Their dramatic rise through the ranks is testimony to their form playing in the Celtic Challenge this season and the confidence new Wales head coach Sean Lynn has in the talent coming through the women’s pathway.
Both players, along with prop Jenni Scoble who is also starting for the first time in the front row, have been able to navigate their way to the top through a carefully crafted pathway that is beginning to bear rich fruit and enabling Lynn to build for the future.
The 19-year-old Davies first picked up a rugby ball when she was six at Dunvant Rugby Club. She went down to watch her dad, Jamie, coach her older brother, Ben, got involved and demanded to be included every weekend after that light bulb moment.
Maisie Davies (with ball) in Dunvant U13 team (Pic: Dunvant RFC)
She played with the boys for seven years, often captaining the U13 side, before switching to a girl’s hub. She then won a rugby scholarship to Llandovery College and twice played for them at Principality Stadium in the 2022 and 2023 Schools U18 Cup finals.
She co-captained the Scarlets U18 side, started for Wales U18 in their first international against England at Rugby School in 2023 and graduated into the ranks of Gwalia Lightning via the Six Nations U18 and U20 Festivals.
She was called into the senior Wales Squad for training last year and won her first senior cap as a replacement against Japan in last year’s WXV2. It has been an incredible journey in such a short space of time, but the best is still to come.
“It was surreal when I first went into the senior Wales camp. I was nervous, but they were all so lovely and welcoming,” said Davies, a student at Cardiff Met.
“I was learning different things from people and picking up little things that I wouldn’t have done before. I learned how hard they work, which I then took back with me into the U20 camps.
“It has been crazy, a real whirlwind. I transitioned from back row into the front row playing with the U20s in Parma last summer and then I got called into the senior set up.
“I’m constantly learning and asking questions of the other props. I don’t think moving up to the front row has taken anything away from my game – in fact it’s really suiting my game.
“This campaign is a real opportunity for all of us. A first Six Nations campaign at the age of 19 is pretty special after playing only 10 games at loose head – I’m really excited.”
Davies got 30 minutes on debut against Japan last year as a replacement for the tried and trusted Gwellian Pyrs, who is on the bench for the game in Edinburgh. But there is a new breed rising through the ranks of women’s rugby in Wales and the likes of Davies, Alaw Pyrs and Scoble are merely the tip of the iceberg.
Maisie Davies on the charge for Wales v Japan
“I’m now playing with a number of players I was in the Wales U18 and then U20 squads in the Celtic Challenge and in the Wales squad. You can see there is a new team growing within the squad,” added Davies.
“With Sean Lynn coming in as head coach it’s a fresh start, which is great for such a young squad. He’s really enthusiastic and his style makes it exciting for all of us.
“It was surreal last year playing with and training alongside international players in the Celtic Challenge. We had Bryonie King as our captain and the step up to that level was great to experience.
“That helped me when I was called into international camps and the positional change meant I had to concentrate even more.”
A former soccer player and goalkicking back row forward in school, she switched to prop during the Six Nations U20 Summer Series last year and made such a success of it she scored two tries against Italy and was named in the team of the tournament.
How will she fare as she makes the next step up the representative ladder? Having had a taste of what the Scots have to offer in this season’s Celtic Challenge she knows what is coming.
“The Scottish teams built into their campaign in the Celtic Challenge, and they were pretty physical. It was a very competitive competition week in, week out,” said Davies.
“We just need to focus on ourselves and doing well for ourselves. We have to believe in our own abilities and not worry about what anyone else is thinking about us.
“There is so much that goes into it, it’s not all about the 80 minutes on the pitch. There are a lot of ex-internationals in the women’s pathway programme in Wales at the moment and they have been really helpful in preparing me for the steps I’ve taken along the way.
“Clare Flowers was brilliant at Llandovery College and now I’m being coached and advised by Elinor Snowsill at Cardiff Met. Their experiences are helping us.”
It has been some journey from Dunvant U7s, to the Scarlets Sospans, Olchfa Comprehensive School, Llandovery College, Scarlets and Wales U18, Wales U20 and Gwalia Lightning to The Hive Stadium in Edinburgh for a first start for the Wales Women’s team in the Six Nations.
Let’s hope that in the immortal words of the great Scottish rugby commentator Bill McLaren, “they’ll be dancing in the streets of Dunvant tonight!”
