By David Williams
Wales Women have turned again to Geraint Lewis to get them out of a fix after announcing he would jointly lead their team into a three-Test autumn series.
Former Wales flanker Lewis will take charge of the national team, alongside Ioan Cunningham, for their matches against Japan, South Africa and Canada.
It is the second time the Welsh Rugby Union have called Lewis in an emergency. He was first summoned to step in after the mysterious departure of Rowland Phillips in 2019 and now he has been asked to steer the ship again following the bizarre resignation of Warren Abrahams this summer after just nine months in the job.
The last few years have been a chaotic period in the women’s game in Wales, with heavy defeats, the decision to quit by Rachel Taylor – an assistant to Abrahams and a full-time national skills coach – and constant criticism from former players that the whole structure in Wales is not fit for purpose.
No more driving – time for the @WelshRugbyUnion to create a top club side in Wales, says @TomasMarks8
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Wales Women Need To Get Out Of The Car If They’re Ever To Be On The Same Road As England https://t.co/LZdE2turOe via @Dai_Sport_— Dai Sport (@Dai_Sport_) April 29, 2021
It all adds up to a major job for Nigel Walker, who this week started as the WRU’s new performance director, with responsibility for both the men’s and women’s game.
Former Wales wing Walker will oversee the appointment of a new head coach to succeed Abrahams, a role for which Lewis would appear to be a strong candidate.
Lewis said: “It’s always a privilege to be involved with any international team and adding coaches who are vastly experienced in professional rugby is already raising standards at training.
“We’ve seen improvement already and our autumn opposition will test us in many different areas which is exactly what we want at this point in time.
“We expect Japan to be a very fast, skilful side, while South Africa will provide a tough, physical challenge and Canada are a very athletic team and consistently one of the top sides in the world in the women’s game.“We are very much looking forward to returning to Cardiff Arms Park and welcoming crowds back to our matches. Hopefully we can give them something to cheer over the next couple of months.”
Cunningham will join Lewis for the three-match autumn campaign, assisted by former Scarlets attack coach Richard Whiffin. Sophie Spence will continue as World Rugby coaching intern until Rugby World Cup.
Wales were thumped by France (53-0) and Ireland (45-0), and beaten 27-20 by Scotland, in this year’s truncated Women’s Six Nations, so big improvements are needed before the World Cup.
They have been drawn with hosts New Zealand, Australia and the final qualifier for the tournament, which has been moved from 2021 to 2022 due to the Covid pandemic.
Walker said: “The women’s performance programme is one of my top priorities at present as I look forward to getting stuck into this exciting role.
“The search has begun for a new Wales Women head coach but we are also confident we have the right team to support the players this autumn as they start to build towards next autumn’s rearranged Rugby World Cup.”
Wales Women autumn series
Sunday 7 Nov: Wales Women v Japan
Saturday 13 Nov: Wales Women v SA
Sunday 21 Nov: Wales Women v Canada