WALES coach Tom Brindle has hailed the experience that both Paige Travis and Tayla Preston will add to his squad as they prepare to make their World Cup debut.
Travis and Preston were the eye-catching names in the 23-player squad announced last week with St Helens’ Travis switching allegiance from England, while Preston is the current captain of NRLW side Canterbury Bulldogs.
Travis earned the last of her nine England caps – including two appearances at the last World Cup of 2022 – in the Las Vegas defeat to Australia in March 2025, before spending the rest of that year in the NRLW with Parramatta Eels, playing eleven times, before returning to Saints this year.
Alongside Preston, who qualifies through her Welsh maternal grandfather, young North Queensland Cowboys winger Sian Williams adds further NRLW experience.
“Paige and Tayla in particular bring a level of experience that will be invaluable for the rest of the squad,” said Brindle.
“They are both leaders on and off the field, have competed at the highest level and that sort of talent will definitely boost us in certain areas and add something to the girls who maybe aren’t quite as experienced at the top level.
“Paige will be the only player with World Cup experience with our squad, so she understands what this tournament will be like. Tayla has similar experiences through their Magic Weekends travelling for games, while girls like Bethan (Dainton), Ffion (Lewis) and Hannah (Bluck) have similar experiences in other sports.
“We’ve got a good mix of people that have won and can win games, so we can go out there, be competitive and hopefully put our best foot forward.”
