Five former Llandarcy Academy of Sport students, Kerin Lake, Keira Bevan, Gwen Crabb, Kelsey Jones and Lowri Norkett all hope to play key roles in the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. All five players are now on full-time WRU professional contracts allowing them to focus on their rugby careers.
The competition gets underway on the 8th of October, a year after it was originally scheduled. Wales begin their campaign against Scotland on the 9th of October before facing current World Cup holders New Zealand and their final group match is against Australia.
NPTC Group of Colleges Deputy Head of Sport and Public Services Sali-Ann Millward had this to say about her former students:
“We are thrilled to see five of our former Sports students in the Wales Women’s rugby World Cup squad. Whilst at the college, all the players took part in various sports teams including hockey, football, netball and of course rugby! Each player was successful in their sports and enjoyed competing at various events, including Rosslyn Park 7s, the Urdd Eisteddfod, and Welsh and British Colleges competitions. We as a department are extremely proud; they are at the pinnacle of rugby and we wish them all the best in the World Cup and their future endeavours.”
Kerin Lake is looking forward to being part of her first World Cup, having recovered from injury. This is what she had to say:
“It’s a bit surreal to be honest. I know the coaches have taken a gamble on me as I’ve been fighting back from injury for most of the summer. I just want to do everything I can to kick on now and hopefully get on the pitch for the team. I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been part of the full-time programme from a rehab point of view.”
Lowri Norkett who has recently accepted a WRU contract reflected on the last few months:
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest. From getting my first cap in Canada, getting a contract up to December and booking my ticket to New Zealand, it’s been an incredible month.
“I think coaches reward hard work and even though I didn’t get a contract the first time around, I kept working hard and it’s paid off.”
If you are interested in watching any of the Wales matches, they will all be broadcast on ITV as well as S4C Clic and S4C YouTube. Full match replays will be shown on S4C later in the day. Here are the dates and times for all of Wales’ World Cup group fixtures:
Sunday 9 October – Wales v Scotland – KO 5.45am UK time
Sunday 16 October – Wales v New Zealand – KO 3.15am UK time
Saturday 22 October – Australia v Wales – KO 2.15am UK time
Everyone at NPTC Group of Colleges would like to wish the whole squad the best of luck for the tournament.
If you are interested in following in the footsteps of the famous five, why not check out the Sport courses we have to offer by clicking the link below.
