Posted by Cymru get their WXV2 campaign up and running on Saturday as Ioan Cunningham’s side once again take on Australia just a week after facing them in a warm-up game at Rodney Parade.
It’s an intriguing return to competitive action for the women in red after a tough 2023/24 campaign that saw them slip to seven successive defeats across last year’s WXV1 and into the Six Nations, that was only saved by a Super Saturday win over Italy and a play-off victory against Spain in June.
A summer of soul searching alongside some drawn out contract negotiations led into a tough 40-14 loss away at Scotland in the first warm-up for the next few weeks, but the announcing of 37 players on central contracts, some of which span two years, and a confidence boosting win over the Wallaroos in Newport have sent the squad down to South Africa with a spring in their step.
It is the start of a huge 12 months for Cymru with WXV2 leading into the Six Nations and then on to the Rugby World Cup in England, with results and momentum the key to ultimately qualify for and win a quarter-final at the showpiece tournament.
However, WXV2 could also have some potentially short-term ramifications if results do not go as hoped.
Should this Welsh side struggle against Australia, Italy and Japan then the pressure will be heaped on to the head of Ioan Cunningham after that disappointing campaign last time out, with a feeling that a change may be needed prior to the Six Nations in order to bed in properly ahead of the RWC. Making a change after April would be very brave with warm-up games likely to be limited ahead of September.
Would that be fair? Potentially not, in all honesty. As much as the Welsh Rugby Union has made huge strides in terms of professionalising and upgrading the women’s national team high performance programme, the truth is that it is still hamstrung by a lack of structure beneath it.
There’s been improvement in terms of regional age grade competitions in Wales up to U18, development centres across the country and national age grade squads up to U20, with the U20 Six Nations providing a great platform to engage and develop the next generation of international stars.
However, we are still almost completely reliant on players then getting signed up by Premiership Women’s Rugby sides in order to get them the consistently high level of rugby they need to bridge the gap between talented youngster and test match ready senior international. That is not a sustainable way of managing a development pathway.
The Celtic Challenge is a great idea and the expansion of it is positive, but it is still a long way off being a season-long professional level competition. University rugby extends the bridge between age grade and senior professional, but the gap between both BUCS Super Rugby and the Celtic Challenge to that top level is not an easy one to cross.
As a result Cunningham, or whoever is Cymru Head Coach, essentially only has a player pool at a maximum of 40 to choose from. With injuries a hazard of contact sports, particularly in the women’s game where serious knee injuries a frighteningly common occurrence, it keeps the available player group down to a minimum, preventing any real challenging for spots in squads and driving that competition for places.
With his hands tied on the amount of players available to him, and a lack of new players consistently coming through the pathway, there is a difficulty for the Head Coach in maintaining that element of competition within the squad and having the tactical flexibility to mix things up, something especially prevalent when the opponents become so familiar.
There has to be some focus on the players when it comes to results and consistency of performance, but ultimately it will be the Head Coach who takes the brunt of the attention if Cymru were to return from WXV2 with little in the way of success.
The signs are tentatively encouraging with the team selection for the opening game against Australia slightly mixed up, as Kate Williams gets the nod at openside, Carys Cox returns the 13 jersey and Keira Bevan captains the side, but the proof will be in the pudding against three teams that have a similar level of quality to us on paper.
Here’s hoping that the positivity continues and there’s more upbeat considerations for Cymru over the next 12 months!
Cardiff Rugby Life 