Keira Bevan of Wales Dismisses Bizarre Suggestion of Taking Kicks Closer to the Posts in Women's Six Nations

The Wales women's rugby team are gearing up for a sold-out match against England in Cardiff on Saturday, with scrum-half Keira Bevan expressing excitement for what promises to be a tense encounter. Both sides have been on unbeaten runs, with Wales in pursuit of a Triple Crown trophy. Bevan, who won her 50th cap against Scotland, recognizes that her team's form presents a fantastic opportunity for them to win, with the advent of contracts proving to be a game-changer. She said: "We’re fitter and stronger than ever" as they aim for a better finish than third place.

Bevan has been one of her team's star players in the past few months, topping the charts in the scrum-half category with the most metres made and defenders beaten in both the Six Nations and the Premier 15s league this season. However, she found herself bemused at England coach Simon Middleton's strange comment that women players should be allowed to take their kicks closer to the posts.

Regarding the post suggestion, Bevan said: "I saw former England coach Gary Street saying that players like Emily Scarratt and Katy Daley-Mclean, who are both fantastic kickers, are not freaks of nature, they just put the hours in and worked hard at it." She expressed the belief that the amount of hard work put in reflects a player's level of skill, and with the team's increased playing time, the future is certainly bright for Welsh rugby.

The Wales rugby team's journey from being amateurs to representatives who are on their way to becoming professionals has been truly incredible. When Richard Bevan, Keira's dad, first started following the team, only a few hundred people would turn up to watch a match. However, in the present day, with officials such as Nigel Walker pushing for change by ensuring players are given contracts informing support, it is safe to say that the supporters have increased tremendously.

Richard is impressed with how much his daughter has been intergratrated into the team, given that earlier stars such as Rachel Taylor and Elen Evans had a harder time trying to balance work and training. For instance, the pair used to have to travel all the way from north Wales to attend training and then drive back on the same day, working long hours despite facing financial difficulties.

Bevan attributes her success to her family's unending support. "Back in 2015 when I got my first cap, I hadn’t even passed my driving test, so they were driving me everywhere and having to hang around and wait for me. They have been such a huge support especially before we turned professional. I put life on the back burner and they supported me financially too."

But having fine-tuned her game with Bristol in the English league, Bevan cannot see herself playing club rugby in Wales any time soon. “The aim is to improve the league long term in Wales, but I am very happy playing over the border. The way we are looked after from a medical and conditioning point of view at Bristol is just as good as internationally.

“I had a serious hamstring injury in 2020 and I think if I had been playing for Swansea it would probably still be off the bone as we speak. That is how I look at it. The funding wasn’t in the Welsh club game then and it’s not there yet now either.”

She is relishing what she knows will be a step up in intensity on Saturdday having experienced the pressure of playing New Zealand twice at the World Cup. “New Zealand took us to an intensity we had not been taken to before and that quarter-final game was probably the toughest Test match I have ever played in.”

“Defending against them was such a slog, but that put us in such a good stead for this Six Nations. We’ll find out where we really are on Saturday.”