Gwenllian among the history-makers with first WRU pro contracts to women’s internationals
TWELVE Wales internationals have become the first women’s rugby players in Welsh rugby history to become professional.
The dozen-strong cohort - two more than originally announced have been contracted full time for 12 months by the Welsh Rugby Union after accepting terms on the historic deals.
Players to have turned professional include Bangor-born prop Gwenllian Pyrs from Ysbyty Ifan, lightning-quick wing/full-back Jasmine Joyce, captain and No. 8 Siwan Lillicrap, stalwart fly-half Elinor Snowsill and hooker and former captain Carys Phillips, who made her return to the international set-up just a matter of months ago after more than 700 days out of the picture.
The forwards contingent is completed by back-rower Alisha Butchers, lock Natalia John and prop Donna Rose. The full-time player group is finalised by scrum-halves Keira Bevan and Ffion Lewis, centre Hannah Jones and winger Lisa Neumann.
Their year-long contracts took effect this week, with players and management - led by head coach Ioan Cunningham - now based at
Wales’ National Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort, alongside Wayne Pivac’s team and other Wales internationals from U20s and Sevens set-ups.
A further 15 players who will be on “retainer”/semi-professional contracts will be announced in the coming weeks.
Being contracted - a process which required coaches to be “fairly clinical and even ruthless”, according to head coach Cunningham - has involved meeting a set of performance and standards criteria, including around fitness and on-pitch performance.
Talent and ability was the first element in the selection process, Cunningham said, followed by potential growth of the player and their attitude.
The contracts development means players will no longer have to balance playing rugby alongside full-time work or education, and full-time players will now go from weekend training camps and one midweek session to training up to four times a week with individual performance plans also put in place, to go alongside activity for players’ Allianz Premier 15s clubs in England.
On top of the two-tier contract model, there will be match fees for matchday 23 squad players for the first time and, for those players who are not contracted, there will also be World Cup selection and training camp attendance payments.
After linking up this week, Wales Women’s attentions will now turn to the upcoming standalone 2022 Six Nations in March and April following a successful and revitalised autumn campaign which brought two wins from three and a renewed, attack-focused game-plan.
The Six Nations is Wales’ last campaign before the World Cup.