Liza Burgess: My First Wales Squad

That spring, Pontypool Park played host to the first Wales Women’s Test match as a side captained by Burgess took on England. Since then the female game has exploded.

“There was huge excitement. We met really early at the ground that day,” said Burgess as she reflected on a truly memorable afternoon for her personally, her teammates that day and for women’s rugby.

“We were there hours before we needed to be. We did that so we could all get together as everyone had travelled down the night before. Amanda Bennett and I were both at Loughborough University and we stayed with my parents, got up, and had to be at Pontypool at 10am.

“The game kicked off at 2 o’clock! We had to do things like set the changing rooms up before the crowd started to arrive and there were quite a few people there at Pontypool Park because it was the first ever Wales Women’s game.

“Eddie Butler was there and did the presentations at the post-match reception. All my family came along. There were a lot of my friends from Loughborough University in the England side which added an extra edge. We’d played in the same team as Great Britain prior to that which was huge.

“We didn’t think too much about history at the time – we just wanted to play the game.

“John Grice who coached at Swansea University was head coach and we’d had some trials and some weekend training sessions. Most of the players came from universities along with some prominent clubs such as Magor Maidens, Pontypool, Swansea Uplands and Blaenau Gwent along with some of the English clubs.

“After the match we went to Graham Price’s pub and then I called my mum before bringing a mini bus load of players – a mixture of both sides – back to my parents’ house! They all crashed on the living room floor –  my mum didn’t know what had hit her and my parents were working the next day!”

Against a strong England side containing many of her friends, captain Burgess and Wales were beaten 22-4 but it was the start of something special.

“There were some class players involved in our side and it was an immense occasion being the first of its kind. There was a good crowd and a band for the anthems I believe. We had some positive reactions after the game and we knew then it was just the start and something that would grow. We progressed from just playing England once a year to fulfilling four fixtures during the Five Nations period and participating in a European tournaments.”

For Burgess – known in the game as ‘Bird’ – her career also skyrocketed. She grew up in Newport and despite loving rugby from an early age, didn’t play until she enrolled at Loughborough in 1983. She captained Wales 62 times and her career included four Women’s World Cups, including the first held in Cardiff in 1991.

She played for Loughborough, Wasps, Saracens – a team she helped set up – and Clifton while she has also coached Wales U20 and was joint coach of the first Crawshay’s Women’s side against Wales last November. She was also forwards coach for Wales Women at two Rugby World Cups and the Barbarians Women. Liza is now senior women’s rugby academy head coach at Hartpury and is part of the new WRU Futures Programme, identifying and nurturing future Wales Women internationals.

In total she won 87 caps for Wales and in 2018 was inducted into World Rugby’s Hall of Fame. In November of 2019 she became the first elected female director on the Welsh Rugby Union’s board, and a year later was elevated to vice-chair.

Looking back to 1987, Burgess continued: “We rocked up in the morning and had a little runabout before we played. We did realise how big it was and that for Wales to play against England was a massive occasion. We had to pay for our shirts and everything – not that it mattered as we just got on with it. We wanted to show what we could do as a Welsh side even though we knew it would be hard given the calibre of the opposition. I knew what they were like from Loughborough and we knew what players to mark. There was certainly no analysis back then!

“For me it was huge. We didn’t let anything get in the way of us playing and back then Wales Women playing was a novelty. I was at a sporting university in Loughborough, but women playing rugby was new to most people. We took our sport very seriously, but if you look at where women’s rugby is now compared to back then it’s unbelievable really.

“Back then women’s rugby in Wales was totally separate to the Welsh Rugby Union. There was no connection at the very start before the WRU integrated women’s rugby.

“Rightly so it’s now recognised as a sport in its own right which is just phenomenal. There has been a tremendous amount of work put into women’s rugby between then and now to get it to where it is.”

“I’ve been lucky to have had some great influences. Jim Greenwood was my coach at Loughborough. He’s my hero, I was so lucky to have him as a coach. I had a fantastic group I played with at Saracens and with Wales. I’ve been lucky to do something I’ve loved and when you have so much passion and desire to stay in the game, that is what you focus on.

“I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunities I’ve had, but that is what sport brings. It’s been a huge pleasure and honour, but I’d never have thought this would have been possible in my wildest dreams. I’m hugely grateful for the opportunities.”

Liza’s playing career spanned three decades before she took up coaching and she has kept in touch with many of the squad who played against England that day.

“Amanda Bennett and I are still great friends. Fran Margerison went on to set up the Welsh Women’s Rugby Union and become chair person. She has since passed away sadly. Rhian Morgan, the ‘baby’ of the squad went on to become a doctor, Belinda Trotter is living in India, I bumped into Becky Wyatt on a walk recently and am still in touch with many of the others from the squad that day.

Flashback to 2014 when Liza Burgess retired from international rugby

“I have many friends from the England squad too – the captain Carol Isherwood has done so much for women’s rugby, Nicky Ponsford is now head of women’s rugby for the RFU, Sue Waccholz was part of the committee for the first Women’s Rugby World Cup. I played with Nicky at Loughborough along with a number of others and I also played for GB with a number of the Welsh and English players..

“It was a great time to be part of the game, we just loved playing the game and would cross any obstacles to ensure we could do that.”

First Wales Women’s Team vs England – April 5, 1987

Rhian Morgan (Swansea University); Rebecca Wyatt (Pontypool), Enid Davies (Magor), Sue Lovell (Magor), Fen Paw (Swansea University); Amanda Bennett (Loughborough University – vice captain), Sarah Williams (Swansea University); Elaine Skiffington (Swansea University), Maryanne Harvey (South Glamorgan Institute), Belinda Trotter (Wasps), Marjorie Farr (Blaenau Gwent), Frances Margerison (Pontypool), Helen Carey (Swansea Uplands), Jane Rosser (Magor), Liza Burgess (Loughborough University – captain)

Replacements: Anita Watkins (Pontypool), Keithre Evans (Magor), Catherine Parish (Pontypool), Margaret Duncan (South Glamorgan Institute, Sian Newington (Loughborough University), Janet Gedrych (Richmond)