Today in Sports
  • Home
  • Featured News
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • More
    • Rugby
    • Golf
    • Boxing
    • Soccer
    • NBA
    • Racing
    • Cricket
  • DMCA
  • Disclaimer
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Featured News
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • More
    • Rugby
    • Golf
    • Boxing
    • Soccer
    • NBA
    • Racing
    • Cricket
No Result
View All Result
Today in Sports
No Result
View All Result

Wales women’s rugby captain slams ‘disgraceful’ WRU contract wrangle | Wales women’s rugby union team

March 11, 2025
in Rugby
0
Home Rugby
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


You might also like

UBB and the fans singing together + Lucu speech:

Pumas claw Griquas to claim SA Cup crown

Tom Brady Reveals He Wasn’t Involved In Raiders’ QB Evaluation Process

The Wales captain, Hannah Jones, says what the squad went through in a contract ­controversy last year was ­“disgraceful” and made her ­contemplate­ international retirement.

Allegations emerged in October that the Welsh Rugby Union had threatened to withdraw from the 2025 Rugby World Cup if the women’s team did not sign new contracts on offer. Jones says the negotiations last year were difficult “from day one” and that communication with the WRU was a “big issue”, with some of her players “becoming unwell physically and mentally” because of the process.

The WRU, which denied some of the allegations made against it in the autumn, has since apologised to the squad for how negotiations were ­handled. The governing body ­conducted an independent review and admitted “serious failings” while the Wales coach, Ioan Cunningham, also left by mutual consent.

Jones said: “The thing for me was who was coming in next? Who was going to be my next coach? That was career-wise, whether I was going to continue to play or whether I was going to take some time back to think about playing national rugby.

“The stress of the contracts and what we’d been through as a squad was disgraceful and disappointing. Hopefully what the players went through will never happen again. But yeah, it [giving up] was in the back of my head.”

Sean Lynn, Jones’s head coach at Gloucester-Hartpury, was appointed as Cunningham’s replacement in January after the WRU had already named the former Premiership ­Women’s Rugby chief ­executive Belinda Moore as the head of ­women’s rugby.

She added: “Once they’d announced Sean Lynn, the ­excitement built and I thought, I can do this. I spoke with my husband and I feel I have got more to give.”

Jones, 28, who has won 58 caps for Wales, outlined the extent to which the ­contract saga had impacted on players in the squad. “It was very emotionally ­distressing,” she said. “I deal with stress and ­pressure quite well, but a lot of my players were becoming unwell ­physically and mentally.

“When I saw my players going through that it’s a huge responsibility on my shoulders. You do really take it on yourself and you think, ‘Is this my fault? How have I let this happen?’ But you look at the bigger picture and the environment and situations that we were in, we’ve stayed really tight together as a squad through it.”

Jones with the new Wales head coach, Sean Lynn, who was previously in charge of her club side, Gloucester-Hartpury. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA

The process ended up being an on-pitch distraction because of the consequences for Jones and her teammates if contracts were not agreed. She added: “I wanted to be fully focused putting my boots on and getting the best performance out of myself and the team but when you go into contract negotiations and it’s not smooth you’ve got no security behind you.

skip past newsletter promotion

The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed

Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

after newsletter promotion

“You don’t know whether you’ve got a job one minute or not, you don’t know if you’re able to pay your ­mortgage, you don’t know if you’re able to feed your family. People see the glamour of rugby, but for a female player, maybe it’s not so much glam.”

When contract negotiations ­happen again in the future, Jones believes Moore “has got a big role and a lot of responsibility” within the process and should ensure players are not ever “distressed” again.

Jones is now looking towards the future. Wales’s opening ­Women’s Six Nations match is away to ­Scotland on 22 March and, while results are ­important, there is another ­highlight for Jones in the upcoming tournament.

“As a Gloucester-Hartpury player I know what a good environment is,” she said. “I know what it should feel like and that’s definitely going to be created. I’ve full faith in the people we have in place. You’re going to see a different side to us. It’s a clean start. I feel like a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I can just play rugby again and not have to deal with all this nonsense behind the scenes.

