Rhiannon Roberts proud to see Wales ‘bashing down barriers' for future stars
Rhiannon Roberts will be thinking of Wales players past, present and future when the team make their historic appearance at the Women's Euros in Switzerland this summer.
The campaign will be their first at a major tournament finals, after they secured qualification in December with a play-off triumph over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
'For us, for them, for her' is a slogan for the team that was launched by the Football Association of Wales in 2023.
And, ahead of International Women's Day, 77-cap defender Roberts told the PA news agency: 'We love it and we just think it's us in a nutshell.
'We want to do the best for us, the best for people who have paved the way before us and broken down barriers, and we want to leave it in a better place for the next generation as well.
'We have to be thankful for what people have done in the past, appreciative of the position we're in now, and keep constantly bashing down those barriers for those to come and take our shirts later on.'
Having played their first international in 1973, it was not until 1993 that the Wales women's team were officially recognised by the FAW.
A decade later, the governing body withdrew them from Euro 2005 qualifiers with the cost of travel being cited, after they were drawn in a group with Belarus, Estonia, Israel and Kazakhstan.
The transformation that followed has seen the team, managed by full-time head coaches since 2010, have some qualification near-misses before the dream was then realised with December's groundbreaking success.
That was three years on from the FAW launching its first women's and girls strategy, and just under two after it announced an equal pay agreement with the women's and men's sides.
Roberts, who made her Wales debut in 2015, said: 'We've just increased everything off the pitch. We're equal to the men now and in many ways, not just pay: our media team, medical team, coaching staff, everything off the pitch is equal to the men's.
'It's changed a lot – and it's changed on the pitch as well. It's been a roller coaster.'
Wales' bid to reach the 2023 World Cup ended in a dramatic play-off against Switzerland, leading the second leg through an early Roberts goal before losing 2-1 after conceding in the final seconds of extra time.
That 'heartbreaking' match, after which Roberts 'didn't sleep for probably a week', led to a steely focus going into the Euro qualifying campaign, and she admits while it was 'incredible' when history was sealed with the 3-2 aggregate win over the Republic, she 'only ever envisioned us celebrating.'
Rhian Wilkinson's side face England, the Netherlands and France in Group D, and Roberts says Wales want to be 'brave', compete and make their families and country proud – adding with a smile that 'for us, for them, for her' is something she will have in mind 'always'.
When the 34-year-old was a child, regularly attending Wrexham's men's games, the Wales women's team, she says, 'just wasn't on your radar, wasn't visible.'
Former Blackburn, Doncaster Rovers Belles and Liverpool player Roberts married Nathan Rooney, currently head of football at Larne, in 2022, a wedding that included her scoring a goal in her white dress as guests took part in a women v men match, won by the former 5-0.
Footage went viral, and Roberts recently discovered team-mates at Real Betis, her club since 2023, were familiar with the video without knowing it was her who had starred.
'I said, 'yeah, that's me', and they went 'it was everywhere',' she said. 'I think I'll retweet that in June!'
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