I began my rugby journey at five years old. After a very brief ballet dancing career I went along with my older brother Will to Colwyn Bay Rugby club and soon went on to captain the U9 team.
I embraced the opportunity that rugby offered me at that age. I was a shy child during my primary school years and the confidence that sport gave me to develop myself was life-changing. I’d overcome bullying in school during this time so I owe a lot to my coaches and teammates I had then for their support.
When I got to the U12s I was no longer allowed to play with the boys and found myself drifting away from rugby. I really enjoyed physical education in secondary school and threw myself into county hockey and netball teams, and loved the competitive element. I tried almost every sport I could at school, from tennis to fencing, but nothing quite compared to the feeling rugby had given me.
At 16, I travelled over an hour and a half away to Widnes to get a taste of senior rugby. It wasn’t long before I was playing my first senior match on the wing, before moving to scrum-half within a couple of games. Things progressed rapidly from there into playing in the English U18 set-up and county level, travelling the world and generally immersing myself in all things rugby. After a short spell out through injury I moved from Widnes to Waterloo – where I’d heard some Welsh players were based – for a higher level of competition.
After a season of getting to know the girls at Waterloo and continuing to travel over the border once or twice a week, I was keen to get back to competitive rugby in Wales. I enquired with the current Welsh players and was given information for getting involved nationally. I was soon part of the Welsh development team. This stage of my career was brilliant: I fondly remember our team-building trips and the European tournaments we played away at in Spain.
I’d had a taste of international rugby and wanted to progress to getting capped at 15s. I subsequently moved to South Wales where I worked in Swansea, but travelled to play for the then Premiership team Cardiff Quins. At the time, the team was packed with amazing players and I had a thoroughly enjoyable spell with them. The players taught me so much and we were a successful domestic club side.
I was capped in 2007 when Canada were over in Wales. It was a brief cap off the bench, and it seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, but it was enough to keep me hooked. I’ll never find the words to explain the feeling of pride on playing for Wales – it’s an incredible emotion. Perhaps my best memories of my early internationals was our victory over England in the Six Nations, and winning the Triple Crown.
My first World Cup followed in England in 2010. It was an amazing experience and one where I’d have to overcome injury to remain in the tournament. After an awkward lineout landing I needed surgery on my ankle, and as soon as the tournament finished I was booked in.
The recovery and rehab from this was incredibly hard and I certainly think it defined me when I returned. I had missed the World Cup fixture against New Zealand and I was bitterly disappointed. I got my head down and grafted for a return to the team.
On my return to the squad I was made captain. I enjoyed some quality rugby at club level over the border in Bristol and found my love for sevens rugby. I soon became captain of both the international sevens and rugby union teams. Even now this seems pretty humbling. I never thought I’d get that second opportunity post-injury, but I wanted to make the most of it.
The opportunities to travel to some of the most amazing countries through sevens has been a fantastic life experience for me. I truly loved my sevens days and it’s amazing to now see just how far that format of the game has gone – even becoming an Olympic sport.
Playing over in the English Premiership really developed me as a captain and player, and the culmination of this came in the 2014 World Cup. To captain my country in France was incredible. I have made friends for life from that trip, and again the opportunities to be part of the developing game was fantastic. The media attention given to the tournament was brilliant.
When I reflect on some of our big results, like the victory against England in St Helen’s, or beating France at Neath, I can honestly say that I loved captaining the girls through that period. I was tremendously proud and humbled, but felt the responsibility to perform as well.
With a new coaching team coming in last year, I lost the captaincy. On reflection, it was the hardest thing I have faced as a player. The reality of that was far harder to accept than any physical injury I’d endured. I was devastated but understood the decision, and to be asked to support the development of a new team was tough. It felt at the time like I’d been given up on and asked to focus on the new generation – a selfish reaction of mine which I struggled with for some time. Thankfully I have some truly amazing friends and the most incredible family to offer me support, and I owe my strength at that time to them. Their belief in me never wavered.Â
I moved back home from Bristol to North Wales to become a member of the A470 crew (an amazing group of girls), travelling down to Cardiff and back for training up to three times a week. Elen Evans, a founding member, was currently sitting around the 60-cap mark and had not only been a hero of mine as a player, but she became my rock during the time we spent together making our weekly eight-hour round trips to training.
The A470 group is what kept me focused and driven to make the Six Nations squad, and ultimately the 2017 World Cup. The commitment required to train has been the hardest I’ve ever gone through, with the amount of travelling we undertook, but together with the A470 crew and the support from across North Wales, it all seemed achievable.
This year’s World Cup put everything into perspective. Without these players, coaches and staff around me I can honestly say I wouldn’t have made it, but this group is pretty special. I’ve wanted to develop myself to become a world-class player and also to become the absolute best I could be for this team. I wanted to repay them for all the trust and loyalty they gave me over the years and repay the coaching team for their honesty and the belief to develop myself off the field.
As rugby continues to develop regionally in Wales, I have recently been able to say I’ve played for every region, and been an international at sevens and 15s, with my last playing ambition to return to my home region and play for RGC.
I’ve had an incredible rugby journey and I would like to take this opportunity to thank every single player, coach, referee and volunteer I’ve met over the years. I’ve seen the best side of rugby and that’s generally down to the amazing people who give so much for this game. Thank you all for letting me be a small part of it!
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I’ve truly loved being a thread of fabric in that Welsh jersey and I hope I’ve left it in a good place.
#7 #ImDone
