Key events
18 min: Wales have another lineout in England territory. They need to make the most of one of these, they had a strong start but obviously the last 10 minutes have been dominated by England.
TRY! England 12-3 Wales
England utilise their power from the lineout and force their way over â itâs Zoe Aldcroft who eventually dots it down! On her 50th cap as well. This time, Holly Aitchison makes no mistake with the conversion.
14 min: England have a penalty and they opt for a lineout deep in the Wales half. Packer is trying to force an opening and â¦
12 min: England seeking openings now in the Wales defence. A threat but the visitors handle it well and George kicks it out of play.
11 min: A Wales lineout comes down at an awkward angle and Sian Jones cannot gather it. Thatâs a bit messy and we have another scrum.
TRY! England 5-3 Wales
A magnificent run from Abby Dow, showing her pace and jinking skills. Wales eventually stop her but Maud Muir gets the try. The conversion hits the post. Itâs just a two-point lead for the hosts.
6 min: Wales lead 3-0! Lleucu George kicks a penalty from in front of the posts. Deserved for their early pressure.
3 min: A Wales lineout deep in England territory. Itâs stolen by England however thereâs a knock-on by Tatyana Heard. A scrum. Positive start for Wales, this.
2 min: Composed start from Wales, they are passing the ball around nicely early on. Englandâs defence looks solid.
Wales kick-off! We are under way.
Iâm no expert, but the Wales XV sang the anthem gloriously there. England maybe a little more sotto in their approach. Wales win the anthem-off. Is that the real quiz?
The players are walking on to the pitch to an impressive ovation. The sun is shining in Bristol, despite forecasts of rain! The anthems are coming up.
âA big test but one weâre looking forward to,â insists Wales coach Cunningham. He will certainly hope for a better display than against Italy and that Lleucu George isnât too shaken by that late missed conversion. Sheâs a gifted fly-half and Wales need her at her best. Sian Jones, playing at just 19 years old, is also in a sink-or-swim situation.
England coach Mitchell is warning of a âdisruptiveâ Wales display pre-match. Heâs also discussing how Jame George came into the camp this week to help preparations.
Heâs said heâd like greater linkup overall between the England menâs and womenâs teams and Marlie Packer thought the crossover was of benefit. âThe girls really enjoyed it,â the skipper said. âWe donât want to force it because the men have their own programmes, the same as us, so the timing needs to be right for both.â
Ashton Gate will contain 18,000+ supporters this afternoon â the Red Roses largest ever home crowd outside of Twickenham. Itâs boosted by plenty of Wales fans coming over the bridge, of course. An ideal location, especially as this is one of the eight World Cup venues for 2025. A good dress rehearsal in Bristol.
News from Edinburgh: Scotland 5-15 France. Scotlandâs seven-game winning streak is over, but they put up a real battle and led France 5-3 at half-time. Tries from Kelly Arbey and Ãmeline Gros helped France fightback to victory after Scotland hooker Elis Martin had nabbed a try on her first start.
Wales team
A huge blow for Wales is the absence of Jasmine Joyce, the wing ruled out by a hamstring strain. They will surely miss the Sale starâs quality and electric pace.
Lisa Neumann takes her spot and his some big and speedy boots to fill. Sian Jones is picked at scrum half, while Carys Cox is on the left wing. Donna Rose and Carys Phillips come into the front row; Georgia Evans and Kate Williams start in the pack.
A late change on the bench for Wales as well, Nel Metcafle unavailable through injury.
Wales XV: Hesketh; Neumann, Jones, Lake, Cox; George, Jones; Pyrs, Phillips, Rose, Fleming, Evans, Williams, Callender, Lewis.
Replacements: Reardon, Constable, Tuipulotu, John, Butchers, Bevan, Powell, Keight.
England team
No Emily Scarratt as she is rested, a planned absence as sheâs being eased back after injury â but any side will miss a player of such excellence.
Abbie Ward also starts on the bench but the lock Zoe Aldcroft retains her place and wins her 50th cap for England. âZoe is a massive competitor. Sheâs like a little springer spaniel in training! When she speaks, the girls listen,â praised the captain, Marlie Packer this week (to be fair, if a springer spaniel spoke, I would 100% listen). âEveryone knows sheâs world class in everything she does and how she goes about her business.â
Packer also starts, winning her 101st cap, while Megan Jones and Tatyana Heard come in and form a new partnership in the centre.
England XV: Kildunne; Dow, Jones, Heard, Breach; Aitchison, Hunt; Botterman, Atkin-Davies, Muir, Aldcroft, Galligan, Kabeya, Packer (capt), Matthews.
Replacements: Powell, Carson, Clifford, Ward, Feaunati, Packer, Harrison, Gregson.
Preamble
England welcome Wales to Ashton Gate with the visitors smarting after a narrow, home defeat by Scotland in their opener. They missed a late chance to at least level the scores, but did not start that match well and will now be aiming to get stuck into the team whoâve won the last five Six Nations.
The hosts this afternoon thrashed Italy 48-0 in their opener but it was not all as fluent as that scoreline suggests. There were first-half handling and that red card for Sarah Beckett which meant they played the vast majority of the game with 14 (and briefly 13) players.
Both sides have made seven changes to their starting lineups but John Mitchell, in his second game in charge of England, will still hope for a quicker, slicker display from the start. Ioan Cunningham will want his Wales team to show their power, exploit any issues in the England lineout and be a thorn in the Red Rosesâ side.
It all kicks off at 4.45pm! Teams and updates will follow.
