Wikipedia

Wales women's national rugby union team

For the men's team, see Wales national rugby union team. For the women's sevens team, see Wales women's national rugby sevens team.

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.

Wales
EmblemThe Prince of Wales's feathers
UnionWelsh Rugby Union
Head coachIoan Cunningham
CaptainHannah Jones
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current10 (as of 28 October 2024)
Highest3 (24 August 2009)
Lowest10 (2024)
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
Appearances6 (First in 1991)
Best result4th place, 1994
Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 11 November 2024[1]
Rank Change* Team Points
1 Steady  England 097.56
2 Steady  Canada 089.31
3 Steady  New Zealand 088.64
4 Steady  France 085.11
5 Steady  Australia 078.10
6 Steady  Ireland 078.03
7 Steady  Scotland 076.82
8 Steady  Italy 074.75
9 Steady  United States 074.20
10 Steady  Wales 072.58
11 Steady  Japan 066.41
12 Steady  South Africa 066.18
13 Steady  Spain 065.42
14 Steady  Russia 061.10
15 Steady  Samoa 060.56
16 Steady  Netherlands 060.20
17 Steady  Fiji 059.14
18 Steady  Hong Kong 056.20
19 Steady  Kazakhstan 055.23
20 Steady  Sweden 052.72
*Change from the previous week

History

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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 Cardiff Ladies. Taken on 15 December 1917, it is believed to be the oldest image of a women's rugby team

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]

Players

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Current squad

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On 16 September 2024, Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham named a 30-member squad to compete at the 2024 WXV 2 tournament in Cape Town.[9][10]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Rosie Carr Hooker 1   Bristol Bears
Carys Phillips Hooker (1992-11-12)12 November 1992 (aged 31) 75   Harlequins
Molly Reardon Hooker (2003-09-22)22 September 2003 (aged 21) 3   Cardiff Met
Abbey Constable Prop (1991-06-18)18 June 1991 (aged 33) 8   Gloucester-Hartpury
Maisie Davies Prop 1
Gwenllian Pyrs Prop (1997-11-28)28 November 1997 (aged 26) 36   Bristol Bears
Donna Rose Prop (1991-06-05)5 June 1991 (aged 33) 23   Saracens
Jenni Scoble Prop (1993-03-28)28 March 1993 (aged 31) 0
Sisilia Tuipulotu Prop (2003-08-14)14 August 2003 (aged 21) 21   Gloucester-Hartpury
Georgia Evans Second row (1997-01-29)29 January 1997 (aged 27) 28   Saracens
Abbie Fleming Second row (1996-03-31)31 March 1996 (aged 28) 19   Harlequins
Natalia John Second row (1996-02-15)15 February 1996 (aged 28) 40   Saracens
Alaw Pyrs Second row 1   Hartpury College
Alex Callender Back row (2000-07-29)29 July 2000 (aged 24) 37   Brython Thunder
Alisha Joyce-Butchers Back row (1997-06-14)14 June 1997 (aged 27) 48   Bristol Bears
Bryonie King Back row (2003-08-14)14 August 2003 (aged 21) 4   Bristol Bears
Bethan Lewis Back row (1999-02-19)19 February 1999 (aged 25) 45   Gloucester-Hartpury
Kate Williams Back row (2000-04-05)5 April 2000 (aged 24) 13   Gloucester-Hartpury
Keira Bevan Scrum-half (1997-04-28)28 April 1997 (aged 27) 62   Bristol Bears
Sian Jones Scrum-half (2004-12-03)3 December 2004 (aged 19) 5   Sale Sharks
Lleucu George Fly-half (2000-01-12)12 January 2000 (aged 24) 22   Gloucester-Hartpury
Carys Cox Centre (1998-11-05)5 November 1998 (aged 25) 8   Ealing Trailfinders
Hannah Jones (c) Centre (1996-11-14)14 November 1996 (aged 27) 57   Gloucester-Hartpury
Kerin Lake Centre (1990-05-24)24 May 1990 (aged 34) 49
Hannah Bluck Wing (1997-04-01)1 April 1997 (aged 27) 11   Brython Thunder
Jasmine Joyce-Butchers Wing (1995-10-09)9 October 1995 (aged 28) 38   Great Britain 7s
Jenny Hesketh Fullback (2002-04-15)15 April 2002 (aged 22) 2   Bristol Bears
Courtney Keight Fullback (1997-12-27)27 December 1997 (aged 26) 13   Bristol Bears
Nel Metcalfe Fullback (2004-12-17)17 December 2004 (aged 19) 3
Kayleigh Powell Fullback (1999-02-18)18 February 1999 (aged 25) 16   Great Britain 7s

Contracted players

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On 26 September 2024, the Welsh Rugby Union confirmed it had awarded full-time contracts to 37 Wales senior players for the 2024–25 season.[11]

Wales Contracted Players (2024–25)

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Full-backs

Previous squads

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Notable players

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Award winners

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World Rugby Awards

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The following Wales players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2001:[14]

World Rugby Women's 15s Dream Team of the Year
Year Forwards Backs Total
No. Players No. Players
2021 — 15. Jasmine Joyce-Butchers 1

Six Nations Awards

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The following Wales players have been recognised in the Women's Six Nations Awards since 2020:[15][16][17]

Records

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World Cup

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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 Qualified
  2029 TBD
  2033
Total 8/9 4th 36 14 1 21 645 798
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

Overall

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See also: List of Wales women's national rugby union team matches

(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 13 April 2024

Rugby: Wales internationals 1987–
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%

References

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  1. ^ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  2. ^ Hitt, Carolyn (6 November 2021). "Carolyn Hitt: Wales Women contracts announcement might finally turn despair into hope for Welsh women's rugby". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  3. ^ Davies, D.E. (1975). Cardiff Rugby Club, History and Statistics 1876–1975. Risca: The Starling Press. pp. 70–71. ISBN 0-9504421-0-0.
  4. ^ Rugby is the secret of 106-year-old's longevity, Penarth Times, 23 January 2006
  5. ^ Maria remained a keen player until she married her husband, Hector, and concentrated on bringing up eight children. She attributed her longevity to a love of rugby and an aversion to cigarettes and alcohol. Away from rugby and family duties she chaired the senior citizens club at her native Cogan for 24 years and was still calling bingo until she was 101.
  6. ^ "Historic day for England Women's Rugby". rfu.com. 5 April 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Women's Rugby World Cup". RugbyFootballHistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
  8. ^ Southcombe, Matthew (3 November 2021). "Wales Women to be offered professional contracts for the first time". WalesOnline. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  9. ^ Gillespie, Graeme (16 September 2024). "Cunningham names Wales squad for WXV2". Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  10. ^ Thomas, Martyn (16 September 2024). "Wales name WXV 2 squad as Olympic duo make the cut". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  11. ^ "New professional contracts for Wales Women". Welsh Rugby Union. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Liza Burgess: "The sky's the limit for women's rugby"". www.world.rugby. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  13. ^ "World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Awards Roll of Honour - World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  15. ^ "Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  16. ^ "2022 TikTok Women's Six Nations Team of the Championship revealed". Six Nations Rugby. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  17. ^ "Revealed: The Fans' 2024 Team of the Championship". Six Nations Rugby. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
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