Women's Rugby Thread

[ASMO]

i see the 6N ending

England
France
Ireland
Italy
Wales
Scotland

[eldanielfire]

i see the 6N ending

England
France
Ireland
Italy
Wales
Scotland

England-France will be the decider. However the fight for the order after that will be really interesting.

[eldanielfire]

TikTok to sponsor the Women's 6 Nations:

https://www.scrumqueens.com/news/tiktok ... -6-nations

[eldanielfire]

Harlequins vs Gloucester stream starts now:



Interesting Harlequins are streaming it themselves I believe. This season they moved the Premier XV games to the website only, away form YouTube. And I think that's been a bad decision for exposing the game to viewers. Especially as the video format wasn't as simply or friendly to use or as accessible

[Niegs]

Harlequins vs Gloucester stream starts now:



Interesting Harlequins are streaming it themselves I believe. This season they moved the Premier XV games to the website only, away form YouTube. And I think that's been a bad decision for exposing the game to viewers. Especially as the video format wasn't as simply or friendly to use or as accessible

You'd hope they have viewer numbers to compare. I'm not sure why the move as it's free to sign-up and view the matches, so not like moving it to the Prem 15s site is earning them money. They don't use youtube, usually, so there's that, but what's the drawback from using youtube?

[laurent]

In case someone is interested



It's in the north ;)

[eldanielfire]

You'd hope they have viewer numbers to compare. I'm not sure why the move as it's free to sign-up and view the matches, so not like moving it to the Prem 15s site is earning them money. They don't use youtube, usually, so there's that, but what's the drawback from using youtube?

That's the big question. I assume some weird rights issue? Or sponsorship thing? Or some silly move to try and have the site used more.

[Lobby]

Kate (new RFU patron) turned up at Twickenham today, and looks like she might have played before

[SaintK]

Kate (new RFU patron) turned up at Twickenham today, and looks like she might have played before


I reckon Hannah Botterman could have lifted her that high one-handed if she'd wanted to

[Niegs]

Former England scrum half called up by Scotland. Is she the first woman to move under new eligibility rules?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/60233893

[eldanielfire]

Wales add a few more:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/60054710

Bristol Bears full-back Kayleigh Powell and Gloucester-Hartpury second row Sisilia Tuipulotu have signed Welsh Rugby Union retainer contracts.

[eldanielfire]

Former England scrum half called up by Scotland. Is she the first woman to move under new eligibility rules?

https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/60233893

It looks that way. IMO she's a good talent, quick and delivers good ball. I felt she should have been given more of a chance. But sometimes it's difficult to see how or why players aren't in the test squads. Some players like Heather Cowell tore it up in 2017 and 2018 and then went travelling. Some stay out for careers.

[Niegs]

I can't remember all who toured with the Ferns in the autumn, but I did see at least two players who were left behind despite being fit and a couple who had a stinker of a tour / not really used after showing to be 'meh'. No Woodman!

https://www.allblacks.com/news/new-era- ... ns-in-2022

[eldanielfire]

I can't remember all who toured with the Ferns in the autumn, but I did see at least two players who were left behind despite being fit and a couple who had a stinker of a tour / not really used after showing to be 'meh'. No Woodman!

https://www.allblacks.com/news/new-era- ... ns-in-2022

I believe a few players have the Sevens contracts that is why they aren't included.

As many think last RWC England blew their chance by showing all their cards in the New Zealand match before (not for the first time) then has the AIs done the same and forced New Zealand to hand out contracts to professionalize and close the gap?

[Niegs]

I can't remember all who toured with the Ferns in the autumn, but I did see at least two players who were left behind despite being fit and a couple who had a stinker of a tour / not really used after showing to be 'meh'. No Woodman!

https://www.allblacks.com/news/new-era- ... ns-in-2022

I believe a few players have the Sevens contracts that is why they aren't included.

As many think last RWC England blew their chance by showing all their cards in the New Zealand match before (not for the first time) then has the AIs done the same and forced New Zealand to hand out contracts to professionalize and close the gap?

And there's this Super Rugby jazz, which is only three weeks long? Read yesterday they're in an isolated camp due to Covid, which could impact not just those with families, but those who still have jobs.

It's a gesture to contract, but just doesn't seem worth it unless it's full and includes a lot of players.

[eldanielfire]

I can't remember all who toured with the Ferns in the autumn, but I did see at least two players who were left behind despite being fit and a couple who had a stinker of a tour / not really used after showing to be 'meh'. No Woodman!

https://www.allblacks.com/news/new-era- ... ns-in-2022

I believe a few players have the Sevens contracts that is why they aren't included.

As many think last RWC England blew their chance by showing all their cards in the New Zealand match before (not for the first time) then has the AIs done the same and forced New Zealand to hand out contracts to professionalize and close the gap?

And there's this Super Rugby jazz, which is only three weeks long? Read yesterday they're in an isolated camp due to Covid, which could impact not just those with families, but those who still have jobs.

It's a gesture to contract, but just doesn't seem worth it unless it's full and includes a lot of players.

I'm curious as to what those contracts actually pay?

I mean a lot of people seem surprised that England's professional set-up in 2017 ended that year and some players were on 17 grand, essentially part time wages. Same as some of the squad now. Or the the Tyrells Premier XVs was "professional" in name only with players not actually paid beyond match day subs.

