Wales Women U18s have announced an extended training squad of 42 players, which includes seven from Cardiff Rugby, ahead of the forthcoming 2024 Six Nations festival in March and April.

Crystal James, Shanelle Williams, Tilly Vucaj, Ella Fry, Seren Lockwood, Sophie Southgate and Sophia Foscolo have all been named in the extended squad.

Siwan Lillicrap, the former Wales captain and head coach of Wales U18s, has named an exciting training squad of the best young talent in the country based on players performances for clubs, regions and colleges so far this season.

The squad will meet up at the Welsh Rugby Union’s National Centre of Excellence on February 11th before heading for an intensive training camp at Christ College, Brecon. The squad will then be cut down to the 28 best players for the Six Nations festival.

The squad includes a dozen players from RGC, eight from Dragons, seven from Cardiff and six each from the Ospreys and the Scarlets. Three Welsh qualified players have also been named after being identified through the Welsh Exiles programme.

All the players selected have been identified and tracked through the WRU’s colleges and schools leagues, and the new exciting regional age-grade tournament.

Lillicrap, Wales U18s Head coach, said: ” We are excited to run an international U18s programme for the third consecutive season. We have seen a huge growth in players abilities and skill over the past season.

“The performances we have seen from regional teams and individuals within those teams has been fantastic and that is credit to the players application and commitment.

“I am very excited to work with this talented group and see how we can develop over the next couple of months ahead of the U18 Six Nations.”