Six Bears awarded first full-time Wales Women contracts

💬 "We're over the moon for the 6⃣ girls. It's a fantastic opportunity." 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@Dave_Ward2 reacts to the news of full-time contracts for the club's @WelshRugbyUnion stars 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/iVfZPUmlaz

— Bristol Bears Women (@BristolBearsW) January 12, 2022

Alisha Butchers, Natalia John, Siwan Lillicrap, Kiera Bevan, Jasmine Joyce and Elinor Snowsill 
have accepted full-time, 12-month contracts, which came into force this week with players and management based at the National Centre of Excellence.

Group Chief Executive Steve Phillips said, “This is a very proud day for us as a governing body. I am very pleased to be able to say we have our first full-time female players who will represent Wales on the international stage.

"This is set to be a very demanding but unforgettable year for women’s rugby and these players – along with the players on retainer contracts and other squad members – will benefit from the full range of our expert on and off-field support to help them reach their potential. This is the start of an exciting journey for women and girls in Wales.

”

WRU Performance Director Nigel Walker said, “The historic awarding of 12 full-time contracts will enable all these players to be full-time professionals and have regular, weekly contact with head coach Ioan Cunningham, the rest of the coaches and our expert science and medical team. All of this will make a significant difference to the players’ preparation, fitness and skill sets in order to enable us to challenge the best teams in the world.

“We were so pleased with the quality of the players’ autumn performances that an increase to 12 full-time contracts was agreed, and the coaching team felt that working with 12 players who form the spine of the team would make a big impact. These players will be joined by 15 players on retainer contracts in the coming weeks.”

Wales Women head coach Ioan Cunningham said, “It’s been a tough but enjoyable process. Credit to all the players who have given us selection headaches. We are all now super excited to get the programme started. 
“Talent and ability was the first element in our selection process and then the potential growth of the individual player along with their attitude.

“The conversations offering contracts were nice ones to have if often quite emotional. Some of the players had logistic issues to work through from a personal and professional perspective but it’s great to have them at the National Centre of Excellence now as we start to put the foundations in place for improvement. We have developed close working relationships with the players’ Allianz Premier 15s clubs and I’m confident our programme will prove beneficial for all parties."