Wales Women outside-half Elinor Snowsill is expecting a backlash from Ireland in this Saturday’s TikTok Women’s Six Nations opener but is confident Wales are up to the task. Ioan Cunningham’s side travel to Dublin to face an Ireland side hurting at missing out on World Cup qualification. Snowsill expects a tough challenge but is excited on the eve oof the tournament, which is expected to generate more interest than any previously held.

Full-time contracts have been awarded to a dozen of Wales’ leading female players by the Welsh Rugby Union for the first time. Alisha Butchers, Natalia John, Siwan Lillicrap, Carys Phillips, Gwenllian Pyrs, Donna Rose and Keira Bevan, Hannah Jones, Jasmine Joyce, Ffion Lewis, Lisa Neumann, Elinor Snowsill, are the first full-time athletes. The 12-month deals, a first for the women’s game in Wales, came into force this week with players and management based at the National Centre of Excellence.

Wales women’s coach Ioan Cunningham has praised his team for their autumn efforts – even though they were reminded how far they still have to go by a formidable Canada side. Cunningham saw Wales lose 24-7 at Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday night, even though the Canadians played for the last 50 minutes with just 14 players after captain Olivia DeMarchant was sent off for a dangerous tackle. The North Americans showed why they are ranked the third best team in the world as they shrugged off the loss of their skipper and prop to outscore Wales by four tries to one.

Ioan Cunningham has told his Wales women’s team they still have plenty of room for improvement ahead of their clash against South Africa this weekend. The head coach saw his side earn a big win on Sunday night at Cardiff Arms Park with two tries from Jasmine Joyce helping them to a 23-5 victory over Japan. But Cunningham, the WRU women’s head coach, reckons his players can raise their standards further, especially when it comes to not giving away so many penalties.

“Those who want to be professional rugby players, can be full time professional rugby players.” At first glance, a bland statement that summarises a seemingly straightforward concept. When applied to the Wales Women’s senior side, however, it represents a seismic moment in the 34-year history of a group long plagued by mismanagement and neglect.

Wales Women have turned again to Geraint Lewis to get them out of a fix after announcing he would jointly lead their team into a three-Test autumn series. Former Wales flanker Lewis will take charge of the national team, alongside Ioan Cunningham, for their matches against Japan, South Africa and Canada It is the second time the Welsh Rugby Union have called Lewis in an emergency. He was first summoned to step in after the mysterious departure of Rowland Phillips in 2019 and now he has been asked to steer the ship again following the bizarre resignation of Warren Abrahams this summer after just nine months in the job.

By Rob Cole Manon Johnes should have been getting ready to go to the Women’s World Cup later this year, but she is just as happy to be preparing to make her debut in another major sporting occasion, the Women’s Varsity Match at Welford Road. With a season of Premier XVs rugby behind her with Bristol Bears, as well as another Six Nations campaign with Wales, the 20-year-old Oxford fresher should have nothing to fear about facing Cambridge in Leicester on 4 July. First capped by Wales as a 17-year against South Africa in 2018, the back row forward with 13 Welsh caps to her name, has grown in stature on the international stage throughout her teenage years and was looking forward to locking horns with New Zealand and Australia at the World Cup. That is until it was postponed until next year.

Wales Rugby League have named a 24-strong Women’s squad out of which they’ll select their 17 for the test match against England in Warrington on Friday June 25 (kick-off 6pm). Eleven players remain from the first ever squad in 2019 who went on to beat England Lions, with a further 11 of the 13 potential new caps coming from the elite athlete ID days that were held by WRL in both the north and south of Wales in April.

It was a difficult Six Nations campaign for Wales Women.  Three straight defeats, 125 points conceded, and vociferous discontent from outside the camp about the apparent apathy towards them from the WRU.  And yet, positives emerged. Some collectively, and the others in the form of individuals. 

With the fall-out from the women’s Six Nations continuing, Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Steve Phillips has repeated his claim that the women’s game will get the support it requires. It was a pledge high on corporate jargon, but low on detail. Tomos Marks has a few simple suggestions – including creating a worthwhile club side in Wales to prevent 18 hours of travel. Wales finished with the wooden spoon in this year’s Six Nations, their sixth wooden spoon since the start of the home nations tournaments in the 1990’s. In contrast, England won their 17th title from 26 competitions to date. This is a sad situation for the Welsh women’s team as they just aren’t competing with their European rivals.

Georgia Evans insists Wales Women have given themselves something to build on as they prepare for next year’s World Cup. Wales’ vice-captain believes last weekend’s 27-20 defeat to Scotland in their final Six Nations match has provided a platform for the global tournament in New Zealand next year. It may have been another defeat suffered at the weekend, but the fact that Wales ran the Scots so close should be viewed in the context of two previous morale-sapping defeats to France and Ireland in which Wales conceded 15 truis and failed to register a point.

Warren Abrahams insists Wales Women will learn the lessons from their thumping 45-0 defeat to Ireland and become a better side in the long run. South African Abrahams has quickly joined the long line of beaten Welsh coaches who talk about absorbing lessons, learning, progress, better days ahead, jam tomorrow, etc. That is after just two matches – both one-sided, heavy defeats in which Wales’ most encouraging moments came when they did no more than simply stem the flow of tries being conceded.