Elinor Snowsill: Fly-half admits she almost quit Wales after winless Six Nations
- Published
Fly-half Elinor Snowsill has won 58 caps for Wales and has also played for the Barbarians
Autumn international: Wales v Japan |
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Venue: Cardiff Arms Park Date: Sunday, 7 November Kick-off: 17:00 GMT |
Coverage: Live on S4C, live commentary BBC Radio Wales and match report on the BBC Sport website and app. |
What does not kill you makes you stronger.
It is a bit dramatic, but certainly a fitting phrase for Wales fly-half Elinor Snowsill who after 10 years in the red jersey admits she came agonisingly close to hanging up her international boots earlier this year.
It was April and Wales had just endured another winless Six Nations campaign - conceding 125 points in just three games.
At the same time the players - and more so the Welsh Rugby Union - came in for a wave of criticism on social media.
"Until you know us, until you know what we were going through and the situations we were in, it's difficult to criticise," Snowsill said.
"I'll be honest and say I definitely thought about retiring from international duty after that Six Nations. I really wasn't enjoying rugby at all, there were specific reasons for that."
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Fast forward seven months and Snowsill is all smiles as she heralds a new era for women's rugby.
Not only do Wales have a new coaching set-up which will be in place for next year's World Cup, players also have the promise of their first professional contracts, with 10 full-time and 15 part-time deals on offer from January.
"I've been involved for quite a while and this is the most excited I've ever been, not just for a game but a season and the future," said Snowsill, as Wales prepare to take on Japan on Sunday in the first of three autumn internationals.
"For me it is now viable for the young girls that I work with in schools to be able to say, 'I want to be a professional rugby player when I grow up'.
"The next step for us now is to inspire through performances on the pitch and with the new coaching team that's been brought in, I'm really confident that we'll be able to play some exciting rugby."
Snowsill, 32, thanks her coach at Bristol Bears, Dave Ward, for convincing her to remain in the Wales set-up.
"I'm actually at a point now where I don't think I've enjoyed rugby as much in my career as I am now," she said.
"For the first time in years able to say I'm really looking forward to coming to Wales training, I'm really looking forward to Wales camp, and I'm really looking forward to playing for Wales. I haven't been able to say that for a long time."
Snowsill also credits Wales' new coaching team, led by Ioan Cunningham, for picking the squad up after what had been an unsettling few years both on and off the pitch with the departures of Rowland Phillips, Warren Abrahams and Rachel Taylor.
"They had quite a difficult task. They had a squad that were perhaps pretty depleted in how we were feeling and they've pulled us all together and made us into something that will hopefully be exciting to watch," Snowsill said.
Wales will look to end their two-year losing streak when they return to Cardiff Arms Park in front of fans on Sunday.