[eldanielfire]

Scotland face Columbia to qualify for the world cup on Friday:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/60472411

[eldanielfire]

An interesting piece on Women's sport with how jumping and impact sports affect the pelvic floor and how Wales rugby is providing some solutions to improve things.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-spor ... gniter-rhr

Special report: 'There was urine flying through the air' - the incontinence crisis blighting elite women's sport
Athletes overwhelmingly at risk of pelvic-floor dysfunction as governing bodies persist in maintaining taboo

By
Fiona Tomas
23 February 2022 • 7:00am
Special report: 'There was urine flying through the air' - the incontinence crisis blighting elite women's sport
Pelvic-floor dysfunction can be mentally and physically debilitating CREDIT: Custom image
Laura Gallagher Cox remembers the moment as if it was yesterday. She was 15, competing at a national trampolining meet, and putting the final touches to the routine she would perform minutes later.

Out of nowhere, as she landed from a jump, she wet herself.

“It completely destroyed my warm-up,” reflects the Briton, 32. “I felt embarrassed. I went to the loo and sorted myself out and changed my leotard. People probably knew what had happened.”

Unknown to her at the time, it was Gallagher Cox’s first real experience of stress incontinence, the accidental loss of urine through physical exertion.

In female athletes, the problem commonly occurs when the pelvic floor – a group of muscles and ligaments with important functions, such as pelvic-organ support – is damaged over time. It commonly occurs in athletes from high-impact sports that involve running, or jumping as in netball or gymnastics, where constant and excessive downward pressure is placed on the pelvic floor to the extent it becomes too tight.

The issue is particularly endemic in trampolining, where research has shown incontinence to be prevalent in as many as 80 per cent of female athletes.

“When we land from a jump, we put about 16 times our body weight through the trampoline,” explains Gallagher Cox. “In terms of peeing, the worst time for it seems to be the younger girls just coming into puberty. I’ve been at competitions where I’ve seen girls pee as they take off – when they do a double back somersault you’ll genuinely see urine flying through the air.”

Gallagher Cox, who represented Great Britain at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, counts herself as one of the lucky ones – incontinence never became a real problem during her senior career. But the humiliation of leaking as a junior has left a psychological impact that verges on unhealthy.

“I go to the loo about five times per session,” she says. “I don’t drink very much during training, so when I get advice from the nutritionist and you have to drink X amount or this type of drink and you’re like, I just can’t do that.”

Laura Gallagher Cox represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics
Laura Gallagher Cox represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
Her British team-mate Izzy Songhurst started experiencing incontinence issues aged 13. More than a decade later, she still wears pads in her leotard, and can go through as many as four in a session. “If you’re having a bad day, you do worry about whether your pad is showing through the back of your leotard or if it’s coming out the side,” says Songhurst, a former European and world junior champion. “It causes a bit of uncomfortableness and anxiety, which can obviously be distracting and can throw you off.”

Urinary incontinence is often talked about in the context of pregnancy and childbirth, which can weaken a woman’s pelvic floor. But, such is the taboo around leaking, it is rarely discussed in the context of elite sport, let alone in wider society.

When a photographer captured France’s 2004 Olympic gymnastics champion Emilie Le Pennec urinating during the World Championships in 2005, the images ended up plastered across porn and fetish websites. The same fate happened to Ecuadorian weightlifter Maria Alexandra Escobar Guerrero, who leaked while attempting a lift at the London 2012 Olympics. Instead of prompting a frank and open discussion about sportswomen being at risk of incontinence, both were ridiculed in the media.

A decade on and the subject continues to be seen as a taboo. Several major sporting governing bodies declined or ignored repeated requests from Telegraph Sport to discuss the extent to which their athletes were prone to stress incontinence, including any measures they were taking to help those impacted.

“Women are supposed to have a menstrual cycle – blood is supposed to come out of them once a month,” says Baz Moffat, a women’s health coach at The Well HQ who specialises in pelvic-floor education.

“You’re not supposed to wet yourself. You’re not supposed to leak urine, especially if you’ve not had a baby.”

Maria Alexandra Escobar Guerrero competing at London 2012
Maria Alexandra Escobar Guerrero competing at London 2012 CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES
Research has shown that pelvic-floor dysfunction and incontinence should not be solely viewed “as mums’ issues”, as Moffat puts it. Female athletes are, in fact, at a 177 per cent higher risk of presenting with urinary incontinence symptoms than sedentary women, with those involved in high-impact sports such as volleyball, athletics, basketball, rugby, football, cross-country, skiing and running all affected.

“The assumption is that you leak because you have a weak pelvic floor,” adds Moffat. “There’s this ‘keep doing your pelvic-floor exercises’ message but, actually, for many sportspeople, it’s about relaxing the pelvic floor and the down training, which sportspeople are pretty bad at.”

Urinary tract infections are another sign that the pelvic floor is too tight due to its inability to let go of urine, which stays in the urethra.

“The pelvic floor is a dynamic muscle which should move with your breathing,” adds Moffat. “Every muscle needs to have a range of movement that it works through and if all you’ve done is tighten and tighten your muscles, that’s not a healthy state for your connective tissue to be in.”

The issue is widespread in gymnastics. One academic paper revealed that the entire French gymnastics team experienced leakage during the 2016 Rio Olympics, while a 2021 study published in the International Urogynecology Journal found that out of 319 gymnasts and cheerleaders surveyed, two thirds suffered urinary incontinence.

