Wales star Alisha Butchers has urged her team to replicate their strong opening Six Nations win in Dublin when they face Scotland on Saturday amid hopes the side's success can be the catalyst for a better future for Welsh women's rugby.
Bristol Bears flanker Butchers, 24, was named player of the match after the 27-19 rout of the Irish last Saturday, being at the centre of everything that was good about her side's performance.
She is one of the 12 full-time contracted professionals who signed WRU contracts in January.
"We never once thought last weekend that we weren’t going to come away with the win," she said of the opening-round victory, which ended Wales' seven-game losing streak in the Six Nations. "It was a change in mentality and a change in how we approached games.
"We’ve worked extremely hard on fitness. One of our main goals was to become physically better athletes and that’s exactly what we’ve done.
"In the autumn, last 20-30 minutes of games we’d be dropping off. We’ve shown that we can actually build through games. Before we went professional we’d have two evening sessions a week and then play on the weekend. Ioan has now created an elite environment here where we’re able to grow and become better players every day.
"I do believe that win on Saturday was definitely needed and that the only way is up from here. We’re doing everything we can to change the sport."
Wales now face Scotland this Saturday at Cardiff Arms Park (4.45pm kick-off) in their first home game of the championship. More than 3,000 tickets - priced at £10 for adults or £5 for under-16s - have already been sold.
"I can't wait for it to be Saturday already," Butchers said. "The crowd is going to be unreal, I’m so excited about it. After Saturday it took us half an hour or an hour to say 'we’ve done this now, but in seven days’ time we're going to be facing a strong Scottish side', and good teams back it up."
This tournament is the first standalone full round-robin Women's Six Nations, and the back-rower is hopeful Wales' successful win, and hopefully an overall success campaign, will help to provide a springboard for a better future for Welsh women's rugby.
"I hope this is the spark of a completely different future for women’s rugby in Wales," she added. "We’re doing everything we can. We’re pushing ourselves every single day to be that group of people that changes the sport in the future in Wales.
"It’s great to have our own spotlight, and not be in the shadow of the men’s or the under-20s. Record-breaking crowds over the weekend and the amount of social media attention we’ve been having has only grown the game further and is a positive thing for the sport."
Wales’ game against Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park kicks off at 4.45pm on Saturday, April 2, and is being broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC Two Wales. Tickets are available here.
