In many ways Welsh out half cum centre Robyn Wilkins represents a new breed in women’s rugby.
Having first begun her formal rugby education at the age of eight; she has followed a different journey compared to many of her teammates and Women’s Six Nations opponents who did not pick up an oval ball until they reached university. At just 20 years old, the Ospreys player earned her seventeenth test cap in Wales’ win against France; the Welsh Women’s first win over Les Bleues since 2008. What adds a unique twist to Wilkins’ story is that rugby runs deep in her veins, with her father Gwilym, himself a Welsh international, receiving one cap, playing against Tonga in 1994, on the wing.
She may have been the only girl on her team but this did not faze her, with a cheeky giggle she recounts, “I was not too bothered because at that age girls were often bigger than boys, so I felt like the toughest one!” Wilkins is emphatic in her response to how beneficial earlier exposure to rugby can be, “It is such a complicated game, and it takes years to understand as in to become rugby smart and to really get all the rules. “I think if you have known rugby since you were little, that comes a lot more naturally and easy to you. Especially with skills as well, as you have already developed them once you come into the international setup.” As with all team sports, boys and girls become segregated in rugby heading towards adolescence but Wilkins did not make a fuss when she had to bid her teammates adieu aged 11, “I didn’t really notice, it was just what happens, you can’t play with boys any more.”
As rugby is woven into the DNA of the Welsh psyche, most of the boys whom Wilkins played with during her childhood would have dreamt of one day wearing red and lining up to sing Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of My Fathers).
However, despite having her father’s rugby career for inspiration, the thought of playing for Wales did not become a goal until Wilkins’ mid teens, “It didn’t really occur to me because I didn’t know there was a women’s Welsh team until I was 15 or 16 and I saw highlights of the games on (BBC Wales’) Scrum V and I thought, ‘oh, I could do that!’” From then on Wilkins’ assent to the pinnacle of Welsh women’s rugby was swift, making her test debut in the 2014 Six Nations against Italy playing at inside centre. She would also take in the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup in France.
“It was really funny during the World Cup because at one point when I was taking a kick, they mentioned my dad and they flashed to him in the crowd and as it was the summer he was in a pair of rugby shorts with a pint his hand and then the commentator explained how he had a cap for Wales, that made me laugh a lot!” Despite her good natured laughter, she sees her father as huge influence on her rugby career, “Dad is really supportive, he rings after training, always asking how the session was, then also ringing before games. I think he gets as nervous as I do.” Does following in her father’s footsteps add provide extra motivation? “It is just motivation to make your family proud, really. When I am on the pitch, it is not really on my mind that my dad played rugby for Wales and that I want to follow in his footsteps. “I just want to perform for myself, in terms of making a name for myself but most importantly I want to play well for the team. But it is good having a dad who played for Wales because of how he is full of so much knowledge.” Of the Wales Women’s class of 2016, Wilkins is not the only player with test rugby in her genes as hooker Carys Phillips’ father Rowland was a dual rugby union and league international.
Wilkins’ rise in the test arena playing at both fly half and centre has been impressive but has not been without its hitches as without any prompting she explains with honesty difficulties she endured, in 2015, in her second season of international rugby, “I wasn’t playing very well. My motivation and confidence was really low” She continues, “I didn’t train as hard as should have. I gained a bit of weight and my fitness was right down. In the end, I wasn’t getting picked, I was getting dropped. It is with great pride Wilkins explains how she returned to Wales’ starting line up, “So, the past year I have just been training really hard to get fit. I have managed to lose two stone as well. It has been a complete change physically and mentally. My attitude now is that I now enjoy training because I enjoying making myself a better player.” She credits much of this turn around to the support she received from Welsh Rugby Union strength and conditioning coach, Matt Evans, “He really helped with my work, not just being there but how encouraging he was, he was never negative, he was never ‘you are not going to be able to do this’. He always had confidence that I was going to get there eventually.” In Wilkins’ opinion what makes for a winning mind-set? Without any hesitation comes the reply, “Definitely confidence. Confidence is everything. If the team goes on a bad run, it can stick, if you start winning which is as a team what we are trying to get that massive win that will springboard us.” With an opening defeat to Ireland and now two wins on the trot against the Scots and the much fancied French, Wilkins’ and her teammates confidence can only be on the rise as they head towards their encounter with England in just under two weeks time.
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