WXV: Wales and tier one teams receive warm welcome in Wellington

Local school children were involved in a traditional powhiri in Te Papa, Wellington

World rugby's leading women's teams have been officially welcomed to the new WXV1 tournament in New Zealand.

Players and coaches from Wales, England, France, Canada and Australia joined the hosts at a traditional Maori ceremony in Wellington on Tuesday.

"The welcome was outstanding," said Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham. "It's definitely got us excited for what's ahead of us."

Wales' opening game is against Canada at the Sky Stadium on Saturday.

England and Australia kick off the weekend's action on Friday, with New Zealand taking on France in the second of Saturday's double header.

• All you need to know about WXV

• Wales ready to challenge world's best at WXV

Rivalries were put aside on Tuesday as the team captains were presented with traditional gifts before posing on piggy-backs for the official WXV photos.

But their natural competitiveness shone through as they were invited to take part in a poi demonstration with local schoolchildren.

Wales' Hannah Jones and England's Marlie Packer giggled as they struggled to master the twirling art, while Australia's Michaela Leonard took centre stage.

Cunningham himself took part, admitting it was "quite tough".

"It's definitely something we could do as a warm-up as a group as it gets your skills going," he joked.

Michaela Leonard (left), Hannah Jones (centre) and Marlie Packer (right) put their poi skills to the test

Putting the poi aside, Jones said she and her team are raring to get going having fought off jet lag in their first week in the New Zealand capital.

"It's been very exciting, after today with the warm welcome from everyone, we're just really looking forward to the week and playing against Canada," she said.

"We had a brutal pre-season, a good block of training so I want to see what happens on the field now."

Wales' preparations included a friendly against USA last month and a training game against France after the ceremony on Tuesday.

They also brushed shoulders with All Blacks legend TJ Perenara at their gym earlier in the week.

Meanwhile, Cunningham confirmed he has a fully-fit 30-strong squad to choose from, with the team due to be announced on Thursday.

Wales played Canada in a friendly last summer, and Cunningham knows what to expect.

"They're big, they're physical, good athletes, powerful, it's going to be a challenge for us, but that's the level we want to be at," he said.

"It's about us being smart, technically good.

"We want to test ourselves against sides that are in the top three and top four in the world. We're confident if we can hold onto the ball for long periods we will cause teams trouble."

After Saturday's game against Canada, Wales play New Zealand the following weekend before their final game against Australia on Friday, 3 November.

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