Moffat knows of parents whose gymnast daughters have even started wetting the bed, their pelvic floor overtrained and overtight through the consistent core work, while the stigma around incontinence has been intensified by sexual abuse scandals that have rocked the sport.


Larry Nassar, the convicted paedophile doctor for the United States gymnastics team, twice shut down police probes into his sexual abuse after claiming his assaults on victims were medically legitimate “pelvic-floor therapy”. This type of treatment uses internal vaginal soft tissue manipulation, or massage, to relieve pelvic pain by accessing muscles that cannot be accessed any other way, and gave Nassar an easy cover story that allowed him to become a predatory abuser.

In other sports, the scale of stress incontinence and the prevalence of tight pelvic floors is only just starting to be understood – and in the case of Wales Rugby – tackled. After conducting a player questionnaire among the Wales women’s squad during the first Covid-19 lockdown, Jo Perkins, the team’s head physio, discovered incontinence was leading to huge performance implications.

“When I started working with the team in 2019, it was more chats of, ‘Oh, well, I pee myself’ or ‘I have horrendous abdominal pain when I reach my maximum speed’, or ‘It’s painful putting tampons in’. These all come under the umbrella term of pelvic-floor dysfunction,” says Perkins.

“If you’ve got pain or you’re leaking, all that pressure is going the wrong way, so you won’t be able to push as hard in the scrum or tackle and jump effectively. Our stats showed that, actually, the girls were leaking more through jumping, rather than tackling.”

After launching its first set of professional full-time contracts this year, the Welsh Rugby Union began a pioneering partnership with “fem tech” brand Elvie to improve players’ pelvic-floor knowledge. Every player has a smart kegel trainer, a device that is vaginally inserted and helps with pelvic-floor training. It links with an app, and players can monitor their pelvic-floor strength as it contracts and releases.

“The app is really good at telling players whether they are squeezing effectively and how much they are squeezing,” explains Perkins. “It gives you real time feedback. What we’re finding with a lot of the girls is that it’s the release that’s really difficult.”

With the rise of fem tech – the umbrella term for software, services and products focusing on women’s health – expected to exceed £40 billion within the next decade, there are an increasing number of products to help sportswomen deal with incontinence. But, according to Moffat, who conducts pelvic-floor health workshops, there is not an off-the-shelf one-fits-all solution.

“My approach to women and their bodies is they need to know what they need to be doing,” she says. “Just doing a set of pelvic-floor exercises at home will work for some people brilliantly. Nothing is perfect for everybody.

“My recommendation would always be to just go simple first of all and try doing pelvic-floor exercises on your own. Women have no clue how to do pelvic-floor exercises – they’ve never been taught properly – so that’s a challenge. If that’s the case, I would go and find a women’s health physio first who can teach you how to do them properly and also teach you what exercises you need to be doing.”

Having seen specialists for her own pelvic-floor problems, Songhurst has found breathing techniques to relax her core which have helped, but she has reached a point where she is simply managing her leakage. “I kind of accept it’s going to be a thing for the rest of my career,” says Songhurst, who is targeting the Paris 2024 Olympics. “I’m open to trying things if someone suggests how to help.”

By simply talking about urinary stress incontinence, she and Gallagher Cox are making a major contribution to breaking the taboo.
“It’s so normalised after pregnancy,” adds Songhurst, “but why isn’t it normalised in sport?”[/quote

[eldanielfire]

The game will be on BBC ALBA or YouTube:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0014rp5

[Niegs]

As most comments say, should be a pen against Scotland for driving up. World Rugby (socials people) not knowing own laws shocker.

[tabascoboy]

Spain leading Russia 12 - 0 at halftime in the Europe Women's Championship

[laurent]

Spain leading Russia 12 - 0 at halftime in the Europe Women's Championship

Any Ukrainian flags

[tabascoboy]

Spain leading Russia 12 - 0 at halftime in the Europe Women's Championship

Any Ukrainian flags

Don't know but I'm sure it is just co-incidence that the referee is wearing yellow and blue top! Looks more like Romania colours TBH




Final score was 27 - 0. Probably Patricia Garcia's last game for Spain so a good send off

[eldanielfire]

Spain leading Russia 12 - 0 at halftime in the Europe Women's Championship

Any Ukrainian flags

Don't know but I'm sure it is just co-incidence that the referee is wearing yellow and blue top! Looks more like Romania colours TBH




Final score was 27 - 0. Probably Patricia Garcia's last game for Spain so a good send off

Really? I wondered if at 32, with the nect RWC only 3 years away, if she would carry on. Still an excellent scrum half.

[eldanielfire]

As most comments say, should be a pen against Scotland for driving up. World Rugby (socials people) not knowing own laws shocker.

I thought that. I think the social emdia team is so determined to presnet "wow" moments they don't give a damn. I suspect they are just professional PR people with no rugby background.

[eldanielfire]

New Zealand tournament not kicking off as hoped:

[eldanielfire]

Women's finally get an U18 6 Nations tournament it looks like:

[eldanielfire]

A good bit on Wales new more professional routine and how it has changed:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rug ... d-23302543

Wales' transformed rugby team uncovered as new professionals finally given chance to become world-beaters
WalesOnline was given privileged access to spend a day in camp with Wales' new professional and semi-pro players as they prepare for the start of the Women's Six Nations

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COMMENTS
ByKatie SandsDigital Development Editor, Sport
13:03, 9 MAR 2022
SPORT

Jasmine Joyce (centre) passes the ball (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
If there's one word that's not thrown around lightly by this Wales team, it's 'trust'.

