Wales women’s rugby captain Mel Berry has been named in the centre for this weekend’s clash with Scotland in the surprise change among five others in the Welsh starting line. Berry (pictured), who has predominantly played at number 8 for her country, will line out in the middle alongside Ceri Redman.
Wales coach Jason Lewis has made five changes in all, following his teams 31-0 defeat to England last Saturday.
Berry is replacing centre Clare Flowers who has been forced out with a shoulder injury. At scrumhalf , Laura Prosser starts in place of Amy Day and in the pack, Becky Newton will make her first 6 Nations start at hooker, with Jenny Davies switched from hooker to tight head prop. Rachel Taylor moves from second row to no 8 to fill the gap left by Mel Berry and Claire Donovan comes in at lock.
Lewis said, "We were disappointed with the score against England but pleased with elements of our performance. We will be looking to kick start our Six Nations campaign with a good performance and a good result this weekend.
"Scotland will be full of confidence after their 10-8 victory over France last weekend and will be looking for another scalp so we will have to be on our toes to meet the challenge.
"With Clare Flowers out injured we opted to switch Mel Berry to the centre rather than re-jigging the backline. Mel has the skills and ability to play at centre and we are blessed with options at lock and back row. It's a great opportunity for Becky Newton to start at hooker and good to see Rhian Bowden back on the bench after injury. We are still looking at various combinations and we hope that a good home crowd will give us an extra boost on Sunday."
Wales team to play Scotland:
Non Evans, Aimee Young, Ceri Redman, Mellissa Berry, Caryl James, Awen Thomas, Laura Prosser, Catrin Edwards Becky Newton, Jenny Davies, Gemma Hallett, Claire Donovan, Catrina Nicholas, Jamie Kift, Rachel Taylor
Replacements: Rhian Bowden, Claire Horgan, Louise Horgan Lisa Newton, Amy Day, Elinor Snowsill, Mared Evans