Are Wales going into the Six Nations undercooked?

Sisilia Tuipuluto returns having missed the last Six Nations through injury

• Published14 minutes ago
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With the countdown on for the 2026 Women's Six Nations, are Wales' players going into the tournament battle-hardened or undercooked?

Analysis of weekly line-ups in Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR), suggests the latter.

Team sheets in England's top flight are again worryingly sparse of Welsh talent, a concern as Sean Lynn's side look to avoid a third consecutive wooden spoon.

Only a few players, the likes of Lleucu George and Carys Cox, seem to be getting regular starts while most are having to settle for places on the bench.

Sisilia Tuipulotu is an impact prop at Gloucester-Hartpury, but says she still feels prepared going into Wales opener against Scotland on Saturday (16:40 BST).

"To be honest, I'm happy. Even though I might not be playing or getting the minutes that I want, I'm still training against the best in the league," Tuipulotu said.

"I'm still scrummaging against the best, I'm still learning, even though I might be getting 20 minutes off the bench."

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Celtic Challenge standards

Some players are not even making the matchday 23 at their clubs. Lisa Neumann started every game at the World Cup, but has barely had a look in at Harlequins.

And that is where the Celtic Challenge has come in.

Lynn has 25 players from the cross-border tournament in his Six Nations squad, and while concerns have been raised over standards, he is confident they are ready for the the demands of Test rugby.

"If you look at the semi-finals, you're playing against very good Irish teams who have pretty much got full internationals players in their set-up," said Lynn.

"The work we have been doing is getting these players in on a Monday night and Tuesday day to make sure that we can be battle-hardened, robust, and moving the mark for our fitness as well.

"I would say we're in a much better place."

Whether Wales are in a better place will be determined at Principality Stadium where Celtic rivalries will once again be renewed with Scotland.

Guinness Women's Six Nations

11 April to 17 May

Watch every match live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app; listen to match commentaries on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and BBC Sounds; follow live text and match highlights online

A need for perspective

Giving her assessment ahead of the Six Nations, former Wales captain Philippa Tuttiett said she could "see the benefits" of the Celtic Challenge" but "it was "nowhere near the PWR standard."

"It will be a shock for some of the players who have only played Celtic Challenge to then step up and play against international teams," she said.

"But when you're talking about undercooked you have to put some perspective on it. Are Wales undercooked in comparison to England, where pretty much every player is playing week-in week-out in the PWR? Yes.

"But are they undercooked in comparison to Italy, Scotland, Ireland? No. They're probably getting the same amount of game time experience as those other nations.

"It's not ideal, but we've got to have some perspective on the rationale of where we're comparing ourselves to. Hopefully the Celtic Challenge will evolve to be a brilliant tournament, but at the moment it is still in its development stage."

Related topics

• Welsh Rugby
• Rugby Union