It hasn't always been there over the last 12 months, which have represented a seismic shift in their treatment, as players have gone from amateurs in last year's winless Six Nations to a squad of 12 full-time professionals plus 11 part-time players as they prepare for their upcoming Championship.

After plenty of promises in the past which the players had learned to distrust, this one finally came true at the turn of 2022: a World Cup year.

"The confirmation of contracts, it changed the way we were able to play and trust each other completely," Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap says. "I don't use that word lightly. We have got complete trust in the whole process."

Hannah John, Wales team manager of five years, has seen it all at Welsh rugby HQ.

"They’ve been promised a lot in the past, not just this group, historically they have been," she told us. "Fair play to Nigel [Walker, performance director] with the backing of Steve [Phillips, chief executive], he’s come in and made it happen. There’s trust. They’re not going to trust everyone 100% straight away because they’ve been burnt, but it’s a definite shift."

FIFTY DAYS OF PROFESSIONALISM
Precisely 50 days after the new Wales Women programme took effect, players filter in on a crisp, dry St David's Day between 8.45am and 9.15am at the National Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort. It is where Wayne Pivac's men and the U20s are also based, but each has their own entrance for Covid bubble purposes.

Full-timers are in four days a week, with retainer-contracted players in twice a week. That's on top of club commitments, with most of the squad playing in the Allianz Premier 15s - England's top women's rugby competition where most clubs are affiliated to a Gallagher Premiership side.

The most immediate and obvious change is the fact they do not have to balance rugby around full-time jobs, with their occupations previously including working as teachers, a carpenter, clinical trials manager and even a sheepdog trainer.

"Everyone has been balancing jobs from 8am to 5pm and going straight to training, most of the girls six days a week because they have to work more to get more money," Wales flyer Jasmine Joyce says. "It’s completely different now. We’re all happy to be here, we want to learn, we want to get better."


Hannah Jones, Cerys Hale, Ffion Lewis and Jasmine Joyce exit the gym (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Nigel Walker has described the programme as a "world-first", where international coaches are seeing their players more than clubs.

"The relative size of our nation and the small nature of our nation means that it’s possible," he said. "I’m sure if England were a smaller country they would be doing that too."

While contracts were felt by many to be long-overdue, it is important to remember there is more to professionalism than just being paid. Being truly professional includes having access to high-quality performance environments, top-level coaching and backroom staff and meaningful competition.

St David's Day falls on a Tuesday, when all contracted players are due in. Their quarters used to be office space, and consists of a meeting area, stretching mats, physio treatment area, management office, kitchen and analysis equipment. It's busy and there is plenty of chatter.

A quick team meeting from Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham is followed by the filming of a good luck message from the entire squad to Georgia Evans ahead of arm surgery following a weekend injury. It takes three takes amid lots of laughter as Siwan gets to grips with her lines.


A team meeting with head coach Ioan Cunningham (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Lisa Neumann working on analysis (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Then it's down to the outdoor training pitch. The warm-up sees Wales attack coach Richard Whiffin field tennis balls via a racket to players, most catching with one hand to test hand-eye coordination. A separate group warms up under the watchful eye of strength and conditioning guru Eifion Roberts. Players hold a pole horizontally across their shoulders as they break into sprints. Not being allowed to use their arms engages their core more.


Players engage their core in sprinting exercises without using their arms (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Everything is filmed by analysts, either with an elevated camera or from a birdbox overlooking the pitch. The warm-up groups swap before getting into skills drills and in-game moves.

"When we’ve been in previously, it’s concentrating on gameplan and how we essentially preview teams and how we prepare for the next game," Siwan explains. "Now we have the luxury of developing those core skills to make us better players and to ultimately help our gameplan."


Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham during a session (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Analysts watch over training from the birdbox (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Cunningham says the programme is self-driven by players, with the support system and foundations provided by the coaches. Every Monday or Tuesday, players plan their working week themselves and submit their proposals - covering off S&C, recovery, analysis.

Back to the team room, and players get ready for their gym session. There's time for a quick snack, attention from head physio Jo Perkins or analysis feedback with coaches or analyst Adam Fuge from the weekend's club games.

SMALL CHANGES TO ENSURE BEING PRO IS MORE THAN BEING PAID

Players enjoy a bite to eat in between sessions (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Players are now provided with food in camp - breakfast, a snack, lunch and sometimes dinner - taking one more thing off their to-do lists.

"A really small thing, but it makes a huge difference," Wales fly-half Elinor Snowsill explains. "Straight away, it takes even more pressure off having to meal prep and make sure you’re eating properly. Being given supplements, protein and stuff, all these things that you think are such small things but when you’re an amateur player, is another expense and another thing you have to do yourself. They’re doing everything they can to make it as easy as possible for us."


Elinor Snowsill in action for Wales (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Breakfast can be overnight oats or pancakes, a snack may be a wrap, with a hot meal like rice and chicken or pasta for lunch. Given the date, pre-gym conversation turns to how one would describe Cawl to a non-Welsh person, and then debate over the best Welsh cake flavours.

Downstairs, the gym facility is shared between Wales Women and U20s, the former use it in the morning and the latter in afternoons. It's a long, industrial-vibe facility where feel-good music is blaring out via a speaker.