“He [Lynn] is the right person for the job for sure. Since he’s been announced, I’ve been excited to get my Welsh jersey back on again. We talk about results and we talk about who’s going to win, but a big result for me as captain is just ­seeing the girls happy in a Welsh shirt and ­enjoying their rugby in a Welsh ­environment again.”



Source link

Tags: CaptaincontractDisgracefulRugbyslamsteamunionWalesWomenswrangleWRU
Share30Tweet19

Recommended For You

UBB and the fans singing together + Lucu speech:

by TODAY IN SPORTS
May 25, 2025
0
UBB and the fans singing together + Lucu speech:

Chants: Chalalalala, allez l'union! repeat / UBB on est champions d'Europe, on est champion d'Europe! rep Lucu speech: Hello everyone! Thank you very much for this moment, since...

Read more

Pumas claw Griquas to claim SA Cup crown

by TODAY IN SPORTS
May 24, 2025
0
Pumas claw Griquas to claim SA Cup crown

The Pumas dethroned Griquas with a convincing win in the SA Cup final at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. The hosts led 19-7 at the break and went...

Read more

Tom Brady Reveals He Wasn’t Involved In Raiders’ QB Evaluation Process

by TODAY IN SPORTS
May 24, 2025
0
Tom Brady Reveals He Wasn’t Involved In Raiders’ QB Evaluation Process

Coming into the offseason, the biggest question surrounding the Las Vegas Raiders was the quarterback position. However, the franchise was expected to address that this summer, with minority...

Read more

Northampton player ratings vs Bordeaux

by TODAY IN SPORTS
May 24, 2025
0
Northampton player ratings vs Bordeaux

Northampton Saints player ratings: Northampton fell short in their pursuit of a second Investec Champions Cup title on Saturday, losing to Bordeaux-Begles 28-20 at the Principality Stadium.The Saints were...

Read more

Sean McVay Thrilled With Rams’ Selection Of Josaiah Stewart In 2025 NFL Draft

by TODAY IN SPORTS
May 24, 2025
0
Sean McVay Thrilled With Rams’ Selection Of Josaiah Stewart In 2025 NFL Draft

The Los Angeles Rams made a pair of selections on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft last month that included taking Michigan edge rusher Josaiah Stewart with...

Read more
Next Post
Mills and Caudery lead British team for World Indoor Champs

Mills and Caudery lead British team for World Indoor Champs

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related News

Tottenham to compete with Chelsea for Nike deal

Tottenham to compete with Chelsea for Nike deal

December 22, 2024
On at the present time in 2018: Arsene Wenger proclaims his Arsenal exit

On at the present time in 2018: Arsene Wenger proclaims his Arsenal exit

April 20, 2024
The place will the Dolphins at Jets recreation be televised? TV protection map Week 18 2024

The place will the Dolphins at Jets recreation be televised? TV protection map Week 18 2024

January 3, 2025

Browse by Category

  • Athletics
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Football
  • Golf
  • MMA
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • Racing
  • Rugby
  • Soccer
  • Tennis
Today in Sports

Get the Latest Sports News and Updates on TodayInSports.net. Soccer News, Basketball News, Baseball News, Golf News, Boxing News and More!

CATEGORIES

  • Athletics
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Cricket
  • Football
  • Golf
  • MMA
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • Racing
  • Rugby
  • Soccer
  • Tennis

Recent News

  • Ruben Amorim sheds light on Garnacho, Onana’s situation after duo dropped from Manchester United’s last game
  • Amorim apologises to Man Utd fans as Emery fumes at disallowed goal after missing out on UCL
  • Ruben Amorim sends message to Man United fans after “disaster season”
  • Contact us
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • DMCA
  • Get the Latest Sports News and Updates on TodayInSports.net.
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions

Copyright © 2024 Today in Sports.
Today in Sports is not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Featured News
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • Baseball
  • More
    • Rugby
    • Golf
    • Boxing
    • Soccer
    • NBA
    • Racing
    • Cricket

Copyright © 2024 Today in Sports.
Today in Sports is not responsible for the content of external sites.