“Sisilia has to do my hair on game day, else I’m on edge”
T he Gloucester-Har tpur y and Wales hooker on superstitions, riding and a per f ect prank
WHAT’S THE funniest thing you’ve seen on the pitch? I’m so childish that I laugh my head off when someone’s bum comes out. Which happens a lot.
What really annoys you? Bad drivers.
If your house was on fire, what one item would you save? My ‘teddy’, a little dragon that my partner bought me for the Six Nations. I call him Drew and he’s my new prized possession.
Best gift you’ve received? Can I say my niece, Connie? She’s seven and she’s my pride and glory, I love her to bits. A lot of what I do is for her and my family. Who’d be your three dream dinner party guests? I’m mood-dependent. Right now I’d have Kevin Hart for the laughter, Chris Hemsworth for a bit of eye candy, and Zendaya as she’s got good energy and would probably have good conversations. She’s in TheGreatest Showman, one of my favourite films. Any phobias? Nothing really scares me but big spiders or snakes creep me out. I just know it would be my luck that I’d be bitten by something poisonous. What was your first job? I was a glass collector for a working men’s club in Neath, where I grew up. I was 16. Best advice you’ve had? To say yes to everything. Never give up an opportunity. My mum told me that. Any hidden talents? Gosh, I wish I did. I used to ride horses. I did MGA (Mounted Games Association), it’s five players on a team, basically a relay but on horses. Lots of different games, jumping on and off, a lot of fun. My grandfather still has horses.
Who would you like to be stuck in a lift with? Sisilia (Tuipulotu). She would entertain me, she has really good chat and we’d probably TikTok the whole time while waiting to be rescued.
Best prank played by a team-mate? At the World Cup, Kayleigh Powell, Bethan Lewis and Carys Williams-Morris did a lot of pranks on each other. The one they ended on was hilarious.
Bethan’s mum is South African and Carys did a fake article saying Bethan always wanted to play for South Africa but never had the opportunity and had to settle for Wales. Carys’s boyfriend is really good at technology and the article had the links and everything, it looked so real. And they even got our media lady involved, she
was going, “Look Bethan, this article has come out about you…”
Bethan was so confused. “What?! I haven’t spoken to anyone! Where has this come from?” It was so funny.
What’s your guilty pleasure? I love crisps and dip. Outside of food, doing a jigsaw. When I get into it I can’t stop. Most memorable headline you’ve seen about yourself? This is embarrassing but after the Saracens game we had a weekend off and I went home. I went to my local coffee shop, Monty’s, and the guy said, “How weird, I’ve just been reading about you and here you are.” I said, “What do you mean?” And he showed me the headline, Jonesgets threetriesandaredcard. I’d been sent off against Saracens for a high tackle. Any superstitions? Sisilia is my go-to for game-day hair. If I don’t have my hair plaited with her, it puts me on edge. My motto for rugby is ‘Look good, feel good, play good’, so I have to get my hair done by Sis.
If you could be a team-mate for a day, who’d it be? Zoe Aldcroft. A great human, a great rugby player, great people around her, what more could you want? And she has an adorable dog called Luna.
“They even involved our media lady, she said, ‘Look Bethan, this article has come out about you…’”
What would be your specialist subject on Mastermind? I’d go with something like songs and artists. Maybe Adele. What dish takes you instantly back to your childhood? My mum used to make the best lasagne. And it’s just such a homely, hearty meal. Probably with a bit of garlic bread and salad on the side. Any future goals? I’d like to coach. I have a passion for working with people with disabilities and creating opportunities for them. Trying to make a difference.
I helped set wheelchair rugby up at Cardiff Blues, where I was the disability and inclusion officer. Then I coached wheelchair rugby at Gloucester as well. What would be a successful Women’s Six Nations for Wales? We can’t get anything less than last year (third). So to put in good performances against the top nations, England and France, and get a top-three slot to qualify for WXV1. How’d you like to be remembered? For my smile. A lot of people tell me, ‘You’re always smiling, no matter what’.”