Players in the gym (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Bethan Lewis (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Sisilia Tuipulotu, dubbed the coolest member of the squad, is in charge of the music, having demoted scrum-half Keira Bevan from DJ duties. Her case was not helped by her decision to play Abba during a gym session!

The clang of heavy weights being released onto the floor after reps can be heard above the music. Also audible is the sound of players coaching and supporting each other.

"Because they’re playing games, we probably haven’t made as many gains as we could have," S&C coach Eifion Roberts said. "It’s getting that balance right between pushing them enough to get adaptations and responses, and then not fatiguing them too much for games. We’ve got to be smart in how we do that."


Eifion Roberts (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Sisilia Tuipulotu (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
The problem a lot of the players had previously was not being able to attend every session because of work commitments, therefore missing elements of their training on certain weeks. Now, they have consistency.

"The big difference that I’ve noticed already is going into gym at 9.30am when it’s one of the first things you’ve done that day, you get so much more out of it immediately than when you’ve worked an eight-hour day and carried all the baggage with you to the gym and the last thing you want to do is push yourself in bench or squats," Snowsill continues.

A new personal best ritual has been introduced where players ring the gym bell after reaching a new high. A single day in February recorded at least seven PBs in one session. One of those was 5ft 8ins, 10st 6lb Wales centre Hannah Jones, who hit a new squat PB of 95kg.

"You're on that squat rack, or bench, and everyone will turn around and they'll be screaming and shouting pushing you on and it just makes you want to lift that bar even more then."


Hannah Jones after hitting a new PB in the gym (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Kerin Lake in the gym (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
As for meaningful recovery, players have had to get into new habits where they embrace resting now they're not on the go 24/7. They literally have an extra eight to 10 hours in their day than when they were amateurs.

"It’s just insane," Snowsill said. "I live ridiculously close to the Vale, so if I'm home by 2pm you’re like ‘what am I going to do with all this time?’"

However, Roberts has impressed upon them the importance of rest: "They might have two or three hours of contact time with us [per day] - it’s what they do for the rest of the day that really matters, and if they’re not getting that right, the stuff they do with us is a waste of time if they’re not recovering properly. They’d just end up getting more and more fatigued and just break down through injury or illness, or they’re just not making the adaptations they could be."

Cunningham - 'Yoes' as he is referred to in camp - wants a culture where everyone is open to and comfortable with being challenged and is able to express themselves. There is also an open-door policy should anyone have concerns or issues they want to raise.


Wales boss Ioan Cunningham (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
As for more team-building exercises, there is an honesty board for any late arrivals or missed appointments, a PBs celebratory section, a rewards board for going above and beyond, while Wales flanker Alisha Butchers is hoping to bring her swear jar introduced at Bristol Bears to the Vale.

"The culture and environment is the best it's ever been, but it's going to be like that now because we're living the dream," Joyce said.


Jasmine Joyce in the gym (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Ffion Lewis (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
'WE WANT THEM TO LOVE WHAT THEY'RE DOING'
Considering it's a high-performance sporting environment, the happiness players feel in being there is clear to see.

"We want them to really enjoy the environment and to love what they’re doing - that’s really important," Cunningham said. "If you’re enjoying it and smiling, I think you learn more. Back in the autumn, I really wanted the girls to express themselves, be themselves. We always say there’s no silly questions and if there’s any concerns please speak up. We want to help. I think we created that. We also touched on performance conversations which are different. So if I have a performance conversation with a player, it’ll maybe be hearing stuff you don’t like hearing but it’s coming from a good place because we want you to get better."

Butchers sums it up perfectly: "Obviously we want to be happy and have smiles on faces, but the ultimate happiness is performance. If we don’t perform, we’re not happy, so it works both ways."


Alisha Butchers (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Carys Phillips (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
A RUGBY PROGRAMME FOR WOMEN, NOT 'LITTLE MEN'
As for the medical side of the programme, attention to detail has been paid to women's health to help players reach their full potential on the pitch. A menstruation app called Fitr is used to track players' periods, given they are more likely to suffer injuries like ACL issues during certain phases, and offers nutrition advice on what meats to eat and when, for example.

Head physio Jo explains: "The menstrual cycle should be seen as a real advantage to women, not only as a sign of good health but, by adapting nutrition and training at key times in the cycle, women can make performance gains."


Jo Perkins and Gwenllian Pyrs (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Head physio Jo Perkins (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Pelvic floor strengthening is another area being focused on, using pelvic floor trainer Elvie to increase core strength.

"It's so once you're getting tackled, once you're making a jump, everything's strong," Hannah Jones adds. "There's lots of little tips that Jo and this app is providing, which has been really insightful and really different and treating us like females instead of little men."

In terms of entering a women's programme, former Scarlets coach Cunningham and attack coach Whiffin, who was with Scarlets, London Irish and Gloucester, have come from predominantly male-focused environments. They met at the Scarlets where they worked together for a year under Brad Mooar. So, has anything surprised them since moving into women's rugby?

"Not a huge amount," Cunningham responds. "I think sometimes when you coach men, you can tell some players to just run hard, sort of thing. But we do focus a lot on explaining the 'why' and the detail to get the players to really grow their learning and get them better as quickly as we can.

