Women's Six Nations: Roll on the World Cup for improving Wales
- Published
Wales gather in a huddle after their 10-8 defeat to Italy at Cardiff Arms Park
It is easy to feel slightly underwhelmed by the way Wales finished their Six Nations campaign.
The build-up had pointed to this being the game where all the pieces of the puzzle would come together. This was to be Wales' full 80-minute performance
But Italy came to Cardiff with other ideas. They too wanted to finish strongly and ground out a win.
Wales had set themselves a realistic target of beating Ireland, Scotland and Italy in their first campaign fielding professional players, while England and France proved they are still a level above.
Everything seemed to follow the script, except the final page.
And while players and coaches were disappointed in defeat, as the late rock star Meatloaf sang, 'two out of three ain't bad'.
Third place was Wales' best finish in a Six Nations since 2009. That is progress.
Wales' desire and belief is there - Siwan Lillicrap
Restoring pride
This campaign has seen the players recapture the hearts of the nation.
Comments on social media are positive, trips to the shop for a pint of milk now take longer as fans want to engage, and the Scotland match attracted a record attendance for a women's international in Wales.
It is hard to think it was only 12 months ago when the same group shed tears after another winless campaign.
Elinor Snowsill and Cerys Hale were among those to admit they considered hanging up their international boots at the time.
There is no doubt the main catalyst for change was the professional contracts, pushed forward by the Welsh Rugby Union's new performance director, Nigel Walker.
It was in January when a dozen players emerged from the smoky tunnel of the Principality Stadium as history makers, having signed the union's first 15-a-side, women's professional contracts.
For players like wing Lisa Neumann it was life-changing. It meant no more eight-hour round trips from Manchester to Cardiff three times a week for training.
That was on top of holding down a high-profile job - but this is what the jersey means.
In the weeks that followed, 12 other players agreed retainer contracts, allowing them to become part-time professionals, with three more of those on offer now.
Turning professional has been incredible - Lisa Neumann
Managing expectations
Realistically Wales were not going to be Grand Slam champions after just a few months of the contracts, but there are signs of improvement.
The bonus-point victories over Ireland and Scotland showed a clinical edge in getting over the whitewash, with nine tries scored in two games.
A lot can also be taken from the two heavy defeats that followed. The first half against England and the second against France showed Wales are capable of going toe to toe with the best teams in the world.
"If someone said you would finish third in this campaign I would have bitten your hand off," said Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap.
"The progress to go from sixth in the last few years to third is massive.
"But we can't be satisfied with that, we have got to keep going forward. As Wales women we want to test ourselves against the best teams in the world."
Wales' strength in depth is probably the best it has been, leaving head coach Ioan Cunningham with some serious selection headaches.
Sioned Harries has provided one of the biggest since she was plucked from the international wilderness.
The barnstorming number eight showed she is still world class at 32, and is now firmly in contention to reach a fourth World Cup.
Wales' bench also made a big impact.
Eight of Wales' 12 tournament tries came from replacements, and the contributions of players like Harries, Donna Rose, Kelsey Jones and Ffion Lewis cannot be understated, as reflected by their starting roles in the final game.
The transformation off the pitch has been just as significant, with players describing the environment in camp and the bond in the squad as the best it has been.
Prior to a friendly against USA in March, Sioned Harries had not worn the Wales jersey in over two years
Credit to the coaches
This is the first year since the departure of Rowland Phillips in 2019 in which there has been a settled team of coaches going into the Six Nations.
Mike Hill joined Cunningham, Richard Whiffin and Sophie Spence at the start of the campaign, and the group will remain in post until after the World Cup.
Cunningham has been linked with a move back to Wales Under-20s after the showpiece, but insists his "full attention" is with the women until then.
The union also brought in Adam Thomas as a part-time skills coach and George Morgan as a nutritionist, while Cunningham says a kicking coach is on the summer wishlist.
It is an area of the game where Wales have struggled badly.
"You have just got to look at England, France and even Italy, they have got kickers that can kick with length, kick off the front foot and kick tactically," Cunningham said.
"There is so much kicking in the game now - defences are getting better. If you can't play through a team you have got to play over them or around them and that's when the kicking game comes in.
"It is something that we have got address before the World Cup."
L-R: Mike Hill (assistant coach) Ioan Cunningham (head coach) and Richard Whiffin (attack coach)
So what of Wales' World Cup hopes?
They are in a pool with hosts New Zealand, Australia and Scotland - with the opening game on 9 October.
While areas need work in the next six months - notably the kicking game, plus the need to finish off teams when opportunities arise - Wales can head down under with confidence.
The players return to their Premier 15s clubs until June before coming back for what Cunningham has promised will be a "tough pre-season" in July.
There are plans for a friendlies against Canada and England, while contract discussions will take place as the initial deals ran for only 12 months.
"I think it is important that players go to the World Cup having that dealt with so they can perform without having to think about other things," said Cunningham.
Final words
So as the dust settles on another Six Nations, what are the coach and skipper's parting words?
"I have loved working with this group of players. They want to learn, they want to get better, their passion for the jersey is unbelievable," said Cunningham.
"I am just really happy to be part of this group and excited by what we can achieve, because I really believe that with hard work we can really do something special come October."
Lillicrap added: "I hope we have inspired a nation and restored belief a little bit.
"The positivity that has come from week one, from beating Ireland to last week when we had that defeat against France, has been overwhelming.
"We are super grateful for everyone for their support and sticking with us. This is just the beginning and there are better things to come, for sure."
Of that, it seems. there is little doubt. Roll on the World Cup.