Spence, 32, won 37 caps at Test level, played at two World Cups, and was part of the first Ireland sides to beat both England and New Zealand – two giants of the women’s game.
Now she is looking to use the experience gathered from her playing career in a new role with Penclawdd who will play in Specsavers Division 1 West in the 2019-20 season.
“My partner Anwen’s friend told me Penclawdd were looking for a forwards coach, but I didn’t think too much of it,” said Spence.
“I decided to send my CV in while I was away on holiday and they asked me to come in and have a chat. Getting my teeth back into rugby is something I’m really looking forward to.
“The last Ireland camp I was involved in was last August and I didn’t do anything through last winter. I did bits and pieces, but I hadn’t been around one team constantly and that was something I’ve missed since I came over to Wales.”
Spence will work with the Penclawdd forwards and follow in the footsteps of former Wales Women internationals Rachel Taylor who is the head coach of Colwyn Bay and Elen Evans, Dolgellau assistant coach.
Her coaching role will work alongside her day job which is running Y Shed, a coffee shop in Gowerton just down the road from Penclawdd.
Spence really is embracing her new life in Wales and her rugby knowledge will surely be of huge benefit to Penclawdd in the campaign to come.
“Anwen is from Wales and based here. It was my job which was finishing up in Ireland, so I took the plunge to come over to Wales,” she said.
“When I finished playing I was looking for jobs in sport, but in Ireland there are very few. I wanted to stay in sport by looking at the attributes I had as well as what I enjoyed.
“The biggest thing for me was working as part of a team. I sat down with some people who know their coffee in Ireland and this opportunity in Wales came up. Y Shed was a cafe which was running for over 20 years, but I stripped it all back and had a think about what I could do with it.
“It was a completely new project for me. I got a friend of mine down from the north east and we spent nine weeks gutting it.”
Spence is relishing the chance to be a woman working in a man’s environment and hopes more women and girls can follow in her footsteps in the years to come.
“If you look at females in rugby, they have the full package in terms of experience and education, but they don’t get the same opportunities if your profile isn’t as big as a male player,” she said.
“That’s the way rugby is at the moment. I can see things changing within female rugby, but it’s small steps. In Wales there are Rachel and Elen up north and Siwan Lillicrap is involved with Swansea University and the club side, but other than that, that’s it.
“As women we need to take forward steps and if you have a woman who has international experience, why wouldn’t you give them a job? It’s about passing on skills you’ve developed from players and coaches. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but I’m so up for it.
“A few of the Penclawdd lads have been into the coffee shop and the reaction from the group to my appointment has been really good. They’re excited about it and so am I.
“It will be a new environment for the both of us. I’ll have to earn respect, but I’ll bring my own ideas and hopefully it won’t take too long for me to see what their capabilities are and to try to find improvement.
“Rugby can be such a male dominated sport. Whoever it is in the environment, they tend to be male. You’ve got to have the confidence as a female to communicate effectively and not be shy.
“If I don’t know something, I’ll be open about that and go away and learn about it.”
CLICK HERE for all nfo about WRU coaching courses