"And also understanding, sometimes we have to be smarter. In the men’s game, sometimes you’ve got to just run through walls. In the women’s game, what I’ve found is you can be quite creative and there are opportunities there. There’s a lot of talented girls in the squad that thrive on that and enjoy that creative side and working out things."

As for Whiffin and any change of coaching style, he said: "I’ll be honest, that was the thing that I was contemplating in my head. Do I have to coach differently? After a session, I realised I don’t. The girls, they want to be coached and challenged. The key thing is they actually ask a lot of questions, they want that understanding in why we do things. It only really took the first session, where I realised it’s professional coaching, coach exactly the same."


The team during a rugby session at the Vale (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)

Siwan Lillicrap and Kayleigh Powell at the centre of a team huddle (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Asking questions is actively encouraged. The coaches don't want robots who do as they're told in training but revert to type under pressure.

Snowsill's vote of confidence in the coaches speaks volumes: "From a coaching perspective, the detail that Ioan and Whiff have brought in and the way they’ve treated us… it’s really hard to explain, it’s just how things should be done. You have to see it done well for you to realise how things have been done in the past has maybe not been done how it should have been, and how players should be treated and stuff. That level of detail is what we need against the top teams."

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THE 'HEARTBEAT' OF THE TEAM

Wales team manager Hannah John (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Team manager Hannah, meanwhile, believes there is a definite difference between coaching men and women and there's no harm in acknowledging that.

She laughs: "This lot, even if I say we’re going to the golf club today for lunch, they’re like ‘why?’ They want to know everything, but it’s just the nature of the beast. I think it’s definitely challenged them as coaches, but the relationships that you draw up with them is incredible, because they just want to learn, they want to be better rugby players, they want to be better people, they want to get fitter, they just want and want and want.

"We do say, you give them a little bit and they want a bit more! But great, let’s just jump on the back of that because that’s what’s going to take us forward and make us competitive on the world stage which is essentially why we’re all here."


Gwen Crabb, Lisa Neumann, Carys Phillips, Jo Perkins, Cara Hope and Kerin Lake (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
Hannah, a former Wales hockey international who was retired by 21 after ankle reconstruction, is described as the "heartbeat" of the team by Butchers. She has been the consistent figure in camp amid a revolving door of coaches in the past few years. She looks after planning, logistics and communication, and has one eye focused on the World Cup in New Zealand later this year.

"I’ve seen it all, you can probably say!

"Because I’ve been the consistent one throughout, there’s a lot of trust in my relationship that I have with them all, but that’s been built up over a huge amount of time. They feel I’ve got the answer to all their problems which I really don’t! I love the relationship I’ve got with them. It’s that reassurance and almost maternal, but I’m also in quite close proximity age range with a lot of them as well. They seem to call me before their parents on a lot of things!"

Big sister, maybe? "That’s a better way of putting it!"

A thank you card sits by the window in the management team's office from Hannah Jones and her partner Dino, who got engaged on the Arms Park pitch after Wales' final autumn match. "If you were to ask me what was my most stressful moment in the role, organising that!" HJ laughs.

A canvas featuring pictures of Elli Norkett is also in the office, a poignant presence which shows she is still very much loved and remembered. The talented Wales international died aged 20 in 2017 after a car crash when she had been driving in poor weather conditions. The tragedy sent shockwaves throughout the Welsh rugby community and beyond, but now her big sister Lowri has taken up rugby in her memory and was named in a Wales squad this year. Dealing with that news was the hardest challenge inside these four walls for this team, as there were no answers, only support to be offered.

Despite being embedded in the set-up, HJ is not blind to public perception of what the programme has been like in years gone by.

"I said it to Nigel the other day, I can honestly say we may have been a high performance environment because we’ve got the National Centre of Excellence but now I think we’re high performing, we’re making strides. It’s fit for purpose is probably the main thing."


Cara Hope and Gwenllian Pyrs (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
More appointments are on the way, too, including a new Wales Women assistant coach and performance lifestyle adviser.

Back in camp, attention turns to what is on the menu for the squad's St David's Day lunch at the Vale's golf club - a special occasion to mark the end of seven weeks together - before heading off to club commitments that afternoon.

HJ delivers the good news: it's chicken and leek pie, mashed potatoes, and Welsh cakes for afters.

WHAT'S NEXT?
A few days off from Wales duty will follow the lunch for players to wrap up club commitments before a pre-Six Nations warm-up against USA Falcons on March 12, and then the tournament itself. Wales' opener is away to Ireland, and it will be the first time fans can begin to measure their improvement following the increase in investment.

"We’re going to get better, there’s no question about it," Joyce professes. "We're eating better, we’re recovering better, every session’s at 100%. We’re going to have four months together so I can’t see us not performing better, but I think teams like England and France are already that, probably, four-year step ahead of us. We’re playing the catching up game. Our training camps have been fantastic and I don’t think we’re far off but I think we’ve got to have that support for at least a year for us to get into the rhythm of it. But Ireland, Scotland, Italy, they’re all in similar positions to us - it’ll be brilliant to see where we are against these teams."

While the chapter where Wales players would be rushing around 24/7 as amateurs is gladly over, it is an important part of their story.

