Rachel Taylor: Former skills coach eyes future head coach role with Wales

Rachel Taylor became the first female coach of a men's national league Welsh rugby team when she took over at Welsh Division Two side Colwyn Bay in 2018

Former Wales Women skills coach Rachel Taylor wants to return to coach the national team in the future.

Taylor became the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) first professional national female coach in November 2020.

The ex-Wales captain resigned in March ahead of the 2021 Six Nations and was recently appointed Sale Sharks' women's performance coach.

"My dream aspiration would be to take Wales on as a head coach role at some point in the future," she said.

"My passion and heart was always to be with Wales and to have the opportunity to coach with them was super special as well.

"I'll probably only look back on it now and try and take a lot of learnings from that time.

"I've tried to stay true to myself and my own beliefs and values around the game.

"Hopefully in time that will hold me in good place. I feel better for it, I've tried to do the right thing in terms of the programme.

"And obviously with the performance review still to be published, hopefully the direction of the game in Wales will go the right way.

"Hopefully the changes that are happening at the moment will put it in the right direction, in order that they can compete at the level they should be with the talented players that we've got."

'A lot of negativity'

Taylor was briefly a member of head coach Warren Abraham's Welsh coaching team, but he also left his role after Wales finished winless and bottom of their pool in a shortened Six Nations tournament because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The WRU has commissioned a mid-term review of the women's performance rugby strategy in Wales and recommendations will be made to the WRU board.

"There's been a lot of negativity around the game in the last six to nine months and I can only hope with a reboot there's a bit more positivity around," Taylor told BBC Radio Wales Sport.

"I think it's important that structure is right underneath. I know so many players that come through the age grades who are incredible rugby players and hopefully they have the aspiration to go on and play for Wales.

"But that pathway has to be visible for them to be able to do it and viable for them to do it, and I'm sure the clubs feel that way too.

"It's making sure there's that progression that's right the way through the age-grade system.

Rachel Taylor retired from international rugby in 2017

"You can play there at senior rugby but where you are playing at 15,16, 17, 18 years old is the concern.

"I see a lot of people with rugby clubs now and that's their concern - what's happening and where can the girls go and play?

"We see stuff like Swansea folding and it's just a really difficult era I think for women's rugby at the moment in Wales.

"But there's loads of positivity as well if you look at the younger age groups, I suppose we've just got to bridge that gap into senior rugby."

The 38-year-old, who played 67 times for Wales, has joined Sale Sharks' coaching team for the Allianz Premier15s campaign.

Taylor says the increasing number of Welsh players involved in the competition is encouraging.

"There's a lot now playing in the Premiership. It's becoming a multicultural Premiership with players from America, Ireland and Scotland because it's seen as top-flight rugby at club level," she added.

"I guess that's the pull and that's the attraction for a lot of these players.

"I know a lot of the Welsh players and they deserve nothing more than that opportunity to become professional or semi-professional rugby players."