Welsh rugby has just taken a huge step forward — and not just because of the historic EGM vote to bring WRU governance into the modern age.
Wales Women's 31-5 opening Six Nations thumping of Ireland was further reason to celebrate this weekend, the moment things finally started to click for this team.
Ioan Cunningham's Wales side had been set the task of finding their attacking spark, and exceeded expectations by scoring five tries in one afternoon, four of those in the space of 33 minutes. The Welsh pack dominated and provided a strong platform, but Wales' game pleasantly relied on looking for space and exploiting the gap rather than trying to run through opposition.
Cardiff Arms Park was bouncing, with plenty of smiling faces, excitement and singing, making for an inclusive family atmosphere. Renditions of Hymns and Arias and Bread of Heaven as half-time approached were poignant; a few years ago, there wouldn't have been enough people watching in the stands for the sound of the lyrics to reach the players on the field. But as rays of sunshine fought to dance through the clouds on a mostly dry afternoon, 4,962 supporters all had a part to play in setting a new attendance record for a standalone home women's rugby international in Wales.
The largest crowd record before that was for the 2022 Six Nations win over Scotland at the Arms Park, when 4,875 fans turned out and will no doubt remember breathlessly watching on and rising to their feet as Alisha Butchers broke through the opposition defence to offload to a sprinting Ffion Lewis for a beautifully-worked match-winning try.
While the above will live long in my memory, Wales v Ireland had to be one of my favourite ever days at work, having spent eight years with WalesOnline and five in the sports department. I teared up no fewer than three times.
The first, when new Six Nations captain Hannah Jones, chipper scrum-half Keira Bevan and player of the match Sisilia Tuipulotu, making her first Test start at tighthead prop having relocated from second-row, were substituted in the second half. Heavily populated with friends and family of players, the stands in front of the Arms Park press box rose to their feet, offering a rapturous applause by way of thanks for their un-ending efforts. As a quick aside, it was a lovely moment too when the whole squad turned on the pitch to applaud their biggest supporters in this section at the final whistle.
The second, when new Wales cap Kate Williams, born in Swansea but raised in Auckland, embraced her bear hug-offering dad Gareth on the pitch after being presented with her first cap. He flew in from New Zealand a few days prior as a surprise, having booked his flight weeks ago not even knowing if Kate would be playing. You could hear the collective "aww" reverberate around the stadium as they enjoyed a post-match cwtch. Gareth later said it was one of the best days of his life.
To the third, when Wales players were completely mobbed during a pitch invasion at the final whistle. First a few kids ran on the field, and then there was the double-take upon realising just how many people wanted to join the party. Players were asked to sign jerseys, pose for photos and chat to fans like there was no tomorrow, and did so gladly.
Wales' last three Women's Six Nations fixtures against Ireland turn out to be a pretty good barometer of their highs and lows in recent years. Such scenes like the pitch invasion would have been unthinkable just 24 months ago, when Welsh women's rugby hit rock bottom with a 45-0 home defeat to their neighbours from across the Irish Sea. It unforgettably had then-captain Siwan Lillicrap in tears as she cut a distraught figure, as Wales' then winless streak stretched to two years and morale hit an all-time low.
Wales' players were all amateur then, balancing full-time work with training, travel, Wales and club commitments, only training a few evenings a week, focusing on group sessions and barely having any time for individual work-ons. They were exhausted, and such tough results prompted public outcry and demands for the Welsh Rugby Union to start properly resourcing its women's performance programme.
That pressure paid off. In large thanks to now acting WRU chief executive Nigel Walker, then performance director, professional contracts were in the hands of 12 players in time for January 2022, while a similar number signed semi-pro deals. Last year's Six Nations, a few months after Wales joined heavyweights England and France in going pro, Wales pulled off a thrilling second-half comeback in Dublin to beat the Irish 27-19. A pretty tight affair, but there was progress for Wales.
Now, 14 months into giving rugby their all, Wales dominated the Irish, who - along with Italy and Scotland - turned pro at the end of last year. While any conversation involving the WRU and women in recent months has invariably focused on allegations of sexism and misogyny at the governing body, which have prompted a review into its culture and behaviours, Wales Women made sure they were the topic of conversation with their performance on the field.
While we must keep our Welsh feet on the ground until we see more from this Wales team against more settled opposition, it's not hard to deduce the fact that investment is the only way forward.
While financial investment, which will hopefully keep growing as Wales bid to catch up with the likes of England who went pro in 2019, is welcome, we must not forget about cultural investment: amplifying this team — and all women's sports, for that matter — normalising it, promoting it, engaging with it, with the view to enjoy it like we would no matter if it's men or women competing. There will be differences between men's and women's rugby, of course, but that's no bad thing and can be used as a positive point of difference.
One key way to celebrate and continually grow women's sport is through powerful storytelling.
In the build-up to their round-one win, Wales players completely bought into their media duties once again. Women's rugby's greatest asset is the players themselves, who are unafraid to show their true characters, personalities and shine a light on the unique back-stories they harbour, often about how they (miraculously, looking back) managed to balance full-time jobs pre-professionalism with driving up and down the country for training and games, depending on where they were based, all while trying to be the best versions of themselves on the field. Impossible.
Press conferences with Wales Women rugby and football teams, and other women's teams I'm sure, often have a warm atmosphere to them. As much as we're there to do a job, there is an awareness we all have the power to help grow the sport, even just a little bit. And that comes from impactful stories, which would not be possible if players did not open up - and, at that, going well beyond any obvious-stating cliches about wanting to win, score more and nail all your conversions.
While I'm not for one minute suggesting men's pro rugby players are afraid to open up and show their authenticity (although depending on the player and their disposition there may be a certain unwillingness at times), the frank truth is the men don't need to do so to anywhere near the same extent. The growth of their sport does not rely on it in the same way. Although whether rugby could do with more personalities to grow its global profile is a topic for another day.
The best storyline? Winning, of course.
We will learn more about where Wales are really at as this Women's Six Nations goes on, but getting off to a winning start is a perfect early recipe for growth, both on and off the field.
If you're a rugby fan — heck, even if you're not but are uber-proud to be Welsh — you would do worse than getting down to Cardiff Arms Park on Saturday, April 15, when Wales host England (2.15pm kick-off). It's Wales' only remaining home game of the campaign, and tickets are available at £10 for adults and £5 for children (U16s) via wru.wales/W6N. How often do you get to see a Wales rugby international with that sort of value?
Having beat Ireland, Wales will realistically be targeting further victories over Scotland (this Saturday) and Italy, with wins over England and France a distant ambition for now (although stranger things have happened). But closing the gap and reducing the often cricket-like scorelines this year would be huge progress. A packed out stadium would no doubt give Wales the extra inspiration to do just that.
These are special times, and I'm glad so many more people are coming along for the journey. You'd be mad to opt out.
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