Wales women's national rugby union team
Women's rugby union in Wales From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Wales women's national rugby union team first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship.
| Emblem | The Prince of Wales's feathers | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | Welsh Rugby Union | ||
| Head coach | Ioan Cunningham | ||
| Captain | Hannah Jones | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 8 (as of 15 July 2024) | ||
| Highest | 3 (24 August 2009) | ||
| First international | |||
 Wales 4–22 England  (Pontypool, Wales; 5 April 1987) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Germany 0–77 Wales (Barcelona, Spain; 17 May 2002) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
| Wales 0–81 England (Cardiff, Wales; 4 February 2005) | |||
| World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 6 (First in 1991) | ||
| Best result | 4th place, 1994 | ||
| Rank | Change* | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | England | 96.90 |
| 2 | |  New Zealand | 89.32 |
| 3 | |  Canada | 89.13 |
| 4 | |  France | 87.27 |
| 5 | |  Australia | 78.00 |
| 6 | |  Scotland | 75.99 |
| 7 | |  United States | 74.97 |
| 8 | | Wales | 74.28 |
| 9 | |  Italy | 74.26 |
| 10 | |  Ireland | 73.53 |
| 11 | |  Japan | 67.83 |
| 12 | |  South Africa | 65.17 |
| 13 | |  Spain | 65.15 |
| 14 | |  Fiji | 61.19 |
| 15 | |  Russia | 61.10 |
| 16 | |  Netherlands | 58.98 |
| 17 | |  Hong Kong | 58.76 |
| 18 | |  Samoa | 58.48 |
| 19 | |  Kazakhstan | 55.23 |
| 20 | |  Sweden | 52.72 |
| *Change from the previous week | |||
As far back as the nineteenth century, the Welsh game was a notable for the high levels of female interest. As such, the newly constructed stand at Cardiff Arms Park had to be renovated for "the comfort of the ladies", with another reporter stating that "fully a third" of the spectators at Stradey Park, Llanelli were female. In 1905, an English journalist from the Daily Mail reporting on The Original All Blacks game against Newport RFC at Rodney Parade, reported: "The average woman in Newport, judging from the expert feminine criticisms punctuating Saturday’s play, apparently knows as much of the science of rugby as any man."[2]
While it is still a subject of debate as to when the first female Welsh teams played, women's rugby would gain great prominence during the First World War, as many male players were called into service. One of the most notable matches took place at Cardiff Arms Park on 16 December 1917, when Cardiff Ladies (made up entirely of workers from Hancocks Brewery) beat Newport Ladies 6–0.[3] Maria Eley played full-back for Cardiff and went on to become probably the oldest women's rugby player[4] before she died in Cardiff in 2007 at the age of 106.[5] A photograph of the Cardiff team is believed to be the oldest known image of a women's rugby team and is part of the collection at Cardiff Rugby Museum.
The first official Wales Women team first played on 5 April 1987 when led by Liza Burgess, they took on an England Women side at Pontypool Park.[6] Prior to 1987, Welsh players were selected to represent Great Britain with the first representative side featuring players from Wales running against France at Richmond Athletic Ground in 1986. Great Britain played as a team on several occasions until 1990, beating Italy in their final match. Wales have played England every year since 1987.
Wales hosted the first Women's Rugby World Cup in Cardiff in 1991 and since then they have participated in a further four of the five tournaments finishing fourth in 1994, their highest ever finish.[7] The IRB adopted the competition in 1998, which was won by the New Zealand Black Ferns.
The Welsh Women's Rugby Union was created in 1994 charged with promoting and governing the development and practice of Women's Rugby in Wales; the other three home unions also took charge of their own administration effectively ending the function of the WRFU in the process. The WWRU also became affiliated to the Welsh Rugby Union at the same time.
The creation of four separate home unions for Women's Rugby in Great Britain also saw the introduction of the Women's Home Nations competition with the first set of internationals taking place in 1995. Wales Women's early years in the tournament saw victories only against Ireland. Wales Women also remain the only touring team from Wales to have won a Test series in South Africa, beating the Bokkies by two Test to nil back in 1994.
From 2004 to 2006 a policy of selecting only players based in Wales resulted in a series of poor results – and failure to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. When the policy was reversed the team immediately recorded their best Six Nations performance, with a victory over France in 2006, wins over Scotland in 2006 & 2007, ending a ten-year drought of wins against their Celtic opponents, and culminating with victory over England in 2009 on their way to a Triple Crown. The National 7s squad lifted the European 7s title in 2006, beating England in the final but narrowly failed to secure a place in the 2009 Rugby World Cup 7s. In 2007 Wales also re-entered the FIRA Championship, using the tournament to give tournament experience to its development team.
