WALES head coach Rowland Phillips has included eight Newport Gwent Dragons in his squad for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations.

Cerys Hale, Rebecca Rowe and Meg York feature in the forwards, while Rebecca de Filippo, Sian Moore, Charlie Murray, Gemma Rowland and Elinor Snowsill are among the backs.

Phillips finalised his 32-strong party after Sunday’s warm-up victory against Ireland at Donnybrook – a result which means Wales have won four from four since Phillips took charge in 2016.

Commenting on his selection, former international Phillips said: “It’s always tough when it comes to selections because everybody has been working so hard over the past few months.

“There were plenty of tough calls but I'm confident of the process we went through to get to this point.”

Included in the squad are players recently identified in the regional programme, such as forwards Morfudd Ifans, Brea Leung and Gwenllian Pyrs, while players returning to the set-up after a short break include centre de Filippo and front row Lowri Harries.

Since the autumn, Wales have recorded wins against Scotland, the UK Armed Forces, Spain and Ireland.

And while he is pleased with the results, Phillips insists that he and his assistant coaches, Nick Wakely and Paul Young, have been focused on improving the team's overall performance.

“We’re fully aware of what the past four games have been about,” he added. “The results are an added bonus.

“The real thing for us was for the players to understand the physicality and intensity of top teams, and they certainly experienced it against Ireland.”

Now Phillips, whose daughter Carys retains the captaincy for the Six Nations, wants his squad to focus on the next challenge, their first championship match away to Italy.

Supporters can then look forward to two huge home matches at Cardiff Arms Park, against England on February 11 and Ireland on March 11 – something Phillips expects to be a fantastic occasion in the capital.

“Those two home games are significant for us as far as standard of opposition goes,” he said.

“We're hosting the world champions and Ireland, who showed us what a threat they are across the park.

“It's going to be a huge competition for us, and we saw throughout the autumn how big a difference the home support made.”

Wales Women's Six Nations squad

Forwards: Alisha Butchers (Scarlets), Mel Clay (Ospreys), Nia Elen Davies (Cardiff Blues), Amy Evans (Ospreys), Cerys Hale (Newport Gwent Dragons), Lowri Harries (Scarlets), Sioned Harries (Scarlets), Morfudd Ifans (Scarlets), Brea Leung (Scarlets), Siwan Lillicrap (Ospreys), Shona Powell-Hughes (Ospreys), Carys Phillips (c) (Ospreys), Gwenllian Pyrs (Scarlets), Rebecca Rowe (Newport Gwent Dragons), Rachel Taylor (Scarlets), Caryl Thomas (Scarlets), Meg York (Newport Gwent Dragons).

Backs: Keira Bevan (Ospreys), Elen Evans (Scarlets), Jodie Evans (Scarlets), Rebecca de Filippo (Newport Gwent Dragons), Dyddgu Hywel (Scarlets), Jasmine Joyce (Scarlets), Jessica Kavanagh-Williams (Scarlets), Kerin Lake (Ospreys), Sian Moore (Newport Gwent Dragons), Charlie Murray (Newport Gwent Dragons), Rhiannon Parker (Cardiff Blues), Gemma Rowland (Newport Gwent Dragons), Elinor Snowsill (Newport Gwent Dragons), Adi Taviner (Ospreys), Robyn Wilkins (Ospreys).