Latest news with #Lynny
The Guardian
20-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Abuse I received for TikTok video after Women's Six Nations defeat was crazy
The abuse and hate messages I received for doing a TikTok dance live on the BBC after Wales's defeat by England was crazy. On Instagram I received a few DMs saying: 'You're an embarrassment, what do you think you're doing?' That doesn't affect me because we get criticism all the time for different things: losing a game, dropping a high ball. I am not hugely active on X and it was not until those of my friends who aren't big fans of rugby were checking in on me to see if I was OK that I realised the extent of the abuse on social media. It was bizarre – how did it get that far? I just did a TikTok video. After the game I might be smiling. I am happy and engaging with fans, but that does not mean I am happy inside. When people say: 'She shouldn't have acted like that', how should I have reacted? Should I be sad, crying and go straight in and be angry? This article includes content provided by TikTok. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. I understand we lost and the men wouldn't do it, but it's a different brand and ballgame to what the men do. I don't regret doing it at all. The support myself and Sarah Bern have had off the back of it has shown it is a different game. Receiving abuse isn't new to me, the other Wales girls or players across the sport. I even got shouted at while playing for my club, Bristol Bears, in the Premiership Women's Rugby semi-final against Gloucester-Hartpury last month. A supporter in the stand said: 'Go back to grassroots sport.' That's not acceptable. If you believe that then why have you come to watch? I don't experience it every game, but all of us do receive negative comments and for different reasons. We get comments like 'She can't tackle' or 'Oh God, she looks big' or'What has she done with her hair?' At the Rugby World Cup three years ago I was getting comments like: 'Jaz can't tackle.' I significantly reduced the time I spend on X at that point because didn't need to see it. The negatives were outweighing the positives. I spoke to my wife, Alisha, about coming off social media completely, but I get sponsors from it. If it wasn't helping my work I would come off it. I don't think it has any positive relevance to my life. The TikTok abuse has been a footnote to my Six Nations and I have been fully focused on the tournament, which Wales have been navigating with our new head coach, Sean Lynn. While we haven't recorded a win, performances have been improving and that is in part thanks to the culture and environment Lynny has created. It's an open and safe place to be and everyone is enjoying it. I have no bad words to say about Lynny – he is brilliant and well-respected among the group. He has done a lot for Gloucester-Hartpury, his rugby CV is really good. I was asked the other day to sum him up in one word and I said 'engaging'. When he is speaking people are listening. He is hilarious, but he also has a stern side that has come out sometimes in training, but only in understandable moments. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion We have seen a lot of change. Everyone is enjoying it a lot more. No one is anxious going into training or anxious because you're going to get pulled up over doing something silly. So off the pitch has been amazing. On the pitch it has been a bit tricky as Lynny's first full day came just before our first Six Nations game and there was not much he could put in place. He hasn't changed anything drastically, but he has started to drip bits and bobs in throughout the weeks and we are definitely getting better on pitch in defence and attack. The more Sean can be in and around training, the more he can change and adapt and tailor drills to suit each player, the better Wales are going to get. Ireland are next up on Sunday and we need to make sure we put them under stress and take them to dark places in their performance. They played well against England last time out and one key aspect for us will be nullifying the fly‑half, Dannah O'Brien. She is amazing. When I watch her play I'm puzzled by how she has so much time on the ball. She also kicks huge distances and as a full-back I keep thinking: 'How do I even defend that?' She definitely makes me nervous, especially in the backfield. She absolutely runs their game, is the soul of Ireland's attack and can put some shots in as well. We've also got great kickers and so hopefully we can isolate her. Lynny's message has been to be excited for the game against Ireland and our final game against Italy and he believes we can produce good performances. Wales are definitely capable of coming away with a win in this tournament. Jaz Joyce-Butchers has played 42 times for Wales and has competed in three Olympics in rugby sevens for Team GB
