The South Wales Plate clash will be the first senior match for a number of players who have come through their respective Female Hubs, a sign of hope for the future.
After playing just a handful of matches between them since December 2019 due to the pandemic and the change of season format, the key aim for both teams now is to keep building while making sure rugby everyone is enjoying their return to rugby.
The South Wales Plate clash will be the first, competitive senior match for a number of players who have come through their respective Female Hubs, a sign of hope for the future.
West Swansea Hawks’ team manager and forward Kim Benson said, “We were pleased to come away with a win over Pembroke last weekend, in our first competitive game since the start of the pandemic.
“However, our ethos at the moment is to go out and play the rugby we enjoy playing. We just want to have a good time and play with smiles on our faces, that’s all that matters right now, this competition is just about getting us back into rugby.”
The women’s sides at Gorseinon and Pontarddulais formed West Swansea Hawks Ladies three years ago and form part of the West Swansea Hawks’ Female Hub family. The move is already bearing fruit with three of the Hawks’ squad on Sunday set to make their competitive senior debut having graduated from the West Swansea Hawks Female Hub pathway – Aimee Rogers, Ffion Perry and Keira Evans – that is a reason to celebrate in itself according to Benson.
“We are thrilled to see the three players on our team sheet – it’s a real milestone to see that the pathway is working. All three players have come through the West Swansea Hawks’ age group sides and there will be a lot more players following in their footsteps, we just need to wait another season or two.”
Lampeter coach and club secretary Gareth Davies is equally buoyant about the future of his side with training numbers having almost doubled since before the pandemic.
“We used to have 18 or 19 players – now we have 35! The additional numbers makes training much easier and we can’t wait to get our season started on Sunday, there’s a real buzz around the team.
“One player has also just joined from Aberystwyth Uni with more expected to follow once the term starts and some of our players and our team manager have been helping out with the coaching at our feeder Hubs Wiberod and Bae Ceredigion, a relationship which bodes very well for the future. Two players have already stepped up to our side from Wiberod including Chloe Evans who is playing this weekend.
“We can only select 22 for this match obviously, but the others will get their opportunity at home to Pembroke on the 26th.
“Winning would be fantastic – I have every confidence in our players – but really it’s all about getting back playing after such a long lay-off.”
CLICK HERE for all the women’s cup and plate fixtures for Sunday and also check club social media posts for full match details.