"We’ve got to respect what a lot of the players went through before they had this opportunity," Cunningham said. "Not speaking about everyone because we’ve still got a wider squad of girls that are studying or working, but the ones who transferred to the pro contracts, I think it probably took a good couple of weeks for them to realise ‘I don’t have to check my phone, what’s next? Have I got a meeting?’ It took them a while to realise ‘I’m finished now, I can think of myself’. Those things are where you take for granted in the men’s game a bit because the pipeline for the men’s game, a boy enters that at 15, by the time he’s hit 19 he’s covered a lot of stuff that are ingrained. We are sort of doing it at the national level here."


Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham during a session (Image: Chris Fairweather/Huw Evans Agency)
So, what's next? What can we expect from this Wales team?

"We’ve got super talent in the squad, our skill sets are great, but it’s the other bits of the game: physicality, being relentless, being able to live and enjoy being in that intense zone," Cunningham concludes. "Canada took us there in the second half in the autumn and we sort of fell away. We need to be able to survive in that zone and also stay in there and kick on. Hopefully we’ll see that in the Six Nations.

"We will be pushing them mentally and physically over the next couple of weeks, challenging them to learn quickly and put pressure on them if they don’t. Physically, our sessions, we want to be training at an intensity where it’s going to be a bit chaotic but they’ve got to be comfortable in that. That’s where we’ve got to get to."

Wales play USA Falcons on Saturday, March 12, at 2pm at Parc y Scarlets in a warm-up - tickets are available www.wru.wales/USA. The Women's Six Nations, which kicks off on March 26 a week after the men's tournament concludes sees Wales face Ireland away in their opener. T ickets for their three home matches at Cardiff Arms Park - against Scotland on April 2, France on April 22 and Italy on April 30 - are on sale and priced at £10 for adults and £5 for children.

[eldanielfire]

Also I'm excited for "Not Toby"'s talented cousin Sisilia Tuipulotu who will be playing for the ladies:

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rug ... r-23102311

[tabascoboy]

Sweden have won the Rugby Europe Women's Trophy with an emphatic 48 - 0 win away in Switzerland. This is the level below the Championship which Spain ran away with, and involved 7 teams in a strange two pool split - Czech Republic were runners up.

[eldanielfire]

Sweden have won the Rugby Europe Women's Trophy with an emphatic 48 - 0 win away in Switzerland. This is the level below the Championship which Spain ran away with, and involved 7 teams in a strange two pool split - Czech Republic were runners up.

Great for Sweden, who should be a level above as they have quite a few players in the English league playing well.

[Niegs]

So I rumour I heard from people on the ground weeks ago ... maybe even a couple of months!? ... has been revealed because, well, guessing because the Canadian women's team had a training camp and their head coach was nowhere to be seen.

He's been let go... with several months to go before the World Cup. Genius.

https://rugby.ca/en/news/2022/03/rugby- ... s%E2%80%A8


... the other rumour doing the rounds is that he'd got lawyers involved, so likely challenged it. Another speculation was that his salary was tied to that Ontario-based development program that's also been chopped. But, surely, if that's a financial decision, you'd go "Okay, I'll see this team through to the World Cup on whatever you can afford and go then." As it seems to be with Tait getting canned from the 7s program, we'll probably never know the full story.

[eldanielfire]

And now for the main course ;)

The schedule



Of course it will be almost certainly between England and France for the title. However a few interesting narratives will be:

How has the small bits of professionalism impacted Wales so far? No cohesiveness before with lots of effort but little else, can they get their attacking going and make good decisions on the field?

Scotland pretty much all play in the English league, they appear to be getting better and better as a team. How much more have they improved?

Will Ireland have kicked on from their World cup qualifying exit? They ahve lots of new caps (9) and dropped some of their big name players.

Will Italy maintain their good run with a team of players who are tight and have a lot of continuity as a team. Can their pack front up to the big girl pack teams?

[eldanielfire]

The lowdown:


France: Big, powerful girls. Electric game changing scrumhalfs. Fly Halfs who can win or lose games. Best scrummagers without doubt. Powerful and dangerous backrow and game breaking back 3. If any team has the same template as their male counter parts, strengths and weaknesses, it's France, along with Ireland.

Players to watch for:

Caroline Drouin (Flyhalf). Good runner, can kick, but kicks can be inconsistent. If France are to overcome England, she is key.

Gaelle Hermet (Blindside): Big workhorse. Sets the tone for the forwards usually. Captain and usually quietly huge for France.

Caroline Boujard: (wing) Can rip teams apart, excellent winger who is a huge threat if given half a bit of space. Always to be feared with ball in hand.

Other key players: Emeline Gros (8), Cyrielle Banet (wing), Jessy Tremouliere (Fullback), Romane Menager (backrow), Any front rower


Wales: Young side with some talent. But often been very incohesive as a team. Girls will put in a shift, but not always play like a team. Woeful coaches have plagued them. Be interesting if professionalism improves things.

Players to watch:

Jasmine Joyce (wing/Fullback):
Electric winger. Probably the fastest with ball in hand. Also a hugely underrated defender, By underrated she might be the best at making that last tackleof any wing or fullback right now

Siwan Lilicrap (8): Captain. No matter the game always puts in a huge shift and is top or close to top in carries, meters and tackles.

Carys Phillips (Hooker):
There were some issues a few years ago. Her father dropped out coaching the side and she lost form. However she is back and is big and clever in the loose and a big scrummaging hooker. Her lineouts could be important to Wales who often aren't so strong there.

