HENGOED’S Bethan Dainton will captain Wales against England at her club home on Saturday.

Wales head coach Tom Brindle has named a 19-strong squad for this weekend’s clash at Headingley (kick-off 12pm) with possible debuts for St Helens’ Dani McGifford and Cardiff Demons’ Olivia Williams.

Carys Marsh returns to the squad having missed the successful World Cup qualifying campaign through injury and there is also a recall for Emily Hughes, who last made an international appearance in October 2022.

Dual-code international Dainton will lead her country on the home ground of her club Leeds Rhinos having missed the corresponding fixture in 2023 through injury.

It will be the first fixture for Wales since successfully qualifying for a debut World Cup by defeating Netherlands in June, with the squad showing six changes from the historic 48-6 success.

“Facing England is always a big game for us,” said Brindle. “We’re an ambitious team and testing ourselves against one of the world’s best is key to our long-term goals.

“We’re still early in our journey as an international team, and we’ve progressed each year from our modest base.

“Qualifying for the World Cup on our first attempt was a milestone but our aim is to compete at the level of the established, professionally ran teams.

“We showed glimpses of that last year, and Saturday gives us another great opportunity to see how far we’ve come and how close we are to closing the gap.”

Wales: Leanne Burnell (Cardiff Demons), Katie Carr (Cardiff Demons), Bethan Dainton (captain, Leeds Rhinos), Lucia Davis (Cardiff Demons), Jasmine Gibbons (Cardiff Demons), Gracie Hobbs (Huddersfield Giants), Emily Hughes (London Broncos), Ffion Jenkins (Cardiff Demons), Hannah Jones (Cardiff Demons), Sara Jones (Cardiff Demons), Carys Marsh (Wigan Warriors), Dani McGifford* (St. Helens), Rhi Parker (Cardiff Demons), Ashlea Prescott (Featherstone Rovers), Amy Price (Cardiff Demons), Georgia Taylor (York Valkyrie), Meg Whittaker (Cardiff Demons), Olivia Williams (Cardiff Demons), Agnes Wood (Sheffield Eagles).

*Uncapped.