21-year-old switches country for tournament
A RUGBY player made her Six Nations debut for Wales having switched allegiance from England.
Jenny Hesketh, who was born in Macclesfield, lined up at Cardiff Arms Park against Scotland on Saturday, March 23.
The 21-year-old, who has impressed with her performances at full-back for Bristol Bears this season, is a former England U20 captain but qualifies for the Welsh side through her mother.
Her debut ended with a narrow 18-20 defeat with Jenny playing the entire match.
The switch came after Wales manager Ioan Cunningham invited Jenny to a training camp in February.
Jenny, a Bath University student, said ahead of the game: “It all happened quite quickly.
“They were at Bristol Bears training just before Christmas and me and
Ioan were in chats from then.
“It was very exciting to be in talks with an international coach and it kind of came out of the blue in a way.
“My mum is Welsh and all my family are Welsh, and so it’s really cool to have the opportunity to represent my whole family in a different way than I have before.”
Previously Jenny had been involved in the England pathway since the age of six.
She said: “The opportunities that I’ve been presented with right now, to work towards a professional contract and how the game is changing in Wales, it’s a really exciting thing to be a part of.
“It was a difficult one [switching from England], but women’s rugby right now, every team is so competitive.
“This Six Nations coming up is going to be the most competitive it has ever been, that’s something that’s really exciting to be a part of.”
Cunningham added: “Jenny Hesketh has impressed on and off they field since she joined up with us and fully deserves to make her Wales debut.”