Wales coach Jason Lewis has warned his players they will need to be on their guard against a Scotland side who will be looking to build on a shock victory over France in the RBS Women's Six Nations last weekend.
Scotland snatched a 10-8 victory with Lucy Millard's try in the dying seconds at Lasswade against a French outfit they will meet against in the pool stages of Women's Rugby World Cup 2010 in August.
A Scotland team arriving for Sunday's match at the Brewery Field in Bridgend on a high after a significant victory adds to the expectation on Wales as they look to bounce back from a 31-0 loss to defending champions England on the opening weekend.
Lewis has made five changes - two of them positional - from that loss with captain Mellissa Berry moving from the back row to inside centre to fill the gap left by Clare Flowers' shoulder injury.
"We were disappointed with the score against England but pleased with elements of our performance," admitted Lewis, whose side beat Scotland 31-10 in Edinburgh last season.
No one-off wins for Scotland
"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."
His Scotland counterpart Gary Parker has understandably get faith with the players who upset France, but was also quick to point out that the victory must be a platform to keep making strides forward as the World Cup approaches.
"The attitude and commitment of all the players over the French weekend was outstanding, and this has to be used as a springboard, for us all, as players and coaches, to drive forward our standards and expectations.
"We can't be happy just to win the odd big game once in a while. We need to show an urgency to succeed at all times."
Ireland target historic win
France will also be looking to kick-start their season and banish the memories of last weekend's loss when they face Ireland at the Stade des Allees in Blois pm Friday evening.
Ireland, who overcame a spirited Italian side 22-5 in their opening match, will have other ideas as they seek to claim a first ever win on French soil, having broken their duck in the head-to-head with a 7-5 victory in Dublin last year.
Coach Kevin West has made five changes to his line-up with the experienced trio of Orla Brennan, Amy Davis and Sinead Ryan making their first appearances of the Championship
Gillian Bourke and Caroline Mahon make the step up from the bench to form a quintet which boasts more than 60 caps between them to provide valuable experience for the tricky encounter against France.
England's quest for a record fifth successive Women's Six Nations title takes them to the Stadio Nando Capra in Noceto, near Parma, to face an Italian side who will have drawn confidence from their performance against Ireland.
Italy, the only side in the Six Nations who will not be playing at Women's Rugby World Cup after failing to qualify, spent prolonged periods camped in Ireland's half but were unable to turn possession into points.
They will face an even sterner test on Saturday against an England side showing a number of changes as coach Gary Street looks to give other players a chance to put their hand up for World Cup selection.
Opportunities to impress
Rochelle Clark makes her first start since the Nations Cup last August, while Tamara Taylor and Jane Leonard also come into the pack and Alice Richardson and Michaela Staniford take their place in the backline.
Amber Penrith and Fran Matthews have both been named on the bench after impressive performances for England A against the Nomads, while some of those who played against Wales will turn out for the A side against Spain this weekend.
"I have made several changes after some really good individual performances for both England and England A at the weekend," said Street. "At the same time I want to give as many players in our Elite Squad the chance to show me what they can do ahead of the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup.
"Fran Matthews was without doubt the stand out player of the whole weekend and really has earned her place in the 22. It just shows that if you do well for the A's there is an opportunity for every player in this squad to get into the seniors.
"Having analysed the game against Wales further I am even more pleased with that performance. Considering the players hadn't had much match action since November, our game control was brilliant.
"We need to tidy up on some of our technical areas but that was certainly a good platform to build on and that is what we intend to do this weekend."
Match
WALES: 1. Catrin Edwards 2. Becky Newton 3. Jenny Davies 4. Gemma Hallett 5. Claire Donovan 6. Catrina Nicholas 7. Jamie Kift 8. Rachel Taylor 9. Laura Prosser 10. Awen Thomas 11. Caryl James 12. Mellissa Berry (Captain)13. Ceri Redman 14. Aimee Young 15. Non Evans.
Replacements: 16. Rhian Bowden 17. Claire Horgan 18. Louise Horgan 19. Lisa Newton 20. Amy Day 21. Elinor Snowsill 22. Mared Evans.
SCOTLAND: 1. Heather Lockhart 2. Sarah-Louise Walker 3. Beth Dickens 4. Lindsey Wheeler 5. Louise Moffat 6. Lynne Reid (Captain) 7. Donna Kennedy 8. Susie Brown 9. Louise Dalgliesh 10. Tanya Griffith 11. Veronica Fitzpatrick 12. Erin Kerr 13. Lucy Millard 14. Victoria Blakebrough 15. Celia Hawthorn.
Replacements: 16. Sarah Quick 17. Rosalind Murphy 18. Gillian McCord 19. Ruth Slaven 20. Sarah Gill 21. Lynsey Douglas 22. Cara D'Silva.
FRANCE: 1. Stéphanie Loyer 2. Cyndia Mansard 3. Céline Barthelemy 4. Hasna Rhamouni 5. Cyrielle Bouisset 6. Amandine Vaupre 7. Marie-Charlotte Hebel 8. Sandra Rabier (Captain), 9. Stéphanie Provost 10. Aurélie Bailon 11. Fanny Horta 12. Lucille Godiveau 13. Sandrine Agricole 14. Caroline Ladagnous 15. Elodie Poublan.
Replacements: 16. Laetitia Salles 17. Nadège Labbey 18. Manon André 19. Lucie Canal 20. Marie-Alice Yahé 21. Christelle Le Duff 22. Anaïs Lagougine
IRELAND: 1. Fiona Coghlan (Captain) 2. Gillian Bourke 3. Emer McManamly 4. Caroline Mahon 5. Marie Louise Reilly 6.Orla Brennan 7. Sinead Ryan 8. Joy Neville 9. Tania Rosser 10. Joanne O'Sullivan11. Alison Miller 12. Shannon Houston 13. Grace Davitt 14. Amy Davis 15. Niamh Briggs.
Replacements: 16. Chris Fanning 17. Lauren Day 18. Kate O'Loughlin 19. Claire Molloy 20. Louise Beamish 21. Helen Brosnan 22. - Nora Stapleton.
ITALY: 1. Elisa Cucchiella 2. Silvia Peron 3. Lucia Gai 4. Sara Pettinelli 5. Daniela Gini 6. Giuliana Campanella 7. Michela Este 8. Silvia Gaudino 9. Michela Tondinelli 10. Veronica Schiavon 11. Maria Diletta Veronese 12. Paola Zangirolami 13. Maria Grazia Cioffi 14. Sara Barattin 15. Manuela Furlan.
Replacements: 16. Maria Beatrice Denza 17. Alice Trevisan 18. Cristina Molic 19. Cecilia 20. Valentina Schiavon 21. Silvia Pizzati 22. Elisa Rochas.
ENGLAND: 1. Rochelle Clark 2. Amy Garnett 3. Claire Purdy 4. Rebecca Essex 5. Tamara Taylor 6. Heather Fisher 7. Jane Leonard 8. Catherine Spencer (Captain) 9. La Toya Mason 10. Alice Richardson 11. Fiona Pocock 12. Rachael Burford 13. Emily Scarratt 14. Michaela Staniford 15. Claire Allan
Replacements: 16. Samantha Reeve 17. Sophie Hemming 18. Joanna McGilchrist 19. Maggie Alphonsi 20. Katy McLean 21. Francesca Matthews 22. Amber Penrith.
