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Gwenllian Pyrs

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Gwenllian Pyrs
Date of birth (1997-11-28) 28 November 1997 (age 26)
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 Bristol Bears
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
– Scarlets Ladies ()
– RGC ()
– Caernarfon RFC ()
– Firwood Waterloo ()
– Sale Sharks ()
2022- Bristol Bears ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017–present Wales 19 0

Gwenllian Pyrs (born 28 November 1997) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays 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. Pyrs 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

[edit]

Pyrs' 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] Pyrs is the daughter of the farmer and publican Eryl,[4] who in 1980, was a founder member of Nant Conwy RFC.[3] Pyrs 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] Pyrs plays as 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] Pyrs is fluent in English and Welsh.[3]

Whilst Pyrs 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] Pyrs 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] Pyrs 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 a road accident at approximately 70 mph (110 km/h) while travelling with teammate Bethan Davies to Cardiff to train, ruling her out for the whole of the 2019 Women's Six Nations Championship.[3] Pyrs 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, Pyrs has played 19 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] Pyrs 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] Pyrs made the move to Bristol Bears ahead of the 2022/2023 season[15] after signing a professional contract with Wales in January.[16]

Pyrs was selected in Wales squad for the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.[17][18]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Gwenllian Pyrs". Sale Sharks. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Gwenllian Pyrs". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ 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. ^ a b "Welsh women rugby's debt to farming roots". Daily Post. 2 February 2017. p. 1.
  5. ^ a b Jones, Mari. "Gwenllian tops sales of sheepdogs" (PDF). Daily Post. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. ^ 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. ^ 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. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Wales Prop Gwenllian Pyrs Joins The Bears". Bristol Bears Rugby. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  16. ^ "First full-time Wales Women players revealed". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  17. ^ Jones, Liz (21 September 2022). "Wales Rugby World Cup squad named". Welsh Rugby Union. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  18. ^ "Wales: Siwan Lillicrap captains 32-player Rugby World Cup squad featuring 19 tournament debutants". Sky Sports. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
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