Georgia and fellow rugby players "trail" blaze for women's rugby
A young rugby player from Powys is dreaming of starring for Wales with a bit of help from a a business near Llangollen.
Ifor Williams Trailers, who have factories in Denbighshire and Deeside, is sponsoring the Under 18 girls team at Rugby Gogledd Cymru which was set up to fast-track the region’s brightest rugby talents.
The club is based at Stadiwm CSM at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay which also successfully hosts Wales Under 20s international matches.
Scrum half Georgia Powell, 17, from Newtown, said: “I am really enjoying it. It’s great to make friends with people from different places. It’s really interesting.
“It involves eight hours a week of travelling but I enjoy it. It’s good and it’s a great set up here. It great to play with different bunch of players and get the skills and stuff. "
RGC general manager Alun Pritchard, the investment is paying off with the Under 18 girls playing at an elite level and proving a match for their counterparts in the South Walian regions.
He said: “We’re extremely grateful to Ifor Williams Trailers. They have supported the boys Under 16 and Under 18 pathway and now supporting the girls Under 18s pathway as well.
“It’s a great help because we have girls from across the region who have the opportunity to develop their game and hopefully go on and push for Wales caps.
“The women’s game is expanding rapidly at the moment and this is about empowering these girls to reach for their dreams. The fact that women can now play the game professionally has inspired them massively. "
They are banging on the door at different age groups wanting to play, with the hope of going into a professional team and the national team in the long run.
“We ran skills centres once a week from September and they were open to anybody and then from November we’ve been training twice a week, once in Bala and once at Parc Eirias."
Ifor Williams Trailers managing director John Williams said: “We feel it’s very important to empower young women to reach for their dreams and enjoy a level playing field in sport.
“The future of rugby in North Wales looks very bright and I hope we will see quite a few of this squad making it all the way to the Wales team and enjoy success with the national team.
“There is an abundance of rugby talent and now there is a real pathway to play professionally and enjoy success and hopefully represent Wales in the World Cup.”
Paul Davies, an account manager with Ifor Williams Trailers, is particularly pleased the firm is sponsoring the Under 18 girls team because his daughter Kate, 19, came through the ranks at RGC and is now knocking on the door of the Wales squad.
He said: “Kate is having trials with Wales and goes to the Vale Resort for intense training sessions once a month. As somebody who works for Ifor Williams Trailers, I’m incredibly proud that we’re supporting women’s rugby in this way. It means a lot to me.”
