WALES Women will be led by interim coaches Geraint Lewis and Ioan Cunningham in a three-Test autumn series while the hunt continues for a new boss.

The duo, who are Welsh Rugby Union performance, will hold the reins after the summer exit of head coach Warren Abrahams.

They will be joined by former Scarlets attack coach Richard Whiffin and Sophie Spence will continue as a World Rugby coaching intern until the World Cup.

Wales will build towards next year’s tournament in New Zealand with clashes at Cardiff Arms Park against Japan on Sunday, November 7, South Africa on Saturday, November 13 and Canada on Sunday, November 21.

The national side haven’t won a game for two years and WRU performance director Nigel Walker has responsibility for turning around their fortunes.

“The women’s performance programme is one of my top priorities at present as I look forward to getting stuck into this exciting role,” he said.

“The search has begun for a new Wales Women head coach but we are also confident we have the right team to support the players this autumn as they start to build towards next autumn’s rearranged Rugby World Cup.”

Cunningham led the male Wales Under-20s team in this summer’s rearranged Six Nations and joined his fellow coaches to lead a three-day training camp last weekend.

He said, “I’m super-excited to come on board on a full-time basis and work with our female Welsh talent.

“Last weekend was excellent, we’ve put some foundations in place for the autumn which is just around the corner and with next year’s Women’s Six Nations and Rugby World Cup in mind.

“We have been very pleased with the performances of Welsh players in the Allianz Premier 15s.

“The players are testing each other week after week in high-intensity games so that when they play Test rugby they can deliver at a high level. Competition drives standards and that’s what we want.”

Siwan Lillicrap will continue to lead the charge for Wales from the back row and the Bristol forward believes tough games over the border can help produce improved performances this autumn.

She said: “It’s been good to be back together, we set some baseline standards on the weekend for the next 12 months and we are embracing what this coaching team is bringing to the group.

“We have a good blend of autumn games to be excited about. They will challenge us and provide good preparation for the year ahead.

“It will be great to welcome supporters back to home games at the Arms Park. Many of our players have been making their presence known for their clubs recently and we want to show what we can do in front of a Welsh crowd.

“We should all have played five league games in by the time autumn comes around, so we will be well-prepared.”