Third World Cup ‘a huge honour’ for experienced Snowsill

The Bristol Ladies fly half says representing her country at the tournament will be ‘a huge honour’ - and Snowsill is relishing the opportunity to test herself against the best the women’s game has to offer.

“It is a huge honour to be selected to represent Wales at a World Cup,” she said.

“Although it will be my third World Cup, it doesn't get any less special. The opportunity to compete with the best teams in the world is invaluable and the whole experience is something you will never forget.”

The fly half’s rise to prominence has been a rapid one having only taken up the sport in her late teens, before captaining Wales U20 in 2009 and earning her first cap against Sweden.

Since then, Snowsill has blossomed in both a Bristol and Wales shirt and says she is looking forward to playing with and against her club teammates when the tournament gets under way on August 9^th.

“It is very special to be able to represent my country alongside my Bristol teammates,” she said.

“Sian Moore is a player who I have a great relationship with and it makes a huge difference having some of your closest friends in camp with you to experience the highs and lows with.

“Having English and Irish Bristol teammates competing will be great too, as it will be nice to catch up with players outside of our camp during the three weeks.”

On the field, the 28-year-old is confident Wales can give a strong account of themselves on the World stage but says emphasis is very much on development, with one eye already of the 2021 tournament.

“The game in Wales is in a developmental period, from grassroots through to international,” she said.

“So as a team, our focus is very much on developing for the next World Cup. Individually, my sole focus is to enjoy the experience, which will hopefully then be reflected in my performances.

“Preparations have been going well. Personally, I've been involved in the sevens set up over the summer, which has been a great opportunity to fine tune my skills and improve my fitness base. We've had a successful Rugby Europe campaign, which will give a lot of us crossover players confidence going into the World Cup, as well as being a good opportunity to perform under pressure.

“As a squad, we've played some very competitive warm up matches and are continuing to develop under our coaching staff.”

Wales take on New Zealand in Dublin on August 9^th before facing Canada at the same venue four days later.