The sisters from the same club all named in Wales' Rugby World Cup squad
Nel and Branwen Metcalfe join Gwenllian and Alaw Pyrs on World Cup duty for Wales
Left to right, sisters Nel Metcalfe and Branwen Metcalfe with Alaw Pyrs and Gwenllian Pyrs
(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
One set of siblings in a national team squad is something of a novelty. Two pairs of sisters is even rarer. Having both hail from the same grassroots club is quite something, but that's exactly what happened when Sean Lynn named his Wales squad for this month's Rugby World Cup.
Nant Conwy has produced two sets of sisters, with Gwenllian and Alaw Pyrs being joined by Nel and Branwen Metcalfe in the 32-player squad. It's a remarkable achievement for the understandably proud north Wales club. For context, you'd have to go back to 2008 for the last pair of sisters to play for Wales.
The Pyrs sisters have played together before, with second-row Alaw making her debut last September to join her sister on the Test stage. Prop Gwenllian has been flying the flag for Nant Conwy for nearly a decade now.
As for the Metcalfe sisters, the opportunity to play alongside each other is still ahead of them - with Wales U20s captain Branwen yet to make her senior debut.
Normally, the question would be who is the better sister, but in this instance, it's which is the better set of siblings?
"There's been no battles in camp yet," jokes Nel. "I'd maybe be quicker, but they're definitely stronger."
Article continues below
"They're two powerful women," adds 18-year-old Branwen, "so we can't compete!
As for who is the better Metcalfe, that one is flat-batted pretty well by back-row Branwen. "We play two very different positions so it's hard to say," she says, skilfully avoiding stirring up any sibling rivalry.
Branwen Metcalfe and Nel Metcalfe are in Wales' Rugby World Cup squad
(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)
Counting for an eighth of Wales' squad, there's bound to be plenty of support from Nant Conwy when the World Cup kicks off this month.
"I think a bus has already been planned for the second game against Canada," says Branwen. "It would be pretty special if we get to play."
"It is incredible," adds 20-year-old Nel. "Clwb Rygbi Nant have always been so supportive of us, they've been a massive part of all four of our journeys.
"We all started there. We all thank them for everything they've done."
The pair came through in similar circumstances in north Wales, playing mixed rugby with boys for a while before moving on to play for Ceirw Nant Conwy from the age of 12. "It's a really strong girls hub," explains Branwen, "so that just developed us."
"How far we've come now," adds Nel, "to think we're playing for Wales, is just incredible."
Naturally, as you'd expect, both sisters are equally proud of each other's achievements. "Words can't even describe how proud I am," says Nel. "I've watched her work so hard, coming back from an ACL injury not too long ago.
"I think she fully deserves to be here. She's worked so hard so I'm super proud of her."
Despite impressing for Wales U20s this summer, leading the age-grade side in the U20s Six Nations Summer Series, the call-up for the World Cup still came as a surprise to Branwen.
"I hoped (it might happen)," she says. "It was in the back of my head.
"But I was trying not to get ahead of myself. One day at a time.
"And then I got the phone call which was great. I was at home with my sisters. It was quite a special moment for us as I was quote shocked."
Her slightly older sister offers up a slightly more detailed account of how Branwen reacted to her World Cup call-up.
"Big scream and then she came running down the corridor," says Nel. "It was us and our younger sister.
"We all just started hugging and jumping up and down. It was really special."
For Nel, the World Cup offers an opportunity for the Gloucester-Hartpury full-back to build upon her two-try salvo in the historic win over Australia in Brisbane last month. The fixture at Ballymore was Wales' first away Test against Australia, with the 21-12 win handing Lynn his first victory as Wales coach.
"That first game was an unbelievable experience," says Nel. "We just clicked as a team and scoring two tries is incredible.
"I think we showed in that game what we can do. As a backline, we lit up. Hopefully we can do that in the World Cup. It was good we could score a few tries in Australia.
As for Branwen, there's the prospect of a Wales debut in the World Cup - with all eyes on the crucial clash with Scotland on August 23.
"It would be quite an experience," she says. "It's always been something I've dreamed of.
