Gwenllian Pyrs

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Gwenllian Pyrs
Date of birth (1997-11-28) 28 November 1997 (age 23)
Place of birthBangor, Gwynedd, North Wales
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight16 st 4 lb (103 kg; 228 lb)
School
Occupation(s)
  • Rugby hub officer
  • Sheepdog breeder and trainer
  • Farmer
Height and weight correct as of 14 April 2021
Rugby union career
Position(s) Tighthead or loosehead prop
Current team Sale Sharks Women
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
– Scarlets Ladies ()
– RGC ()
– Caernarfon RFC ()
– Firwood Waterloo ()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017–present Wales 15 0

Gwenllian Pyrs (born 28 November 1997) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays either tighthead or loosehead prop for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Sale Sharks Women of Premier 15s. She made her debut for the Wales rugby union team in 2017 and has played in 15 matches for the national side. Prys has played for Scarlets, RGC Women, Caernarfon RFC and Firwood Waterloo at the club level. She works as a farmer, sheepdog breeder and trainer as well as a rugby hub officer for the Welsh Rugby Union while continuing her rugby career.

Biography[]

Prys' birth was on 28 November 1997 in Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales.[1][2] She grew up in the Welsh-speaking community of Ysbyty Ifan in the River Conwy area in North West Snowdonia with nine other siblings.[3] Prys is the daughter of the farmer and publican Eryl,[4] who in 1980, was a founder member of Nant Conwy RFC.[3] Prys was educated at Ysgol Dyffryn Conwy and Ysgol Ysbyty Ifan.[4][5] She has also taken part in sheepdog trials as a trainer from April to October,[5][6] and trains and breeds sheepdogs.[7][8] As of 2021, her Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) biography lists her height as 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and her weight at 16 stone 4 pounds (103 kg; 228 lb).[2] Prys plays as either a tighthead or loosehead prop and lists her female role model as Dyddgu Hywel.[1][7] She works as a farmer as well as a rugby hub officer for the WRU and Urdd Chwaraeon at multiple schools in the Conwy Valley area while continuing her rugby career by commuting long hours three times a week to travel from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the National Centre of Excellence in Cardiff, South Wales for training.[3][6][7][9] Prys is fluent in English and Welsh.[3]

Whilst Prys played rugby union with her siblings on the family farm, she only began to take up the sport seriously when Nant Conwy formed an under-18s team in 2014.[7][8] She worked as an apprentice for the Welsh Rugby Union and Urdd.[8] Prys made her international debut for the Wales women's rugby union team, coming on as a second-half replacement in the national side's first round 2017 Women's Six Nations Championship match against Italy, which Wales won 20–8.[2][3] Prys was named to the Wales side for the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup.[10] In late January 2019,[8] she sustained soft tissue damage and a cut on her head in an road accident at approximately 70 mph (110 km/h) while travelling with teammate to Cardiff to train, ruling her out for the whole of the 2019 Women's Six Nations Championship.[3] Prys recovered enough to play in the November 2019 international matches against Ireland in Dublin and was omnipresent in the Wales national team for the remainder of the year and the 2020 Women's Six Nations Championship.[2][7] Overall, Prys has played 15 times for Wales.[2]

At the club level, she has played for Scarlets,[6][7] RGC 1404, Caernarfon RFC and Firwood Waterloo of the English Premier 15s.[11] Prys was part of the RGC Women team who finished runner-up in the 2018 Regional Championship.[12] In late July 2020, she signed for Sale Sharks Women also of Premier 15s to expand their roster with experience in the team's front row.[13][14]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gwenllian Pyrs". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Gwenllian Pyrs". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Tomas, Fiona (6 March 2020). "Meet Gwenllian Pyrs, the sheepdog trainer propping for Wales at The Stoop on Saturday". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Welsh women rugby's debt to farming roots". Daily Post. 2 February 2017. p. 1.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Jones, Mari. "Gwenllian tops sales of sheepdogs" (PDF). Daily Post. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c Thomas, Graham (20 February 2020). "One Car, Two Players, Three Commutes, Five Dogs, Six Nations . . . The Busy World Of Wales Prop Gwenllian Pyrs". Dai Sport. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Jones, Liz (21 February 2020). "The rise and rise of North Wales rugby star Gwenllian Pyrs". Daily Post. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Jones, Liz (20 February 2020). "Gwenllian Pyrs: No 1 in the prop charts". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  9. ^ Jones, Liz (13 February 2019). "Gwenllian out to make her mark". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Wales name squad for 2017 Women's World Cup". ITV News. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  11. ^ Wallworth, Luke (3 August 2020). "Rugby Union: Gwenllyian Pyrs becomes the latest international to join Sale Sharks Women". Salford Now. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. ^ Jones, Dean (2 April 2018). "RGC Women fall narrowly short in title bid". North Wales Chronicle. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Gwenllian Pyrs: Wales prop joins Sale Sharks Women". BBC Sport. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  14. ^ Diamond, Sam (31 July 2020). "Sale Sharks Women Sign Wales International Gwenllian Pyrs". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
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