Wales Women: Kayleigh Powell and Sisilia Tuipulotu sign semi-professional contracts
- Published
The first group of Wales women's semi-professional players were announced on 19 January, 2022
Bristol Bears full-back Kayleigh Powell and Gloucester-Hartpury second row Sisilia Tuipulotu have signed Welsh Rugby Union retainer contracts.
The two new additions takes the number of players on the semi-professional contracts to 11, while 12 others have signed full-time contracts.
Powell, 22, has earned five caps since her full Wales debut in 2019 while 18-year-old Tuipulotu is uncapped.
"Words can't explain how much it'd mean to get my first cap," said Tuipulotu.
Wales women head coach Ioan Cunningham said: "We were very keen to get them into our environment as we feel they have huge potential.
"Sisilia is so young but the impact she could make over the coming years is massive.
"We were keen to chart Kayleigh's progress since returning from injury and it was great to see her in our camp last week."
The first nine to sign similar contracts were Gwen Crabb, Georgia Evans, Kat Evans, Cerys Hale, Abbie Fleming, Bethan Lewis, Kerin Lake, Caitlin Lewis and Niamh Terry.
It follows the 12 fully professional deals announced at the beginning of January.
The semi-professional players will train alongside with the full-time players at the National Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort, near Cardiff between one and three days a week.
Gloucester-Hartpury duo Hale and Lake are still the most experienced players in the group with 35 and 33 caps respectively.
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In January Cunningham said the retained players are a "vital addition" to the women's performance programme.
"Some of them were very close to being offered full-time contracts, and all made a huge contribution to our autumn campaign, both on the pitch and in the training environment so are all deserving of this chance," he said.
"Ultimately, the retainer contracts provide an opportunity to have more contact time with more players which will be a huge positive.
"It gives the players the ability to learn more about the game, to complete more training sessions, improve their strength and fitness along with other areas that will contribute towards the team's performance."
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