Wales v United States: Hosts' 'massively improved,' says Butchers on her return after injury

Flanker Alisha Butchers will go into Saturday's WXV1 warm-up Test against the United States in Colwyn Bay in the firm belief Wales' standards have risen considerably since she was last involved.

A serious knee injury ruled the Bristol player out of the 2023 Six Nations.

Butchers recovered in time to return for her club as 2022-23 drew to a close and now her focus is on Wales.

"The standards have raised massively since I last played," she said.

"It's great to play alongside a group of players that are constantly pushing the boundaries and constantly growing and getting better.

"I think that's making me a better player and it's pushed me coming back into the squad, which is great."

Butchers credits club and country medics and fitness experts for her now being in "a really good place" following her recovery from that knee injury suffered in the opening game of the 2022 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

"I wouldn't say that it has been a difficult year because the support I've had," she said.

"It's great to be back on the pitch and I'm really looking forward to the opportunity on the weekend to take on a strong USA side."

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Wales qualified for WXV1 thanks to a third-place finish in the Six Nations, during which they claimed wins over Ireland, Scotland and Italy.

Wales are involved in combined training sessions with their Scottish counterparts. Alisha Butchers takes a line-out in this shot

The United States will play in WXV2 and Wales have been training against another of the nations involved in that tier in preparation for Saturday's encounter.

"We're very much taking this as a Test match. It's a really good opportunity for us to practice our behaviours and practice some plays and get things in place before we head out to WXV."

Wales lost 31-23 the last time they faced the United States, in March 2022.

"When we played USA last time, it was in a little bit of a different scenario," said Butchers.

"We made a lot of changes. We were trying out different players so that was a great opportunity for us.

"But this is really good chance for us to get a test match under our belt and we know what USA can offer and we don't take that lightly.

"So I think we're prepared as best we can take on a world class side on the weekend."

She added: "The girls performed outstandingly in the Six Nations and that has given us a lot of confidence and momentum heading into WXV.

"We aim to capitalise on that heading into USA this weekend and continue to grow and build on that so come our first game against Canada we're thriving and we're in the best place possible to go and put in a strong performance."

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