MEET THE WELSH WOMEN AIMING TO BEAT ENGLAND
NO matter what the sport, Wales v England is always a fixture that sets the pulses racing.
But when Wales women head to Southampton to take on the old enemy tomorrow (7pm), there will be more than just bragging rights at stake.
While 2017 was a year of desperate disappointment for Chris Coleman’s men’s side, Jayne Ludlow’s band of sisters enjoyed one of their best years yet, sitting proudly at the top of their qualifying group with four games left.
Only a point separates Wales from their fierce rivals, with England also having the luxury of a game in hand, as well as a frightening run of form.
The Lionesses have netted 15 goals without reply in their opening three games and, on the face it, look to be the overwhelming favourites ahead of the clash at which will represent Phil Neville’s first home game in charge.
But despite being separated by 32 places in the world rankings, and with memories of a 4-0 thrashing four years ago still fresh in the minds, there’s no shortage of belief in the Welsh camp.
The influence of 108-capped Jess Fishlock, top scorer Helen Ward and captain Sophie Ingle have been welldocumented, but there’s much, much more to this squad, and they each have their own fascinating stories to tell, whether it be where they’ve come from or where they’re going.
They each share one thing – a love of the game that is only eclipsed by a love of pulling on the red jersey.
The prison officer turned Wales wonder
THE current squad is littered with compelling stories, but Rachel Rowe’s rise to representing her country arguably sticks out.
Turning out in the red of Wales has capped off what has been a remarkable journey for the Reading defender, who despite turning professional back in 2015, actually came close to giving up her dream of playing the game she loves.
Rowe, 25, started her career at Cardiff City and then Swansea, balancing football with her full-time job – in the prison service.
“I worked in Cardiff and Swansea prison as an operational support guard,” she explains.
“My day-to-day routine would be to search for contractors, let their vehicles in, do hourly checks on their tools to make sure that nothing went missing.
“We’d be on the wings with all the prisoners, while providing a secure area to work, laying down floors, electrical equipment and new foundations. It was really interesting and I enjoyed it.”
An apprenticeship in business administration with the Welsh Government followed, as did a move to Reading, which brought with it a daunting 300-mile round trip to training three times a week from her home in Swansea.
Then again, when you’ve worked in two of the toughest prisons in Wales, a monstrous commute is nothing to become overawed by.
Rowe admits it was a tough schedule to get on board with, but it soon paid off, as Reading were promoted to the WSL 1, enabling her to put pen to paper on her first professional deal.
“I went into full-time football a lot later than most people, but I think that gave me a grit and determination to succeed even more and I think that’s the main reason why I got to where I am,” she said.
“If you want it that much, you’ve got to be willing to leave everything. You reap the rewards. If you didn’t do it you’d regret it.”
The drive to succeed is made even more remarkable given that her career was very nearly ended before it had ever even begun.
In 2013, while playing for Swansea City Ladies, Rowe had a horrific leg break in a game with former club Cardiff.
It was an incident that brought her entire career to the brink of the abyss.
“When I broke my leg I was sort of playing football as a hobby and had almost given up my dream of becoming a professional. Growing up in Wales it’s not something that you’d think was possible until recent years.
“So it’s a massive dream come true to be playing full-time day-in, dayout.
“When you’re out injured you either go one way or the other. Fortunately everything went up.”
Current Wales boss Jayne Ludlow was a big part of that turnaround, including the move to Reading, taking a chance on Rowe when her career looked to have hit rock bottom.
“Jayne took over the Welsh squad and I hadn’t been in it for a few years before that, but she selected me for a senior camp and that’s when my career really started.
“Kelly Chambers, who is my Reading manager, was the assistant manager at the time and she offered me a contract to play part-time in the WSL, and it just carried on from there really.”
The former accountant once barred from playing
JUGGLING a day job with football is something that Rowe’s team-mate Melissa Fletcher knows only too well.
Having herself been with Reading for nearly 20 years, Fletcher finally turned professional at the beginning of last year, and is clearly glad to finally be able to fully focus on playing the game she loves, having previously balanced her football next to her work as a chartered accountant.
“I worked in auditing, which was very project based,” recalls the Wales forward, 26. “So I’d be out with a client the whole day and would have to travel to wherever that may be.
