauren Harris, also persuaded to brush off her boots, latched onto a floated pass to cross for the third as pressure mounted on the home defence.

Ireland duo Jenny Murphy and Anna Caplice added their names to the scoresheet to round off a one-sided half.

Wales fight back after the break
Wales came out firing after the break, boosted by breaks from autumn debutant Paige Randall, who has been a revelation on the wing, and returning scrum-half Bevan.

But it was Neumann who found the whitewash to keep up an impressive international scoring record on the wing, holding off defenders to touch down in the tightest of spaces at the corner.

Bevan, who had been lively all match, got her reward 10 minutes from time, taking advantage of the blind-side, while Callender stole a late interception to score in front of a cheering crowd.

Despite the outcome, Wales will be encouraged by the number of new players blooded during the autumn campaign.

With head coach Rowland Phillips taking some time away, 14 players were given debuts, half of which featured in this match.

Wales coach Coach Gareth Wyatt told BBC Sport Wales:

“I’m so pleased for the group with the way they’ve conducted themselves and shown how tight they are in that second half.

“The autumn campaign is about developing depth in the squad and we’ve achieved that with three wins from five.

“It was a huge test today against some of the best players in the world, so it’s also a benchmark of where we want to get to.

“In the Six Nations we know how strong England and France are, that’s the sort of level that game today was at, and we’re going in the right direction in closing that performance gap.”

Wales: Lauren Smyth (Ospreys); Paige Randall (Cardiff Blues), Megan Webb (Cardiff Blues), Kerin Lake (Ospreys), Lisa Neumann (RGC); Elinor Snowsill (Bristol Bears), Keira Bevan (Ospreys); Gwenllian Pyrs (RGC), Kelsey Jones (Ospreys), Cerys Hale (Cardiff Blues), Natalia John (Ospreys), Gwen Crabb (Ospreys), Robyn Lock (Ospreys), Bethan Lewis (Gloucester/Dragons), Siwan Lillicrap (capt, Ospreys).

Replacements: Molly Kelly (RGC), Gwenllian Jenkins (Scarlets), Amy Evans (Swansea), Abbie Fleming (Cardiff Blues), Alex Callender (Scarlets), Ffion Lewis (Scarlets), Robyn Wilkins (Cardiff Blues), Kayleigh Powell (Ospreys).

Barbarians: Tess Gard’ner (Ponsonby & Auckland); Lauren Harris (Scotland), Ariana Hira (Kalamunda, Australia), Jenny Murphy (Old Belvedere RFC, Ireland), Dyddgu Hywel (Gloucester Hartpury, Wales); Ruahaei Demant (College Rifles, New Zealand), Brianna Miller (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue RFC, Canada); Steph Te Ohaere-Fox (capt, Christchurch RFC, New Zealand). Clara Nielson (Bristol Bears, England), Silvia Turani (Rugby Colorno, Italy), Eloise Blackwell (Eden Rugby, New Zealand), Rebecca Clough (Cotteslow, Australia), Paula Fitzpatrick (St Mary’s College RFC, Ireland), Anna Caplice (Harlequins, Ireland), Charmaine McMenamin (Ponsonby & Auckland, New Zealand).

Replacements: Sasha Acheson (Worcester Warriors, England), Saki Minami (Yokogawa Musashino Artemi-Stars, Japan), Seina Saito (Mie PEARLS, Japan), Beth Stafford (Firwood Waterloo), Alycia Washington (New York Rugby Club, Scion Rugby Academy, USA), Ashlee Byrge (San Diego Surfers, USA), Sene Naoupu (Old Belvedere RFC, Ireland), Annabel Sergeant (Old Belvedere RFC, Ireland).