Wales
EmblemThe Prince of Wales's feathers
UnionWelsh Rugby Union
Head coachIoan Cunningham
CaptainHannah Jones
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current6 (as of 4 September 2023)
Highest3 (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
Appearances6 (First in 1991)
Best result4th place, 1994
Women's
World Rugby Rankings
Top 20 rankings as of 25 December 2023[1]
RankChange*TeamPoints
1 Steady England096.18
2 Steady New Zealand090.56
3 Steady France087.89
4 Steady Canada086.27
5 Steady Australia081.61
6 Steady Wales076.67
7 Steady Italy075.61
8 Steady Scotland074.37
9 Steady United States072.02
10 Steady Ireland071.52
11 Steady Japan069.38
12 Steady Spain064.89
13 Steady South Africa064.37
14 Steady Russia061.10
15 Steady Netherlands060.02
16 Steady Samoa059.57
17 Steady Fiji058.65
18 Steady Hong Kong058.31
19 Steady Sweden056.01
20 Steady Kazakhstan055.97
*Change from the previous week

The Wales women's national rugby union team (Welsh: tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol merched Cymru) first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship.

History

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 team. Taken on 15 December 1917, the photograph 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 Women . 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

Current squad

On 8 March 2023, Wales coach Ioan Cunningham named a 36-strong squad for the 2023 Women's Six Nations Championship.[9]

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Kat Evans Hooker (1986-01-09) 9 January 1986 5 England Saracens
Kelsey Jones Hooker (1997-09-04) 4 September 1997 34 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Carys Phillips Hooker (1992-11-12) 12 November 1992 63 England Worcester Warriors
Abbey Constable Prop (1991-06-18) 18 June 1991 0 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Cerys Hale Prop (1993-04-04) 4 April 1993 43 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Cara Hope Prop (1993-11-24) 24 November 1993 25 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Gwenllian Pyrs Prop (1997-11-28) 28 November 1997 23 England Bristol Bears
Caryl Thomas Prop (1986-02-19) 19 February 1986 64 England Worcester Warriors
Sisilia Tuipulotu Prop (2003-08-14) 14 August 2003 8 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Gwen Crabb Lock (1999-06-28) 28 June 1999 29 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Georgia Evans Lock (1997-01-29) 29 January 1997 16 England Saracens
Natalia John Lock (1996-02-15) 15 February 1996 33 England Worcester Warriors
Charlie Mundy Lock (1995-11-28) 28 November 1995 0 Wales Ospreys / Pontyclun Falcons
Alex Callender Back row (2000-07-29) 29 July 2000 24 England Worcester Warriors
Abbie Fleming Back row (1996-03-31) 31 March 1996 6 England Exeter Chiefs
Sioned Harries Back row (1989-11-22) 22 November 1989 70 England Worcester Warriors
Bethan Lewis Back row (1999-02-19) 19 February 1999 34 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Kate Williams Back row (2000-04-05) 5 April 2000 1 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Keira Bevan Scrum-half (1997-04-28) 28 April 1997 49 England Bristol Bears
Megan Davies Scrum-half (2002-01-19) 19 January 2002 3 England Bristol Bears
Ffion Lewis Scrum-half (1996-06-29) 29 June 1996 29 England Worcester Warriors
Elinor Snowsill Fly-half (1989-06-27) 27 June 1989 72 England Bristol Bears
Niamh Terry Fly-half (2000-04-30) 30 April 2000 8 England Worcester Warriors
Robyn Wilkins Fly-half (1995-04-01) 1 April 1995 62 England Exeter Chiefs
Lleucu George Centre (2000-01-12) 12 January 2000 11 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Hannah Jones (c) Centre (1996-11-14) 14 November 1996 44 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Bryonie King Centre (2003-08-14) 14 August 2003 0 England Bristol Bears
Kerin Lake Centre (1990-05-24) 24 May 1990 41 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Catherine Richards Centre (2000-10-21) 21 October 2000 0 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Jenna De Vera Centre (2003-12-25) 25 December 2003 0 Wales Scarlets / Burry Port
Carys Williams-Morris Centre (1993-09-28) 28 September 1993 5 England Loughborough Lightning
Hannah Bluck Wing (1997-04-01) 1 April 1997 6 England Worcester Warriors
Courtney Keight Wing (1997-12-27) 27 December 1997 6 England Bristol Bears
Lisa Neumann Wing (1993-12-23) 23 December 1993 32 England Gloucester-Hartpury
Lowri Norkett Wing (1995-04-05) 5 April 1995 4 England Worcester Warriors
Amelia Tutt Fullback (2003-06-02) 2 June 2003 0 England Loughborough Lightning

Previous squads

Notable players

Records

World Cup

Rugby World Cup
Year Round Position GP W D L PF PA
Wales 1991 Plate quarter-finals N/A 3 0 1 2 18 39
Scotland 1994 3rd Place Playoff 4th 5 3 0 2 63 96
Netherlands 1998 11th Place Playoff 11th 5 3 0 2 181 75
Spain 2002 9th Place Playoff 10th 4 2 0 2 126 50
Canada 2006 Did not participate
England 2010 9th Place Playoff 9th 5 2 0 3 91 109
France 2014 7th Place Playoff 8th 5 1 0 4 48 147
Ireland 2017 7th Place Playoff 7th 5 2 0 3 78 143
New Zealand 2021 Quarter-final — 4 1 0 3 40 139
Total 8/9 4th 36 14 1 21 645 798
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

Overall

(Full internationals only)
Correct as of 13 November 2021

Rugby: Wales internationals 1987–
Opponent First game Played Won Drawn Lost Percentage
 Australia 2002 4 0 0 4 0.00%
 Canada 1991 11 2 2 7 18.18%
 England 1987 37 2 0 35 5.41%
 France 1994 27 4 0 23 14.81%
 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 28 15 0 13 53.57%
 Italy 1998 20 12 1 7 60.00%
 Kazakhstan 1994 5 3 0 2 60.00%
 Netherlands 1988 5 2 0 3 40.00%
 New Zealand 1991 4 0 0 4 0.00%
 Russia 1998 2 2 0 0 100.00%
 Samoa 2002 1 0 0 1 0.00%
 Scotland 1993 33 18 0 15 54.55%
 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 5 1 0 4 20.00%
Summary 1987 220 74 3 134 33.63%

References

  1. ↑ "Women's World Rankings". World Rugby. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
  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. ↑ "Cunningham names Wales Women's squad for TikTok Six Nations". Welsh Rugby Union | Wales & Regions. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  10. ↑ "Liza Burgess: "The sky's the limit for women's rugby"". www.world.rugby. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "World Rugby - Hall of Fame". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
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