The Guardian
21-03-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Honest conversations mean Wales will get better on the pitch in this Six Nations
Our first game of the Women's Six Nations is against Scotland on Saturday, which will be one of the hardest battles for us. There will be a lot riding on that game as a squad and as individuals but our focus has been more to do with building the culture and creating a good environment. All of us just want to enjoy going to work. The contract dispute our squad had with Wales Rugby Union last year was tough. In a workplace you want to feel safe and secure in your contract. It was up in the air and there was definitely a lot of stress that went through camp and individual players. We didn't know what was going on. I was in Great Britain sevens camp when the negotiations began as I was preparing for the Olympics but I had complete faith in the girls who were leading on the contracts. We had a core group of players that were the go-betweens for the squad and the WRU. They did an excellent job, and our contracts are so much better. As a group we were tight‑knit before this happened but something like that brings you closer. It has definitely been resolved now and with our new coaching staff we are focusing on the Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup in the summer. It has been exciting to see our new Wales head coach, Sean Lynn, come in. The girls from Gloucester-Hartpury, who have just won their third Premiership Women's Rugby trophy in a row, speak so highly of him. We haven't done very well in so many campaigns now. We have had wooden spoons and not thrived in the culture or environment we have had. There isn't any one individual to blame for that but Lynny has come in and created a culture that is going to be good for us as players. The perfect environment is one where we can express ourselves on the pitch but then also express our personalities. That is huge in the game at the moment, we need to get ourselves out there and he has said a lot about 'who you are is who you are'. I don't think there is anyone better for the job at the minute. He cares about people and he wants to create a culture in and around the environment to make us better players. Culture is huge for us. The better culture you have, the more everyone enjoys being in each other's company. We will play better on the pitch if we are able to have honest conversations and enjoy the environment. Lynny has brought in some fun aspects to camp as well which are engaging and a reminder we play the game for the love of it. We have started to do talent shows. My partner and flanker Alisha Joyce‑Butchers did a triangle recital and played Hit Me Baby One More Time by Britney Spears. It was so funny and ridiculous: this girl has never played a triangle in her life but she now thinks it's her talent. Bryonie King re-enacted a sketch from Gavin and Stacey and Natalia John is a science teacher so she did a lesson on space which was really interesting. When I am nominated I am going to solve a Rubik's Cube. I have done it in just under a minute before but it might take me a little longer in camp. There is so much to look forward to in this tournament but what stands out the most for me is playing at the Principality Stadium against England in round two. The WRU have already sold 10,000 tickets which is a huge achievement for us. It's so exciting. I also cannot wait to see some of the younger girls get their opportunity to show what they can do. The wing Cat Richards, who has been on the sevens series this season, is brilliant and something we definitely need in the back three. She has flair, she has something about her and she is keen to develop and learn. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Kayleigh Powell played at 10 in the autumn after primarily being used as a full-back. She didn't get a huge opportunity but the one game she started, she was very good. I'm excited to see her play as a centre this weekend. In terms of our opposition, there are very few players I am ever nervous to play against but Scotland's Fran McGhie is one. She is so unpredictable and is one of Scotland's standout players. Some of the tries she finishes are ridiculous. Hopefully she has an average game against us and then she can fly for the rest of the tournament. As a squad we also want to win a couple of games. We are targeting Scotland, Italy and Ireland. Regarding France and England, we are very self aware that they are above us at the moment. They introduced professional contracts a couple of years before us and they have some of the best players in the world in their squads. But hopefully we can come away with a good performance against those teams to build confidence heading into the pinnacle of our sport in the Rugby World Cup. Jaz Joyce-Butchers has played 42 times for Wales and has competed in three Olympics in rugby sevens for Team GB
