Welcome to the first of a weekly series designed to give you all the expertise and insight you need to play our Fantasy Women's Rugby World Cup.
Free to play and with great prizes on offer, plus the chance to set-up your own games with family and friends as well as challenging the global leaderboard, get involved now!
Elinor Snowsill made a remarkable 15 appearances for Wales across four Women's Rugby World Cups (2010-2021) so, naturally we asked the Welsh legend to open our fantasy World Cup preview.
As she revealed her Fantasy team (see below and please note this team was selected before all nations had unveiled their match-day squads) Snowsill shared the expert reasoning behind some key selections as well as some insights on her remarkable career.
If you’re at a loss to pick your team - due in before the England v USA kick-off at 19:30 Friday evening - just steal Snowsill's team and pass it off as your own. Don’t worry we won’t tell.
First RWC match:
It was in 2010 in England and it was against Sweden. I’d been brought in as the youngster in the squad and I hadn’t been involved in the first three matches. I was played at fullback and I was very nervous and spent the game hoping nobody would breakthrough.
I can’t remember much from the game itself but I remember the experience as a whole. For the first time ever in my life I was in a position where I was surrounded by the best rugby players in the world. We set-up a kit swap in our apartment block. I traded my green hoodie for Carla Hohepa’s (New Zealand's two-time RWC winner) playing shorts and socks. I still wear those shorts.
Best performance you’ve seen first hand:
Last World Cup in New Zealand we ended up having to play New Zealand twice and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (below at RWC 2021) was absolutely unbelievable. A lot of the hard work got done in the middle and they had Ruahei Demant at fly-half bringing the backs in but when the ball got to Portia you knew it was pretty much game over.
The best ball carriers, like Portia, accelerate into contact and get more aggressive as they go into contact whereas others might slow down or accept contact. It’s her aggression coupled with that physicality which makes her so great.
Favourite RWC game you’ve played in:
In 2014 we played against South Africa and we needed four tries to get through. I’ve never in my life gone for a drop goal and I went for one and kicked it over and I think that was the only drop goal in that World Cup. Then towards the end we got the four tries we needed and it was just a really enjoyable game to be a part of. It was physical, competitive but obviously we came out on the winning side.
Tell us about Keira Bevan (wales starting scrum-half) and Alex Callendar (Wales number eight and captain):
The three top scrum-halves in the world are Pauline Bourdon Sansus (FRA), Natasha Hunt (ENG), and Keira. Keira kicking at posts makes a difference when you’re going for a fantasy team. But she’s got a really good kicking game in open play and that keeps back threes honest and that opens up space in the defensive line. She’s got really good at running support lines as well and she’s always there for try scoring opportunities plus she punches well above her weight defensively.
Alex just leads from the front with a load of passion and a load of calon (heart in Welsh). She gets through a load of work in carries, tackles, jackal turnovers and you always get 100 per cent from Al. She’s an inspirational leader and when you’ve got someone like her on the pitch running around, overtaking you, and chopping anyone around her it just lifts the whole team.
How about Ruahei Demant (New Zealand's starting fly-half):
She’s a lot more than a distributor. Her strength is playing right on the gain line and using her strength to get through and get the offload away. Teams are then on the backfoot and a lot of New Zealand’s awesome play comes from her initial breaks. She has amazing ball carrying strength and offloads but also a wise head on her shoulders and can game manage as well.
Who will be in the final:
I think England and Canada.
Who will win:
I just like a bit of an upset and I just think at the minute England are just absolutely outstanding and have the home World Cup and have the home side behind them. But if Canada can keep their whole squad I think they have a chance.
You've heard from a four-time RWC player (seen above ahead of RWC 2021) but just in case you still need some help, here are Our Top Tips:
Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (NZ) - 63.5% of you have selected her in your teams. With good reason too, she topped the charts for tries, metres gained, defenders beaten, and line breaks at RWC 2017 and did the same thing at RWC 2021. What chance a three-peat?
Rachel Johnson (USA) - Only English winger Ellie Kildunne made more metres with ball in hand than back-rower Johnson (below) at the 2024 WXV 1. A rare feat for a forward, though just 1.4% of you have her in your teams, perhaps fearful that she’ll have to breakthrough the fearsome English defence in her first match. She’ll be at home at this World Cup though, her club side are the Exeter Chiefs.
Alba Capell (SPA) - At time of writing, we don’t have the Spanish line-up, but Capell should be in it. She made the most dominant tackles and won the most turnovers of anyone in WXV 3 back in 2024. She plays for Sale Sharks and will be hopping across the Lancashire/Yorkshire border for Spain’s opening game against the Black Ferns which takes place in York on Sunday at 17:30. A game where Capell will be called upon to chop down some big ball carriers.
