You have to dig deep to find some positives in Wales’ season, but once you get beyond the layer of disappointing results, there are some green shoots of hope.
Nel Metcalfe, Carys Cox and Kayleigh Powell were standout performers and gave Wales’ stale backline some much-needed spark.
Lynn also exposed a new generation to Test rugby – Maisie Davies, Katherine Baverstock, Branwen Metcalfe and Tilly Vucaj all made their debuts this year.
Meanwhile, former Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap, now managing the WRU’s women’s performance pathway, says there is plenty of exciting age-grade talent coming through, talent we can expect to see in this season’s Celtic Challenge.
WRU plans to shake-up the women’s game are also cause for optimism.
As well as extra funding for Celtic Challenge sides Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning, there will be a new four-club league, a national academy and player development centres as part of its restructure.