Youngsters ready to fire Wales to finals
JESS Fishlock, Sophie Ingle, Helen Ward and Natasha Harding have been the faces of women’s football in Wales for more than a decade now, racking up more than 400 caps between them.
In 2021, they still continue to shine, but what does the future hold and who are the new crop of talented starlets who look set to become the future of this Wales side?
Ahead of the World Cup qualifier with Greece tomorrow, we take a look at the youngsters coming through.
LILY WOODHAM
The 21-year-old started her career at Bristol City before making a move to Reading in 2018.
After impressing for the Royals, Woodham was rewarded with a callup to the Wales national team, and she could not have made a better start to her international career when she made her debut in October 2020.
Brought on against the Faroe Islands by then Wales manager Jayne Ludlow, Woodham scored her first international goal within seconds with virtually her first touch in a 4-0 win.
Since her debut, Woodham has not yet secured her place in the starting team for Wales, however she has regularly been brought on as a substitute, most recently against Estonia in a 4-0 World Cup qualifier victory in October.
She is chasing her sixth cap in the current international window.
CARRIE JONES
The 18-year-old midfielder last week put pen to paper on her first professional contract for Manchester United. It runs until 2023, with the option for another year.
The Newtown product, whose football journey began while playing with her cousins on her grandmother’s farm, was spotted by Manchester United while playing at Cardiff City Ladies.
She initially joined the WSL Under21s Academy, but made the step up to United’s senior team last season and made her senior debut as a substitute in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in March 2021.
As for Wales, Jones made her international debut aged just 15 under Ludlow and has since gone on to play a further four times under Ludlow’s successor, Gemma Grainger.
MARIA FRANCIS-JONES
Manchester City player Francis-Jones has one senior cap to her name.
Her football career began when she moved from Llanidloes in Powys to Nantgarw in 2019 aged just 16 to join the FAW’s Elite Female Football Academy at Coleg y Cymoedd. During her time there, she also played for Cardiff City Ladies.
In 2021, Francis-Jones was given the opportunity to join the blue side of Manchester as part of their academy squad, where she has linked up with ex-Wales manager and current City academy coach Ludlow with the hope of landing a professional contract.
The forward combines her football with studying for a degree in sport and exercise science at Manchester Metropolitan University and, despite being aged just 18, has been a regular in the Wales squad over the past year or so.
ELISE HUGHES
With 13 caps to her name, Hughes is the most senior player on this list in terms of caps despite being just 20.
The Charlton forward started her career at Everton after coming through their regional talent centre.
Loan spells at Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers followed, along with five goals for the latter.
In 2021, Hughes made a permanent move to Charlton and has since flourished while also scoring several key goals, including a hat-trick against Watford in the Championship.
Hughes’ strong club form has earned her multiple call-ups to the Wales squad over the past few years and in 2018, she made her senior debut in the Cyprus Cup against Switzerland.
MORGAN ROGERS
Before signing for Spurs in 2021, Rogers was at Cardiff City Ladies - at the same time as Francis-Jones - for three years where she developed as a threatening right-sided winger.
The Tottenham Under-21 plater has caught the eye of Grainger and the Wales coaching staff, and is in the World Cup qualifiers squad for the final matches of 2021.
WE’VE been treated to a feast of international rugby over the past month, with a series of compelling contests and a host of quality individual performances.
So which are the players that have stood out above all the others?
Rugby correspondent Simon Thomas has donned his hard hat and put together his team of the autumn.
15. Freddie Steward (England, right)
THE 20-year-old from Leicester went into the autumn as a real Test rookie, with just two caps – against the USA and Canada – to his name, but came out the other end as a new force in the world game, a player who can hold on to the England No.15 jersey for a decade. At 6ft 6ins and 16st 12lbs, he is such an imposing figure under the high ball, in defence and on the carry, with his lines of running and good feet for such a big man making him a major threat. A star is born.
14. Will Jordan (New Zealand)
I was sorely tempted to find a place in this team for the versatile Rieko Ioane, who lined up both on the wing and the centre during the autumn, showing his class and blistering pace in both positions. But, in the end, it’s his countryman Jordan who edges it, having continued his extraordinary try-scoring run over the past month, with touchdowns against both Wales and Ireland taking his tally to 17 from his first 12 caps, that individual effort in Cardiff being one of the highlights of the autumn.
13. Henry Slade (England)
THIS was such a tight call. Garry Ringrose had a huge game in Ireland’s famous victory over New Zealand and is very much the glue in their midfield, pretty much always making the right decisions in attack and defence. But Slade was arguably England’s stand-out player of the autumn and just brings a different dimension to their midfield with his creativity. That was exemplified by his no-look pass to Joe Marchant which set up the crucial Raffi Quirke try against South Africa, where Slade also fronted up to the physical challenge presented by Lukhanyo Am, who himself has had such a fine year.
12. Damian de Allende (South Africa)
SIMPLY the best inside centre in the world, a title he has held for a couple of years now. He’s the focal point of the Springboks attack with his mighty carrying, but there is more to him than just crash and bash. There’s also rugby intelligence as he picks the lines of weakness to exploit and the skills and awareness to capitalise on the yards he makes.
Then there’s his defence. You would have more joy running into a brick wall. Some player.
A word too for Australia’s Hunter Paisami, who is going to be a star.
11. Makazole Mapimpi (South Africa)
IN the absence of Cheslin Kolbe,
Mapimpi has really taken on the mantle as the Springboks’ main strike weapon out wide this autumn, adding three more tries to his impressive career total of 20 from 25 Tests. Such a good finisher. Elsewhere, Lions wing Duhan van der Merwe merits a mention in dispatches, as he has been a real handful in the colours of Scotland.
10. Romain Ntamack (France)
Produced the moment of the autumn – and arguably the year –when he set off from behind his own line to launch a length of the field counter that proved the turning point in France’s memorable victory over New Zealand. It was a mixture of audacity, pace and consummate skill, as he left Jordie Barrett in his wake before delivering an exquisite reverse pass to release Melvyn Jaminet. You could hear the intake of breath around the rugby world. His dad Emile would be so very proud of the young lad. What a talent.
9. Antoine Dupont (France, left)
I thought long and hard about selecting the moustachioed Nic White, who stood out during a difficult campaign for the Wallabies, with excellent performances against both Wales and England. But it’s hard to ignore the sheer brilliance of the livewire Dupont, who rounded off a magnificent 2011 in style. In Brian O’Driscoll’s opinion, there’s never been a more clear-cut world player of the year than the