by Joe Mansfield
MARK Hutton’s side will be looking for a positive start to the season as they open their campaign at home to Southampton.
There wasn’t much to separate the two sides last season as the pair finished the year in third and fourth with USW edging the south England side.
Under the leadership of captain Freya Jones last season, USW came off better in both head to head clashes with Southampton. The Welsh side and new captain Keely Ward will be hoping for a repeat of that feat.
The newly appointed skipper says that Jones will be missed.
“She was a great leader on and off the field, but with her leaving the team and the university it gives other players the opportunity to step up to the plate.”
Other key absentees for the side are Jordan Hopkins and Georgia Evans who both recently received call ups to the Wales squad for the upcoming Autumn Internationals.
Although these players won’t feature in today’s fixture, the side is bound to benefit from having them involved in the coming weeks. This is especially so in the case of Georgia Evans who is the side’s forwards coach.
The game kicks off at 2pm.
