By Graham Thomas
Bethan Lewis will throw everything into beating Australia this weekend – including all the skills she learned at sports clubs across Carmarthenshire.
The Wales rugby player is currently in New Zealand, part of the squad that will take on the Aussies on Saturday in a bid to make the World Cup quarter-finals.
The 23-year-old Gloucester-Hartpury player has become an integral part of the Wales set-up, winning over 30 caps for country, but she firmly believes it was the variety of sports she experienced as a girl that gave her so many valuable life lessons.
That is why she encourages girls to try as many different activities as possible and was concerned to hear that fewer children are doing sport outside of their PE lessons compared to four years ago.
“It’s really disappointing to hear that the School Sport Survey is showing activity levels have dropped, says Bethan, who plays for Gloucester, but hails from Abergwili in Carmarthenshire.
“I was really fortunate in that my parents drove me around to different places to do different sports. But maybe that option just isn’t there for lots of young people at the moment, so it’s important sport is made accessible now.
“It’s all about opportunity.”
CAIS I GYMRU!
Sgrym a sgarmes symudol nerthol yn arwain at gais i Bethan Lewis o @scarlets_rugby
A try for Wales!
Yr Alban v Cymru
@S4C
https://t.co/RrvWo2OXnZ
https://t.co/NZ3mbXJs0H#amdani #waleswomen #menywodcymru @WelshRugbyUnion pic.twitter.com/Hc8ZRIsO7T— S4C Chwaraeon (@S4Cchwaraeon) November 17, 2019
Bethan went to Nantgaredig Primary and then attended Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Bro Myrddin in Carmarthen.
She played a number of different sports and although rugby is now her profession as a contracted player with the Welsh Rugby Union, in her younger days variety was the spice of her life.
“I played a lot of different sports growing up,” say the former Carmarthen Quins player, who even represented Great Britain at the world junior surf championships.
“Through school, I was able to play the standard sports such as netball and rugby. Then, outside of school, I was fortunate in that my parents were very supportive in enabling me to try different sports.
“So, I was also able to try athletics and tennis and also table tennis.
“I tried a variety of stuff which has certainly helped me to get to where I am now. If you have a broad understanding of different sports, then you have a wider set of skills and that improves you in any sport.
“I threw shot put and discuss with Carmarthen Harriers, along with playing football and rugby.
The Welsh side to take on Australia in our crucial final #RWC2021 pool game #HerStory | #EiHanesHi
— Welsh Rugby Union (@WelshRugbyUnion) October 20, 2022
“I worked with different coaches, so you learn different ways of taking on information. You also get a broader physical learning, so I look back and realise I was very fortunate.
“It’s so disappointing to hear that the numbers of children doing sport is in decline.”
Members of the current Wales squad Down Under have benefitted from Sport Wales programmes and funding in different ways.
Prop Gwenllian Pyrs made the grade as an international after playing on pitches at Clwb Rgybi Nant Conwy, where the £100,000 floodlights installed were part-funded by Sport Wales.
For Bethan, it was whilst at primary school that she was first able to take advantage of a programme designed to offer more sport to young people – the Sport Wales 5×60 campaign, which aimed to offer 60 minutes of exercise five times a week.
“Even with programmes, you need people,” she says.
“Sport Wales were doing the 5×60 stuff which I took part in when I was at school. I played football at lunchtime and then took part in other sports clubs after school, including girls’ rugby and athletics.
“In school, sport often depends on the availability of staff and whether they are able to take sessions.
A make-or-break encounter in Whangarei
Victory on Saturday will guarantee @WelshRugbyUnion a spot in the quarter-finals. But it’s the same story for their opponents, @wallaroosrugby#RWC2021
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 20, 2022
“Outside of school, you are depending on volunteers and parents to take the kids to the clubs. People are vital to get things going.”
Teachers, volunteers and coaches can also provide the inspiration a young girl, or boy, is looking for, too.
In Bethan’s case, once she reached year seven, rugby became a divided activity between boys and girls.
It meant she was no longer training with boys, something she felt had enabled her to progress her own game.
That is when her former teacher, Aled Griffiths stepped in and enabled her to do the same gym sessions – developing her strength and conditioning – as the boys.
“In my last years in Bro Myrddin, Aled Griffiths really supported me with one-on-one sessions and he let me do gym with the boys. No other teacher had let me do that, so he really supported me.”