Telegraph
16-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
How a Christmas dinner revived Gloucester-Hartpury's PWR three-peat bid
It was last December, midway through the Premiership Women's Rugby season, when Gloucester-Hartpury's title-defending credentials were questioned. Their 19-14 defeat by Bristol at Kingsholm marked their third loss of the season – an unwanted tally by their lofty standards – and as the players trudged off the pitch, their body language said it all. 'After the game, a few of the players were just saying to me, 'Lynny, we're not us, we're not us',' says Sean Lynn, the Gloucester-Hartpury head coach. 'So on the Monday, I posed the question to the players, 'Who are we?'' Little did Lynn know that his wife had already put the wheels in motion to restart the Gloucester-Hartpury bus. The idea was ambitious: to host a festive squad meal at the Lynn family home that would restore team morale and set them up for the next stage of the season. 'Vic, my wife, said to me, 'I'm putting on a Christmas dinner for these girls and we are going to have something special',' says Lynn. 'We had 25 players come round, plus family. I think she fed about 31-32 people that day. Nothing phases my wife. She's my rock.' There are few elite teams in the English club game who epitomise the importance of culture like Gloucester-Hartpury. The word can sometimes be a nebulous term in elite sport but, as the Lynn Christmas dinner shows, there is huge value to be found in togetherness and a vibrant team environment. Less than a fortnight later, Gloucester-Hartpury exacted revenge with a convincing 40-17 victory over Bears at Ashton Gate, spoiling Ilona Maher's marquee debut for the club. 'I know it sounds stupid when we say we play for each other, but we do,' says Bethan Lewis, the Gloucester-Hartpury and Wales back row, ahead of Sunday's PWR final against Saracens. 'We genuinely enjoy being around each other's houses and having dinner together, even on our days off. We're like a family and those connections off the field do translate on the field. It sounds a bit cliché, but that's been the difference for us.' When Lynn was appointed as the head of women's rugby at Hartpury University and College in 2020, he set about tightening up a patchy player pathway from college level through to the elite women's team that once leaked talented players like Ellie Kildunne, but the side's sixth-place finish at the end of the 2021-22 season would be the impetus for Gloucester Rugby to deepen its connection with the women's game. 'Gloucester rugby is not just for men any more' At a time when Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks had joined the scene, the club wanted to ensure its women's team flourished, rather than floundered. The club's central investment in the side significantly increased and commercial rights to both the men's and women's teams, including kit sponsorship, began being packaged together. The return on investment has been massive: a potential third consecutive domestic title awaits. 'What you can see now is that professional joint venture,' says Lynn. 'For us to be allowed to go in and use those facilities and work with the men, for me to have conversations with George Skivington just helps massively. They're in the same lounge area, Lewis Ludlow and Christian Wade are in the physio room having banter with the players. Two, three years ago, we said, 'Two clubs, one city'. You can definitely see that. Gloucester rugby is a rugby town and rugby city, and that's not just for men any more. It's the men and women.' Having topped the table at the end of the regular season, Gloucester-Hartpury will be given the home changing room at StoneX Stadium in an early psychological blow to the Londoners, who face a big task to dethrone the champions. The Cherry and Whites' scrum was found wanting early on in their semi-final win over Bristol, but this is a team that knows how to problem solve.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Licence to inspire' - Lynn's Glos-Hartpury legacy
