By Hannah Blackwell
Wales will be part of a new tournament aimed at bridging the gap between club and international rugby ahead of next year’s Women’s Six Nations.
The Welsh Rugby Union have joined the Irish and Scottish unions in creating the Celtic Challenge, which will start next month.
One team from each of the three countries will compete in the tournament in the first year, while the aim is to launch a six-team tournament with two from each union in 2024.
The 2023 Celtic Challenge will see each team play two home games and two away games, with the last round of fixtures set to take place four weeks before the 2023 Women’s Six Nations kicks off.
Wales will be represent by a WRU Development XV, Ireland will enter a Combined Provinces XV, while and Scotland will be represented by The Thistles.
🚨 @IrishRugby, the WRU and @Scotlandteam have created a pilot Celtic Challenge competition, supported by @WorldRugby, to provide a high-performance tournament window ahead of the @Womens6Nations in 2023
For more 👇
🏴 #WelshRugby
— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴 (@WelshRugbyUnion) December 21, 2022
At present, none of the current Wales squad play their club rugby in Wales. No details have been given about player release from current contracts with clubs outside Wales.
Wales will be coached by Wales forwards coach Mike Hill with Liza Burgess and Rhys Pritchard as assistants.
The WRU says the squad will feature a mix of young, emerging players and club players.
“We are very excited by this new opportunity to develop players on the female performance pathway,” said WRU performance director Nigel Walker.
A Combined Provinces XV will play The Thistles and a Welsh Development XV in four games across January and February in the Celtic Challenge Cup
READ: https://t.co/GTlGH0Lbq2#FromTheGroundUp pic.twitter.com/pGyxw6JSNJ
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) December 21, 2022
“This is very much a starting point with one team per country in this pilot year, but the training programme and matches will provide an invaluable experience for Welsh players with ambitions to play international rugby to improve and test themselves in a performance environment.”
Celtic Challenge fixtures
The Thistles v WRU Development XV – Saturday, 21/Sunday, 22 January, 2023 – location TBC
WRU Development XV v Combined Provinces XV – Sunday, 29 January, 2023 – Cardiff Arms Park
Combined Provinces XV v The Thistles – Saturday, 4 February, 2023 – Kingspan Stadium
WRU Development XV v The Thistles – Saturday, 11 February, 2023 – Cardiff Arms Park
Combined Provinces XV v WRU Development XV – Saturday, 18 February, 2023 – Kingspan Stadium
The Thistles v Combined Provinces XV – Saturday, 25 February, 2023 – location TBC
