This Sunday, the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park – the new home of Wales Women this season – will play host to a Women’s Regional Championship double-header: Cardiff Blues v Newport Gwent Dragons (12:00) and Scarlets v Ospreys (14:00).
“It’s the final round of the competition and not having to pick which one to attend, as I have in previous weeks this season, is invaluable,” says Phillips, who steered Wales Women to a clean sweep in the autumn in his first two matches in charge.
Intriguingly, the cross-Loughor derby between Scarlets and Ospreys is no less than a decider to see who will top the table this year.
“There’s only a couple of points in it because they’ve been very even in all aspects up until now,” Phillips says. “Although from our perspective as coaches, we’re more interested in the quality of rugby. I’m in no doubt that we’ll see two entertaining games on Sunday.”
Though knowing the national coach is in the stands can only help the players raise their game, Phillips doesn’t see his presence at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park on Sunday being much of a factor.
“I don’t know if that makes any difference. I’ve been to all the games this season, more or less,” he remarks. “What the players clearly understand is that progress in the game in Wales comes through the regional system. Whether we as coaches are there or not, they know that we will see the games, and they have a big bearing on people coming through to the national level.”
Despite spending much of the season at regional training camps, Phillips has now made a conscious decision to take a step back from those sessions.
“When we first started with Wales Women, I would drop in on a Friday night or a Saturday morning, as often as I possibly could. But I’ve backed off a little bit now to give them an opportunity to grow their own identity.”
Sunday’s regional fixtures will no doubt have a bearing on Six Nations selection, but Phillips and his coaching team have also been keeping track of their opponents. England and Ireland, two of the teams Wales will be hosting in the Six Nations next year in Cardiff, were in action throughout November.
For Phillips, it is Italy first up on February 3rd at the Stadio Comunale Pacifico Carot that will set the tone for his team’s development after less than a year in charge
“For the moment, we have the players focusing on conditioning – weights and running work – and ensuring they can complete them even when they’re away from the women’s national squad environment.
“To be fair, the response has been excellent,” he says in closing. “Even in this short space of time we’ve seen some significant changes in their conditioning levels.”
No more will the players’ ability to compete harder and for longer be in evidence than at the BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park this Sunday.