When the final whistle rings out for Sunday's Premiership Women's Rugby final, win or lose, it will bring to a close a chapter in Gloucester-Hartpury's recent history. Head of rugby Sean Lynn is departing to take up the Wales women national role, having been a huge driving force in transforming the club into the dominant force in English women's domestic rugby. Five years ago they were a mid-table outfit. Now they are two-time PWR champions, chasing a record third straight title when they face Saracens on Sunday at the StoneX Stadium. "Credit to Lynny, he's just done absolute wonders for us here. He lets us be us, he says 'licence to inspire' and that's just about how can you be yourselves and how can you express yourself on the pitch," Gloucester-Hartpury co-captain Zoe Aldcroft said. Lynn has been part of the Hartpury College and Gloucester Rugby set up for two decades. As a teenager he played for Gloucester's academy. He then coached the BUCs men's side - leading them to three Super Rugby titles - before becoming head of women's rugby in 2019. He and his family even live on the college grounds. While the on-the-field success Gloucester-Hartpury have had speaks for itself in the past three seasons - only six losses in 55 league games - the family culture is what comes up time and again from players as what makes the club special. "Lynny has just been absolutely phenomenal for us at Gloucester-Hartpury, how he brings us together and how he connects us as a team, whether that be on pitch or off pitch, is so personable," Aldcroft - who was first taught by Lynn when she was 16 - said. "I think it's just massive and we do come into the rugby environment like 'how can he get the best out of us?' – that's something that I think is so important - but also 'how can we get the best out of Lynny?'" Gloucester-Hartpury's last defeat was 10 games ago, back on 30 November - a bruising loss to West Country rivals Bristol Bears on their own turf. It was Lynn's wife Vicki who went about reinvigorating the team. "After the game a few of the players were just saying to me 'Lynny, we're not us'," Lynn said. "On the Monday I posed the question to the players, 'Well who are we?' My wife takes so much pride in this as well - it's just not Sean Lynn involved in this, it's the Lynn family - and she said to me 'I am putting on a Christmas dinner for these girls and I am putting on something special.' "In the end we had 25 players come round, plus family." Gloucester-Hartpury chief executive James Forrester has known Lynn for more than 20 years, having first crossed paths during his playing days for the Cherry and Whites, before coaching alongside him. "Lynny deserves massive credit for that culture, because that is him," Forrester said. "He is definitely a people person, he brings people together and that's for sure been a big part of our success." Forrester and Lynn both believe the foundations for success were always there at Gloucester-Hartpury, with the college boasting one of the most fruitful rugby academy pathways for men and women. The turning point came in the summer of 2022, when funding for the team more than tripled after a review led by Forrester. A number high-profile internationals were brought in, facilities merged with the men's outfit, and narrow losses the previous season turned into a first title-win the next. "We just felt with a relatively small investment we could be the best team in the country, because if we could just recruit a few of those high-end players to compliment the pathway and what we already had, Lynny and I were very confident we were going to win trophies," Forrester said. Today, the club shares training facilities with the men's side, Kingsholm has been rebranded Queensholm and record attendances in the thousands have been broken repeatedly for matches. "Two years ago we said 'two clubs, one city' - you can definitely see that," Lynn said. "For us to be able to go in and work with the men, myself just having conversations with George Skivington [Gloucester director of rugby] helps massively, Lewis Ludlow [Gloucester captain], they're in the same physio room, they're in the same lounge area." Forrester is quick to point out that Lynn is not the only Gloucester-Hartpury stalwart who has grown the club to where it is today. "Having gone on that journey with the group, and it's not just Lynny, it's all the other staff, it's your Mo Hunts, your Zoe Aldcrofts, Kathryn Buggy," Forrester said. "Also girls that don't have the profile of those who have been there forever, your Rachel Lund, Ellie Rugman, Bianca Blackburn, Tatyana Heard, Hannah Jones. "They have been on that whole journey for us and that for me is why it's so special." Aldcroft agreed that this week of training before the final are "the sorts of weeks you live for". "Those moments will be super special this week and I'm just looking forward to being into it with the team and Lynny," she said. Lynn said lifting the PWR trophy for the first time in 2023 in front of almost 10,000 fans at Queensholm stands out as one of his highlights, as does his final home game 10 days ago in the semi-final win against Bristol. A third title this weekend would be the fairytale ending, but even without that Lynn's tenure has already left its mark. "I think the brand of rugby, the players, the crowd, Gloucester is a rugby city and that's not just for men anymore. It's the men and women," Lynn said.
