Wales Women have incorporated wrestling into their pre-season training programme as a way to improve fitness and contact area technique.

Head coach Ioan Cunningham said, “It’s a great opportunity  to get comfortable in contact and quicker off the floor.

“We can see the benefits already, it’s a great way to mix up pre-season training in an enjoyable way which can transfer onto the pitch too.

Contact area coach Ben Flower said, “Wrestling is a massive part of the game in rugby league. if we can incorporate some of that into rugby union, it can really help in terms of close tackle technique and the fitness side of things too.

“Cunningham added, “When we looked at the Six Nations, we identified areas we can work on such as the detail of tackle area, breakdown, ball carrying, it’s about getting bodies in the right position, being comfortable in the contact area and getting back on our feet quickly. Doing this work will hopefully help us in those areas.”

Of course, there’s always a competitive element too.

Ffion Lewis said, “It’s a different type of fitness but Ben brings his Rugby League background to help us in this area of the game and we’re really enjoying it. We want to get better and there’s definitely a competitive edge but we want to do everything we can to improve.”