Sand dunes and sumo - Wales' brutal pre-season

Hannah Jones and Kayleigh Powell power up the highest sand dune in Wales From sand dunes to shark bait sumo, Wales head coach Sean Lynn is delivering on his promise of a brutal pre-season. After a disappointing first campaignin the 2025 Women's Six Nationsthe former Gloucester-Hartpury boss made no secret of the fact he thought Wales lacked the fitness to play the brand of rugby that won him three successive league titles in England. And with a two-Test tour of Australia and the Rugby World Cup in England fast approaching, Lynn is intent on pushing players to their limits. His extended training squad reported for testing at the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) National Centre of Excellence at the start of June, the first task being the dreaded bronco runs. For those fortunate enough never to have partaken, it is a fitness test that involves timed shuttle runs over increasing distances. "We came in on day one looking at the bronco testing, it's what our lead S&C [strength and conditioning coach] wanted to measure us on," said Lynn. "It's really exciting because one of our young pathway players absolutely smashed it, and came top of the forwards league table which is really pleasing to see." Testing has not just been confined to sweltering indoor training barns. The squad headed to Merthyr Mawr on Friday where they endured the energy-zapping 'big dipper' - the largest sand dune in Wales. "When you're in these tough situations, it's about making sure that we're all in it together," said Lynn. "It's a combination of making sure that we are digging in deep and working hard for each other. "We want to be a hard team to beat." Wales wings Carys Cox and Lisa Neumann recover from one of their pre-season fitness tests As well as welcoming backprop powerhouse Sisilia Tuipulotu,Lynn has stayed true to his word by including a handful of pathway players in his 45-player squad. And they are not just there to make up the numbers with Lynn saying they are "very much in the mix" for selection this summer. "It's lovely to see thePDCs [player development centres]at the moment and you can see their fruition. "We're seeing a real big emphasis on these girls. They are not drowning, they are swimming very nicely in these waters." This video can not be played Former captain Siwan Lillicrap 'super proud' as Wales pathway starts to produce Back-row Chiara Pearce and scrum-half Seren Lockwood have both come from Wales Under-18s. "It's been challenging physically and mentally, but it's a great feeling training with all the big guns, because you see them on telly," Pearce said. "I feel confident in everything I'm doing, just because he [Lynn] is on my back saying 'you can do it, just believe in yourself, we're all here together and we're all helping you'." Lockwood added: "We are here for a reason, so it's up to us to prove ourselves now. "It's crazy to think about it, I'm 18 years old, it [selection] would be a dream, but it is in reach, I've just got to fight for it now and see what happens." It is also a first camp for loose-head prop Katherine Baverstock who said it is certainly a "step-up" from under-20s, but they "want to train well and put our names out there". While impressing the coaches, Pearce, Lockwood and Baverstock admit to being daunted by some of the senior players, especially when they do the 'shark bait' contact drill. "Basically we fight each other, it's like sumo wrestling and you've got to get each other out of the circle. It gets pretty intense," explained Baverstock. "I had Abbie Fleming, I got in the ring and I was shaking, I was like 'oh no'," said Pearce. But at the same time the young trio are more than ready to fight for shirts. "I'll have no problem putting myself in the mix and fighting for that position because I know how bad I want it," said Pearce. "They've already represented and I haven't yet." That is just the sort of healthy competition Lynn wants before he whittles the squad down to 30 players before heading down under to take on the Wallaroos in Brisbane on 26 July and then in Sydney on 1 August. Wales beat Australia for the first timein their history at Rodney Parade in a warm-up last September before succumbing to a heavy defeat at WXV2 a week later. On their return to the UK, Wales will have just over three weeks to shake off the jet lag and get ready for what promises to be the biggest ever Women's Rugby World Cup, with the 10th edition being held across eight different venues in England. Wales' opening game is against Six Nations rivals Scotland on Saturday, 23 August. Scotland v Wales:Saturday, 23 August, Salford Community Stadium,14:45 BST Canada v Wales:30 August, Salford Community Stadium, Saturday, 12:00 BST Wales v Fiji:Saturday, 6 September, Sandy Park, 14:45 BST