BBC News
13-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Licence to inspire' - Lynn's Glos-Hartpury legacy
When the final whistle rings out for Sunday's Premiership Women's Rugby final, win or lose, it will bring to a close a chapter in Gloucester-Hartpury's recent history. Head of rugby Sean Lynn is departing to take up the Wales women national role, having been a huge driving force in transforming the club into the dominant force in English women's domestic rugby. Five years ago they were a mid-table outfit. Now they are two-time PWR champions, chasing a record third straight title when they face Saracens on Sunday at the StoneX Stadium."Credit to Lynny, he's just done absolute wonders for us here. He lets us be us, he says 'licence to inspire' and that's just about how can you be yourselves and how can you express yourself on the pitch," Gloucester-Hartpury co-captain Zoe Aldcroft said. Lynn has been part of the Hartpury College and Gloucester Rugby set up for two decades. As a teenager he played for Gloucester's academy. He then coached the BUCs men's side - leading them to three Super Rugby titles - before becoming head of women's rugby in 2019. He and his family even live on the college the on-the-field success Gloucester-Hartpury have had speaks for itself in the past three seasons - only six losses in 55 league games - the family culture is what comes up time and again from players as what makes the club special."Lynny has just been absolutely phenomenal for us at Gloucester-Hartpury, how he brings us together and how he connects us as a team, whether that be on pitch or off pitch, is so personable," Aldcroft - who was first taught by Lynn when she was 16 - said."I think it's just massive and we do come into the rugby environment like 'how can he get the best out of us?' – that's something that I think is so important - but also 'how can we get the best out of Lynny?'" Gloucester-Hartpury's last defeat was 10 games ago, back on 30 November - a bruising loss to West Country rivals Bristol Bears on their own was Lynn's wife Vicki who went about reinvigorating the team. "After the game a few of the players were just saying to me 'Lynny, we're not us'," Lynn said."On the Monday I posed the question to the players, 'Well who are we?' My wife takes so much pride in this as well - it's just not Sean Lynn involved in this, it's the Lynn family - and she said to me 'I am putting on a Christmas dinner for these girls and I am putting on something special.'"In the end we had 25 players come round, plus family."Gloucester-Hartpury chief executive James Forrester has known Lynn for more than 20 years, having first crossed paths during his playing days for the Cherry and Whites, before coaching alongside him."Lynny deserves massive credit for that culture, because that is him," Forrester said."He is definitely a people person, he brings people together and that's for sure been a big part of our success." 'Two clubs, one city' Forrester and Lynn both believe the foundations for success were always there at Gloucester-Hartpury, with the college boasting one of the most fruitful rugby academy pathways for men and women. The turning point came in the summer of 2022, when funding for the team more than tripled after a review led by Forrester. A number high-profile internationals were brought in, facilities merged with the men's outfit, and narrow losses the previous season turned into a first title-win the next."We just felt with a relatively small investment we could be the best team in the country, because if we could just recruit a few of those high-end players to compliment the pathway and what we already had, Lynny and I were very confident we were going to win trophies," Forrester the club shares training facilities with the men's side, Kingsholm has been rebranded Queensholm and record attendances in the thousands have been broken repeatedly for matches."Two years ago we said 'two clubs, one city' - you can definitely see that," Lynn said."For us to be able to go in and work with the men, myself just having conversations with George Skivington [Gloucester director of rugby] helps massively, Lewis Ludlow [Gloucester captain], they're in the same physio room, they're in the same lounge area." Forrester is quick to point out that Lynn is not the only Gloucester-Hartpury stalwart who has grown the club to where it is today."Having gone on that journey with the group, and it's not just Lynny, it's all the other staff, it's your Mo Hunts, your Zoe Aldcrofts, Kathryn Buggy," Forrester said."Also girls that don't have the profile of those who have been there forever, your Rachel Lund, Ellie Rugman, Bianca Blackburn, Tatyana Heard, Hannah Jones."They have been on that whole journey for us and that for me is why it's so special."Aldcroft agreed that this week of training before the final are "the sorts of weeks you live for"."Those moments will be super special this week and I'm just looking forward to being into it with the team and Lynny," she said lifting the PWR trophy for the first time in 2023 in front of almost 10,000 fans at Queensholm stands out as one of his highlights, as does his final home game 10 days ago in the semi-final win against Bristol. A third title this weekend would be the fairytale ending, but even without that Lynn's tenure has already left its mark."I think the brand of rugby, the players, the crowd, Gloucester is a rugby city and that's not just for men anymore. It's the men and women," Lynn said.