In November 2021, the Welsh Rugby Union announced that they would be offering 12-month contracts to Wales Women for the first time in its history. The contracts take effect on January 1, 2022.[8]
Current squad
Ioan Cunningham named the 37 player Welsh squad on 6 March for the 2024 Women's Six Nations Championship.[9][10][11]
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelsey Jones | Hooker | 4 October 1997 (aged 26) | 42 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Carys Phillips | Hooker | 12 November 1992 (aged 31) | 70 | Harlequins |
| Molly Reardon | Hooker | 22 September 2003 (aged 20) | 1 | Cardiff Met |
| Abbey Constable | Prop | 18 June 1991 (aged 32) | 5 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Gwenllian Pyrs | Prop | 28 November 1997 (aged 26) | 31 | Bristol Bears |
| Sisilia Tuipulotu | Prop | 14 August 2003 (aged 20) | 18 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Jenni Scoble | Prop | 28 March 1993 (aged 30) | 0 | |
| Donna Rose | Prop | 5 June 1991 (aged 32) | 20 | Saracens |
| Natalia John | Second row | 15 February 1996 (aged 28) | 37 | Brython Thunder |
| Georgia Evans | Second row | 29 January 1997 (aged 27) | 25 | Saracens |
| Gwen Crabb | Second row | 28 July 1999 (aged 24) | 29 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Abbie Fleming | Second row | 31 March 1996 (aged 27) | 16 | Harlequins |
| Alisha Joyce-Butchers | Back row | 14 June 1997 (aged 26) | 45 | Bristol Bears |
| Shona Wakley | Back row | 8 July 1991 (aged 32) | 45 | |
| Kate Williams | Back row | 5 April 2000 (aged 23) | 11 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Gwennan Hopkins | Back row | 14 November 2004 (aged 19) | 0 | |
| Bryonie King | Back row | 14 August 2003 (aged 20) | 4 | Bristol Bears |
| Alex Callender | Back row | 29 July 2000 (aged 23) | 34 | Brython Thunder |
| Bethan Lewis | Back row | 19 February 1999 (aged 25) | 44 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Keira Bevan | Scrum-half | 28 April 1997 (aged 26) | 59 | Bristol Bears |
| Sian Jones | Scrum-half | 3 December 2004 (aged 19) | 2 | Sale Sharks |
| Megan Davies | Scrum-half | 19 January 2002 (aged 22) | 7 | Bristol Bears |
| Lleucu George | Fly-half | 12 January 2000 (aged 24) | 19 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Niamh Terry | Fly-half | 30 April 2000 (aged 23) | 9 | Brython Thunder |
| Kerin Lake | Centre | 24 May 1990 (aged 33) | 48 | |
| Hannah Jones (c) | Centre | 14 November 1996 (aged 27) | 54 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Mollie Wilkinson | Centre | 24 October 2003 (aged 20) | 0 | |
| Carys Cox | Centre | 5 November 1998 (aged 25) | 5 | Ealing Trailfinders |
| Lisa Neumann | Wing | 23 December 1993 (aged 30) | 40 | Harlequins |
| Jasmine Joyce-Butchers | Wing | 9 October 1995 (aged 28) | 36 |  Great Britain 7s |
| Hannah Bluck | Wing | 1 April 1997 (aged 26) | 10 | Brython Thunder |
| Catherine Richards | Wing | 21 October 2000 (aged 23) | 0 | Gloucester-Hartpury |
| Kayleigh Powell | Fullback | 18 February 1999 (aged 25) | 14 | |
| Nel Metcalfe | Fullback | 17 December 2004 (aged 19) | 3 | |
| Jenny Hesketh | Fullback | 15 April 2002 (aged 21) | 2 | Bristol Bears |
| Courtney Keight | Fullback | 27 December 1997 (aged 26) | 11 | Bristol Bears |
| Amelia Tutt | Fullback | 2 June 2003 (aged 20) | 1 | Leicester Tigers |
Previous squads
Notable players
- Liza Burgess - Inducted into the 2018 World Rugby Hall of Fame.[12][13]
- Rafiuke Taylor - In 2019, became Wales women's first ever dual code rugby international.
Award winners
World Rugby Awards
The following Wales players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[14]
| Year | Forwards | Backs | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Players | No. | Players | ||
| 2021 | — | 15. | Jasmine Joyce-Butchers | 1 | |
Six Nations Awards
The following Wales players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:[15][16][17]
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World Cup
| Rugby World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1991 |
Plate quarter-finals | N/A | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 39 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994 |
3rd Place Playoff | 4th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 63 | 96 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998 |
11th Place Playoff | 11th | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 181 | 75 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 |
9th Place Playoff | 10th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 126 | 50 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 |
Did not participate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 |
9th Place Playoff | 9th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 91 | 109 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 |
7th Place Playoff | 8th | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 48 | 147 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 |
7th Place Playoff | 7th | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 78 | 143 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 |
Quarter-final | — | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 139 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 |
TBD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2029 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2033 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 8/9 | 4th | 36 | 14 | 1 | 21 | 645 | 798 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall
(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 13 April 2024
| Opponent | First game | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
2002 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.00% |
| Canada |
1991 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 14.29% |
| England |
1987 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 4.88% |
| France |
1994 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 13.79% |
| Germany |
1998 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
| Hong Kong |
2017 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
| Japan |
2017 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50.00% |
| Ireland |
1996 | 31 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 54.84% |
| Italy |
1998 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 59.09% |
| Kazakhstan |
1994 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60.00% |
| Netherlands |
1988 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 40.00% |
| New Zealand |
1991 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.00% |
| Russia |
1998 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% |
| Samoa |
2002 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00% |
| Scotland |
1993 | 36 | 20 | 0 | 16 | 55.56% |
| South Africa |
2004 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 75.00% |
| Spain |
1991 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 36.36% |
| Sweden |
2007 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67% |
| United States |
1993 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 33.33% |
| Summary | 1987 | 244 | 81 | 3 | 151 | 33.20% |
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