“It was quite a task to juggle it. The nature of my job was quite demanding. I’d be getting up around 7am for work and then if we had training I’d have to head straight from the office to training and back again. So it was very stressful, but I managed to get through it somehow.
“Football was always something I wanted to focus fully on. When I started playing I didn’t really see it getting this big for women’s football and it’s fantastic to see that it has.
“So, while I started my career path in finance, I always had football on the side on a part-time basis, but then obviously the situation arose where it was big enough to go professional. I just wanted to finish my chartered accounting exam and then I snapped up the chance to go fulltime.”
Like so many of her international team-mates, Fletcher’s love for the game began from a very young age.
“I grew up in Bracknell in Berkshire and played for Bracknell Cavaliers, which is a boys’ team, until I reached the age of 12 where you’re unfortunately no longer allowed to play with boys.
“I also played for the Reading Cen-
tre of Excellence during that time from the age of eight, so I’ve been at the club for 18 years in total, joining the full women’s team at the age of 16.”
Of tomorrow big game she said: “We’re so excited for it. It’s obviously a massive occasion for Wales and the game means so much and with the amount of people there, it should be a big night and we can’t wait to enjoy it.”
Inspiring the next generation
WITH 67 caps to her name, Natasha Harding has seen everything when it comes to playing for Wales, including the crushing low of that horrible 4-0 hammering in 2014.
But the 29-year-old is adamant that significant progress has been made since that day, with Wales a different animal under Ludlow.
“I think a lot of the progress in recent years has had a lot to do with Jayne. Not only has taken the role of manager, but I think she’s taken on the responsibility of making the game in Wales better, communicating with coaches outside the international set-up and in the Welsh Premier League.
“There are things like the college set-up where the girls are training every day and doing education alongside that and if I had that when I was 16-17, I would be a better player than what I am now.
“So she’s instilling things for the future and Wales can only benefit from that.”
Harding, too, is passionate about the future of the women’s game, having seen her own career stall at the age of 13 after being leaving her local club in Cardiff – a move that saw her experiment with other sports, such as rugby and hockey.
But the love of football shone through, and set her on a career path that saw her eventually turn out for Manchester City and Liverpool.
As an established member of the Wales set-up, she’s determined to ensure that she plays her part in ensuring the next generation of football-obsessed girls are given the best possible chance to thrive, setting up a Soccer School in the Welsh capital that she hopes will bring through the next Welsh women’s superstar.
“I went back home recently to look at the club that made me who I am and where I started my journey and fell in love with the game and it was sad to see there were no girls playing,” she explained.
“Hopefully, I can leave enough of a legacy to make it easier for girls to get into it. If I can make just one girl say ‘I want to play football because I saw Tash Harding’ I’ve done part of my job.
“That’s one of the reasons why I’ve opened up Soccer Schools. I just want to give the next Jess Fishlock or the next Sophie Ingle a chance to hopefully become the next superstar for Wales.”
From scoring goals to fixing pipes
HELPING the next generation of female footballers is an ethos shared by team-mate Kayleigh Green, who despite having a few more years ahead of her on the pitch, is already planning for when her playing days are over.
Having completed her UEFA B Licence course, striker Green is hoping to stay in the game, but has nevertheless looked at other possible avenues, and is currently training to be a plumber at a local college.
“I’ve always been interested in a trade. I’ve always looked further down the line and would like to do property developing and I’ve actually done several other trades. I’ve done carpentry for a year.
“I’m not really the sort of person that wants to sit behind a desk in an office. I’m an active person and going down that route is definitely an option.”
Becoming a plumber is a bit of a shift from potentially representing your country at a World Cup, although it seems to be more of an insurance rather than a preferred career path, with the 30-year-old still keeping a close eye on any coaching opportunities that may arise.
“Studying for my B Licence was a great experience,” explained the 30-year-old. “Learning from such top coaches was a great opportunity and hopefully I can learn from that and maybe one day get a job working for the FAW Trust or the FAW.
“At the moment I’m enjoying a bit of coaching here and there. I’d like to do my A Licence and I’m around great coaches.
“I’ve helped Jayne in some of her high-performance sessions across different age groups and I’ve had a few local teams ask me to help out with their age groups.
“I just think that it’s fantastic for the younger generation to look at Welsh international players as role models and that’s something I want to be. I want to help coach them with everything I’ve learned.”