"I've worked hard so hopefully I can have the opportunity."
Article continues below
Whatever happens, a small corner of north Wales is already mightily proud.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BreakingNews.ie
2 hours ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Linda Djougang says time in France key to developing her game
As Ireland prepares for the Rugby World Cup, one player who will be crucial to Ireland's chances of success is Linda Djougang. The Leinster prop has been a key part of Ireland's turnaround in fortunes, with Ireland missing out on the previous World Cup in 2022 following qualifying defeats to Spain and Scotland. Advertisement Initially, times did not get any better, with a wooden spoon in the 2023 Six Nations, before the appointment of Scott Bemand helped turn around Ireland's fortunes. For Djougang, developing her game as a prop came when she moved to France, as she joined French side ASM Romagnat in Clermont in 2021. "In 2021, I went to France after the we were unsuccessful in the World Cup qualifier. "I wanted to keep learning, I wanted to challenge myself, obviously it was a t=tough time for the team. Advertisement "For me personally, it was important to just put my head down and continue to learn. There is no better place as a prop than to go to France where they just love to scrum. "I was really young, it was important just to go to the home of scrums and learn my masterpiece." It has been a unique journey for the 28-year-old in rugby, who would not have taught back in 2015 she would go on to become an International player. Having signed up to make friends at work, the rules were not known to Djougang , but nonetheless, those who watched were encouraged by what they saw. Advertisement I signed up for tag rugby just to make friends with my colleagues at work. The game was cancelled and everyone else removed their name from the list. "But the elite team - at the company - were playing a final and they needed a girl and I was the only one that didn't remove my name from the sheet because I wasn't good at technology. "So, they were like, 'who's Linda? Do you want to play in this tag rugby final?' 'Yeah, why not?' "They were like, 'do you know rugby? Have you ever learned to play rugby?' 'No.' Advertisement "I spent the whole day at work, googling 'what is rugby?' "I showed up at Wanderers, which became my first rugby club. I didn't know any of the rules. I was always offside. The ref was like, 'if you're offside one more time, I'm going to give you a yellow card.' "Then my friend passed me the ball and I ran the pitch. They were all screaming at me to score. I dropped the ball because I didn't know the rule about grounding the ball. "I got recruited there by the Wanderers manager. She came up to me after that tag rugby and asked if I wanted to play physical rugby. Real rugby. I asked her, 'what was real rugby?' Advertisement "I ended up playing for Wanderers in Division 4. I got recruited to go to the Leinster trials. Then I went on to Old Belvedere and Leinster and that's where my journey started." Fast foward to 2025, and 48 caps later, and Djougang could win her 50th cap at the World Cup. Since Beamand took over, Ireland qualified for the World Cup through a third place finish in the Six Nations, and secured memorable wins over New Zealand and Australia. Now a team that showed they can compete with the best, Djougang beleives teams will be looking at Ireland differently at the World Cup. "The fact that we played so well in Vancouver and came second among top tier one teams, the fact that. The fact we had Australia and we were able to perform. "We are defenitley not going into this World Cup as underdogs. I think the fact we are fifth in the world, our goal is too keep growing. "We know what other teams think of us, but for us it is to perform and keep winning and performing. At the end of the World Cup, to have no regrets and leave the jersey in a better place."
Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Shutting them up' – Darts star blasts social media ‘haters' after losing to Luke Littler in New Zealand Masters final
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MIKE DE DECKER blasted social media 'haters' during the New Zealand Masters. The World No.19 reached the final of the Australian Darts Masters last week before losing out to Luke Littler in Auckland. 2 Mike De Decker has endured a difficult few months Credit: Getty 2 De Decker congratulates Luke Littler after their Australian Darts Masters clash Credit: Shutterstock Editorial De Decker's place at the World Series events had come under scrutiny following a challenging few months on the oche since his World Grand Prix triumph. The Belgian thrower admitted the online abuse from trolls can be harsh on everyone in the sport but he isn't letting it derail his focus. He said: 'When I reached the final in Australia and I lost to Luke (Littler) I opened up social media and I didn't see one bad comment. 'I was thinking 'where are all the haters now?' 'Everyone is slagging you off when you have a bad performance and forgetting what you've done before. 'It's not only with me but it is with everyone. They have been slagging off Luke Humphries as well. 'Look at what he's done the last two years. 'So, it was a big confidence boost to reach the finals and shutting them up to be honest.' BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK The 29-year-old was dumped out at the first hurdle in the World Cup and exited the Matchplay in round two which led to a bombardment of 'cruel' messages from online trolls. He added: 'Social media is a hard world to live in. 'After the World Cup as well when me and Dimitri (Van den Bergh) lost in the group stages, social media was a really tough place to be on. 'It's how you cope with it, but some reactions and messages are just too cruel to be left out.'
