Callender and Williams return as Wales co-captains for WXV Global Series campaign

Alex Callender and Kate Williams will share the Wales Women’s captaincy across the 2026 WXV Global Series, head coach Sean Lynn confirmed on naming a 39-player squad for fixtures scheduled throughout September and October.

The pair previously co-captained Wales at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, where the side exited at the group stage. Williams then led the team alone during the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations, only to miss the final three rounds through injury herself, with Bethan Lewis stepping in as stand-in captain. Callender had been sidelined for that entire Six Nations campaign, making her return to the leadership group a notable development ahead of a demanding schedule.

Wales face home Tests against South Africa and the USA Women’s Eagles before travelling to Japan for a two-match series — opponents who, as Lynn acknowledged, all sit above Wales in the world rankings. “This WXV campaign is a formidable and exciting challenge,” he said. “Those three nations are above us in the world rankings.”

Lynn pointed to a competitive pre-season as the driving force behind a squad selection that stretches to 39 players. “This selection underlines how hard the players, coaches and staff have worked, and we are seeing competition for places really develop in the squad,” he said. “The players have really pushed each other and to witness how that is driving standards in training is the reason why we have selected the squad size we have.”

Seven uncapped players feature in the group. Amy Williams, Kelsie Webster and Stella Orrin all appeared in an uncapped fixture against the Barbarians at Allianz Stadium, while Crystal James, Elan Jones, Shanelle Williams, Megan Davey and Hanna Tudor complete the cohort of players yet to earn a senior cap.

Lynn confirmed the squad will contest a ‘Probables versus Possibles’ internal training match to assist the coaching staff with selection ahead of the opening Test against South Africa.