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'We've had our first proper pre-season as professional athletes'

Siwan Lillicrap of Wales during the Women's Six Nations match between England and Wales Women at Twickenham Stoop on March 7, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Siwan Lillicrap, the captain of the Wales Women team, thinks the recent training camp in Halifax and the test match against Canada – albeit a defeat – will be quite helpful in the coming months.

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Wales is preparing for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, and while they were upset with the 31-3 outcome on Saturday, the main sentiment around the camp is the opportunity the week has given players and coaches to put themselves to the test.

Lillicrap said, “It was so important to have a hit-out against quality opposition like Canada. We’ve had our first proper pre-season as professional athletes and it was vital to measure ourselves in a Test match situation at this stage of our prep for the world cup.

Video Spacer

Eddie Jones explains the Danny Care substitute was completely tactical

Video Spacer

Eddie Jones explains the Danny Care substitute was completely tactical

“We will take a lot of learning from the match and the whole week. Our set-piece improved compared to our training session against Canada on Tuesday, we need to improve our urgency in contact, we allowed Canada too many turnovers but there were lots of positives and lots of things to work on.

“It was a great benchmark for us. Defensively we looked comfortable mostly but we didn’t take the scoring opportunities we had so we will need to work on that. Lots to work on but lots of positives.

“It’s been really valuable to train together, away from home for a week. We learned a lot about each other, I’m excited about the journey we’re on over the next few weeks before we get on the plane to New Zealand.

“I’m really proud of the first caps, they are well deserved by all three and other girls had important opportunities too.

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“We have more strength in depth in the squad than I’ve ever experienced which is exactly what we need to give the coaches selection headaches for the world cup.”

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4 Comments
E
Euan 886 days ago

Everyone is bagging the Wallabies, but for an unlucky drop, and a lucky pickup, they may well have won the series.

d
dermot 886 days ago

Please go away it is much too soon to hear you speak on any rugby matters.

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GrahamVF 47 minutes ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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