Elinor Snowsill believes Wales women will benefit from Bristol link-up
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Wales scrum-half Keira Bevan hopes for club success at Bristol alongside club and country half-back partner Elinor Snowsill
There has been a long history of Welsh players in Bristol - Non Evans, Mel Berry, Clare Flowers all plied their trade at Clifton. These are faces Wales fly-half Elinor Snowsill remembers well when she was embarking on her career.
After eight seasons in the West Country, Snowsill now finds herself a senior squad member at Bristol Bears surrounded by younger players such as Manon Johnes, Lauren Smyth, Alisha Butchers and Kayleigh Powell, who form part of a contingent of nine Wales internationals at the club.
According to Snowsill, having a group of compatriots in one Premiership side will only improve the cohesion of the national team.
"On a personal level, having Keira Bevan there as a nine and Siwan Lillicrap at eight is crucial really. The more we get to play together the better it'll be for Wales," she said.
But it's not just the proximity that makes Bristol appealing, it's the close links it has to the men's side. The women have access to watch them train, participate in meetings and observe analysis.
"A lot of what [Bristol boss] Pat Lam does filters down to us. I've learnt so much about culture and off pitch stuff from him.
"Some of the international girls scrummage against the academy boys and on the flip side they come into our training and do individual position specific workshops with us. I know it's not the case in every club.
"Last year I had the opportunity to work with Ian Madigan. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) did something similar with Sam Warburton and it's beneficial from both sides."
Cross-border competition?
The number of girls playing rugby in Wales has increased significantly since a WRU initiative was launched in 2015 and captain Lillicrap believes the long-term goal is to introduce a Welsh team into the Premier 15s, a league which is currently ring-fenced for three years.
"If we have a cross-border competition, it'll boost the profile across the world," she said.
Back-rower Butchers, who says the fierce competition at Bristol was one of the reasons behind her move, also supports the notion.
"It's one of the best, most competitive leagues in the world. The more people we can get over there from Wales is only going to improve our international game," said Butchers.
"I would love to have played for Scarlets in this league as it's my home team."
WRU chairman Gareth Davies says work is being done to improve standards, but admits the introduction of a Welsh side into the English top flight would be premature.
"I'm not sure we're at that stage yet. But there are plans underway under (WRU performance director) Ryan Jones to increase the quality.
"Irrespective of what happens with the pandemic, we will continue the investment we've planned. It's at a pivotal point, this is an opportunity to close the gap. There won't be any danger of the women's game being disregarded," said Davies.
If a Welsh side in the league is not yet a realistic aim, Great Britain Olympic Sevens star Jasmine Joyce believes it's about getting as many players into the English Premiership as early as possible.
She said: "It's really important to get them in there from the off. Throw them in the deep end.
"We want to be pushing teams like England and France in the Six Nations and to do that we need to be playing there."
Future of the Premier 15s
There is no restart date scheduled for the tournament which lost its sponsorship when Tyrrells chose not to renew its deal in August. But Snowsill is optimistic.
"I'm pretty confident the RFU will have something lined up. It's a great package for people. There is room to make more of it than Tyrrells did.
"You got some brilliant stories of the players in the clubs, ie Irish international Claire Molloy is working as an A&E doctor in the Heath [University of Hospital of Wales, Cardiff] and travelling down to London to play for Wasps," said Snowsill.
Lillicrap believes despite the pandemic, the game is going in the right direction, saying: "You see Barclay's have invested in women's football and I think the Premier 15s in a very attractive model for a company. I'm sure someone does come on board."