Ambitious players based in Wales or who are Welsh-qualified Exiles are invited to register for the trial being held at the WRU’s Centre of Excellence in the Vale of Glamorgan on Sunday, September 8th.
The Celtic Challenge is the new women’s cross-border rugby tournament played between Ireland, Wales and Scotland, between two sides from each nation on a home and away basis over ten rounds of rugby.
Two Welsh sides, two Irish sides and two Scottish clubs compete in the competition designed to bridge the gap between domestic club rugby and professional rugby.
The likes of experienced Welsh internationals Alex Callender and Natalia John both played in last season’s tournament. While Gwennan Hopkins, Sian Jones, Catherine Richards and Molly Reardon all played Celtic Challenge rugby before being capped by Wales in the recent Six Nations.
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Catrina Nicholas- McLaughlin, the Gwalia Lightning Head coach, said: “We held a similar trial for last season’s Celtic Challenge tournament, and it proved to be a really fruitful exercise for the coaches and the players involved.
“We want to give players an opportunity to make themselves known to us and to give ourselves a chance to see as many players as possible and broaden our player-base in Wales.
“The last open trial we held saw players such as Rhodd Parry and Katie Jenkins identified from the community game and both went on to be instrumental in the success of Gwalia Lightning’s season.
“Welsh internationals like Alex Callender, Natalia John and Bryonie King played Celtic Challenge rugby last season, and the likes of Gwennan Hopkins, Sian Jones, Molly Reardon and Catherine Richards all played in the tournament before making their Wales debuts in the 2024 Six Nations.
“The fact those players went on to play for their country demonstrates the quality of the rugby on offer in the Celtic Challenge.
“We had squads with players who played Wales U20s and expect them to feature again, but we are always looking for talent and would urge all players who have genuine ambition and ability to play professional rugby to register for the trial.”
The Celtic Challenge is a competition created by the WRU, IRFU and Scottish Rugby, supported by World Rugby, to provide a high-performance competition for all three nations.
The tournament will enter its third season, with an expanded format featuring home and away fixtures between all 6 teams between December 2024 to March 2025.
The Open Trial for both teams will take place on Sunday, September 8th, at the WRU National Centre of Excellence, Vale Resort, Hensol CF72 8JY, from 9.00 am – 5.00 pm.
Players must be Welsh qualified and born before December 31st, 2006 in order to be eligible to take part.
The closing date is 12:00 Friday 23rd August 2024.