Other key players: Keira Bevan, Gwenllian Pyrs, Sioned Harries (who was mysteriously dropped for the past few years-Still unexplained), Sisilia Tuipulotu, (huge powerful lock), Bethan Lewis (openside), Hannah Jones (Outside centre)


Italy. Very cohesive side who have played together a lot. Probably the 3rd best 6 Nations team as a result. Weirdly can take the game to France but struggle against England physically.

Players to watch:

Sara Barattin: Scrum half. Captain and huge in dictating how Italy play.

Giada Franco: Openside. Important openside. When she's at her best she helps Italy win with big carries and a ton of work. Good reader of the game usually.

Michela Sillari: Outside centre. Noticeable with her scrumcap. One of those centres who just know to be in the right play at the right time in important plays.

Other key players

Manuela Furlan (winger), Beatrice Rigoni (centre), Ilaria Bettoni (Hooker), Elisa Giordano (8)


Scotland: Been a team getting together. Most key players play in England. Getting more cohesive. Fitness level are often high. Powerful backrow, hard working locks and excellent centres and back 3.

Players to watch:

Chloe Rollie: 15. Basically Stuart Hogg for the women. Rapid, an absolute game changer of a fullback who is dangerous form anywhere in the pitch if there is half a gap. And sometimes when there is less.

Helen Nelson: (Flyhalf): One of the best kickers of the ball outside England and France. Key for Scotland being able to nude ahead.

Jade Kronkel: (8). One of the biggest and hardest carriers in the game. Absolutely key for Scotland in the physicality of the game. Had to stop if Scotland get camped out on the tryline.

Other key players: Lisa Thompson (inside centre), Rhonda LLoyd (wing), Emma Wassell (lock), Sarah Bonar, Jenny Maxwell.


Ireland: Lots of new faces over the past few years and9 u capped players. Ciara Griffin has retired from test rugby at 27 and she was captain and so has Claire Molloy (expected at her age). Weird some big big players have been omitted from the squad including Sene Naoupu who is usually huge for them.

Players to watch:

Eimear Considine (Fullback/wing): Real dangerous broken field runner and good reader of the game.

Edel McMahon (Openside): Replacing the outstanding Claire Molloy who was a demon over the ball, super aggressive and had ridiculous power for her size. How she plays and how quickly she adapts and is able to raise her game is huge.

Linda Djougang: Powerful, quick explosive prop. Key to Ireland breaking the gain line in opponents 22.

Other key players: Beibhinn Parsons (winger), Lauren Delany (Fullback), Kathryn Dane (scrumhalf), Stacey Flood (Flyhalf)


England: 3 Six Nations in a row look dominate. However as anyone who see's their games against France know, they tend to tip those championship matches by only a point or two each time. At least 2 of the past 4 games have been one mistake or excellent play from flipping the result.

Players to watch:

Marley Packer: Perhaps England's player who is hardest to replace. Always gives 150%. Physical, carries well, deadline over the ball. Links play constantly. Can occasionally go off the boil but essential for England's success in the biggest games.

Leanne Infante (ne Riley) (Scrumhalf). IMO the best 9 in the women's game. Great pass, can snie and can kick. Does all the basics well and thinks quickly. IMO England's play goes down a lot when she is off.

Poppy Cleall (Back row and lock): IMO the world's best player right now. Physical, smart and skilful. Read the game well, plays on the edge and knows where to pop up for big plays and don't all her opponents know about her physicality.

Other key players: Zoe Aldcroft (Lock/blindside flanker), Marley Packer (Openside), Zoe Harrison(Flyhalf), Abby Dow (wing), Sarah Bern (prop), Amy Cokayne (hooker)

[Niegs]

Did you make that or was it some journo? Caroline Boujard is a winger, no? Scrumhalves are Pauline Bourdon and Laure Sansus. And it's "Marlie" Packer. Seems about right, though. Hoping to see more progress from Italy in this series. Feel like Wales and Scotland could step up from previous performances too. Ireland will want to send a message after crashing out of WC contention.

[eldanielfire]

Did you make that or was it some journo? Caroline Boujard is a winger, no? Scrumhalves are Pauline Bourdon and Laure Sansus. And it's "Marlie" Packer. Seems about right, though. Hoping to see more progress from Italy in this series. Feel like Wales and Scotland could step up from previous performances too. Ireland will want to send a message after crashing out of WC contention.

I wrote it all off my own head to help those who might take an interest. Hence the typos ;)

The error wasn't actually one in terms of mistaking the player. As my PR thread will show, I went to wrote about Bourdon and a quick search showed she was injured and probably won't play, so I switched to another player and must have deleted the wrong summary. Good thing you noticed, I'll update.

[eldanielfire]

Squad lists:

[Niegs]

Squad lists:

Unlike England men, there seem to be zero surprises in that team. :)

[Slick]

Taking the kids to the Scotland v England game on Saturday. I mentioned it to my 3 year old daughter not expecting much and she launched herself across the room screaming that she wanted to go which pleased me a lot - asking every morning if it's today.

12pm an odd kick off time

[eldanielfire]

Taking the kids to the Scotland v England game on Saturday. I mentioned it to my 3 year old daughter not expecting much and she launched herself across the room screaming that she wanted to go which pleased me a lot - asking every morning if it's today.

12pm an odd kick off time

Nice to see.

The start times are odd sometimes. I wodner if it is because there is a younger crowd for women's games? Or a holdover from where the women were schedulled around the men? It might be scheduleld to avoid other sports clashes or to suit TV audiences.