Head coach Ioan Cunningham says he has no regrets after Wales’ 20-18 Six Nations defeat by Scotland.
Cunningham said his side “showed a lot of character” to come back into the game after Scotland had led from the seventh minute.
Wales could have clinched a 20-20 draw after Alex Callender’s late try, but Lleucu George missed the conversion.
Keira Bevan had been on kicking duty before being replaced by debutant Sian Jones five minutes from time.
Asked if he made the right call, Cunningham said: “We back everyone that is in our squad.
“We managed to get that try and we made the decision to get Sian on.
“We want to give Sian the opportunity to experience Test rugby, she has earned the right to be in this group.
“I thought when she came on she moved the ball really well.
“We have got quality kickers, both Lleucu and Keira are good kickers, it just didn’t work at that time for Lleucu unfortunately.
“But she is a quality player and normally slots them.”
Wales now have a mountain to climb with defending Grand Slam champions England awaiting in round two.
For Scotland it was a first win on Welsh soil in 20 years and a seventh victory on the bounce.
Wales, meanwhile, are now winless in their last four outings. The defeat also dents their hopes of a top three finish, which would guarantee qualification for next year’s Rugby World Cup and a place at WXV1.
Scotland had led with tries from Coreen Grant and Rhona Lloyd as Wales struggled to organise their defence during transition.
Sisilia Tuipulotu crossed on the hour mark to bring Wales back in the game, while Callender’s 79th minute effort looked to have secured the draw, only for George to pull a relatively straight forward conversion.
It almost seems like sweet revenge for the Scots who had been on the other side of the boot at the 2022 Rugby World Cup, when Bevan kicked a last minute penalty which ultimately knocked the Scots out of the tournament.
But Cunningham and captain Hannah Jones are confident their side will bounce back.
“Everyone is hurting and disappointed naturally, it is hard to take a loss, especially at home,” added Cunningham.
“I felt we showed great character to come back in the second half.
“It’s the small things that we’ve got to fix up for next week, capitalising after scoring, exiting well and not putting the pressure back on us.”
Jones added: “I’m really proud of the girls and their character, we just left it a little too late.
“Next week is another opportunity, we’ve got to park this now and go again.”