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- The Guardian
Caribbean looks to revive passion and pride for cricket – and for the region
When they toured overseas in the 1970s, West Indies cricketers were sometimes subjected to barrages of racist abuse. But back home in the Caribbean, the men were heroes, with families huddled around radios and televisions whenever they played and shouts of jubilation erupting across entire communities whenever they won. Today, the generation of players who won two World Cups, in 1975 and 1979, are acclaimed as living legends for stepping up to the crease regardless of the challenges – and triumphing over teams from larger, more developed nations. And as the region celebrates Emancipation Month to commemorate the end of slavery, they have been hailed as figures of regional pride whose mastery of a game imported by the British became a powerful symbol of political and cultural resistance. Earlier this month, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) hosted the first-ever Emancipation Cricket Festival, which the culture and tourism minister, Carlos James, described as a reminder of the powerful link 'between our emancipation, resistance, our Caribbean culture and the birth of Caribbean cricket'. 'Some folks ask, why are you linking cricket – which is a game of the English – to emancipation. How does it correlate? Well, it was a period where every Caribbean national was glued to their radios … their television sets, to follow these men who went out in the middle of the cricket pitch,' James said. By touring – and winning – that generation of sportsmen sent a powerful message, he said: 'They were making a political statement that we are young Black men from small Caribbean islands – and we can dominate the world.' James said that understanding the link between sport and politics – and reviving the collective passion for the game – could help turn the tide for today's West Indies team, which has performed poorly in recent games. St Vincent and the Grenadines' prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, one of the region's strongest voices for reparations from Europe for the genocide of Native peoples and the enslavement of African people, said the aim of the emancipation festival was to bring awareness to the region's period of struggle and resistance. 'Cricket, a game brought to us … by the British colonists, became our own existential instrument to aid our quest for national liberation, liberty, equality, fairness and justice,' he said. 'We absorbed this English sport, mastered it, transcended its limits, made it our own, redefined it - and took it beyond the boundaries.' He added that today, 'cricketing culture' remained vital to the region. But such is the state of Caribbean cricket that Caricom, the 15-country regional bloc, recently said that it was 'deeply concerned … about all aspects of the current state of the game in the region'. In a statement, Caricom said: 'Cricket has, for decades, been a platform through which our small nations have collectively stood tall on the world stage. West Indies Cricket is very much a 'public good'.' It added that 'the [West Indies] team's recent performance is a moment of reckoning for this cherished Caribbean institution'. Describing cricket as a 'glue that has kept us together', Sir Clive Lloyd, who twice led the West Indies to world cup victory, welcomed the intervention by Caricom, saying: 'We are not a very rich area and [it will be good] if they can inject cash and whatever it is that is needed.' Kesrick Williams, 35, a former cricketer from St Vincent, said some of today's players were becoming disillusioned and needed more support. He called for a change in the general culture of West Indies cricket to revive passion for the sport among children and young people. 'I can't tell when last I saw cricket being played in the road and the traffic had to stop. We have to build back that cricket culture and that firm love for the game,' he said. 'Growing up, what would put a smile on my dad's face was watching cricket. As a youngster when I saw that … I fell in love with cricket.' James said Caricom was hoping to include the cricket heroes of the 70s – who were recently the subject of a set of a commemorative stamps in SVG – in discussions about the game: 'Most of the legends are still around. And if we can take an ounce of passion that they have, and we move that from their generation to the next generation of Caribbean cricketers, it will make a whole heap of difference.'
