Cerys Hale (born 4 April 1993) is a

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

professional player who plays

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

for the

Wales women's national rugby union team The Wales women's national rugby union team first played in 1987. Wales plays in the Women's Rugby World Cup and the Women's Six Nations Championship History Wales Women have played as a team officially since 5 April 1987 when a Wales Women te ...

and Gloucester Hartpury. She made her debut for Wales in 2016 and represented them at the

2021 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship was the 20th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The 2021 tournament was given a change o ...

Club career

Hale started playing rugby at the age of 11 with the Newport High School Old Boys, remaining with the club until she was 18. During this time she also played for WRU regional team, the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

. Between 2016 and 2018 Hale played prop for

Pontyclun RFC Pontyclun Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Pontyclun, Wales. Pontyclun RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union. Early history Although it is believed that rugby had been played in Pontyclun from the early 1880s; a game ...

, before moving to her current club, Gloucester Hartpury.

International career

Hale was called up to the Wales women's squad for both the

2014 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August. All of the pool games for the World Cup took place at the Centre National du R ...

and the

2014 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2014 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2014 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby unio ...

, but didn't gain any game time for either. She was the only member of the Wales squad not to gain any game time during the World Cup tournament and was not selected for the 2015 Women's Six Nations Championship. Missing out on these opportunities pushed Hale to work on her game. In a subsequent WRU interview, she said: "Obviously not getting on in the World Cup and not making he 2015Six Nations squad really drove me to work on my skills work and on my conditioning". After waiting patiently for two years, she gained her first cap during the

2016 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2016 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2016 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union ...

when she was brought on as a substitute in the match against Ireland. She then made three appearances in the

2017 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup was the eighth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in Ireland in August 2017. New Zealand became the 2017 champions by beating England 41–32 in the final on 26 August. Matches were held in Dubl ...

. Most recently, Hale represented Wales at the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship, telling the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

: "I want to not just be the best prop in Wales but to be the best prop in the UK." Hale has won 38 caps in her career to date. She was selected in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

squad for the

2021 Rugby World Cup The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the ninth staging of the women's Rugby World Cup, as organised by World Rugby. It was held from 8 October to 12 November 2022 in Auckland and Whangārei, New Zealand. It was originally scheduled to be held in 2021, ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Personal life

As a child, Hale attended

Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw is a Welsh-medium comprehensive school located in Trevethin, Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales and named for Saint Gwynllyw. The school had 926 pupils on roll in 2017. History The school was founded in 1988 as the first Welsh-medium school in the ...

, a Welsh-language comprehensive school located in Pontypool in Torfaen, Wales. She then studied at

Cardiff Metropolitan University , image_name = Shield of Cardiff Metropolitan University.svg , image_size = 150px , motto = cy, Gorau Meddiant Gwybodaeth , mottoeng = The most valuable possession is knowledge , established = 2011 – Car ...

, where she graduated in 2014 with a degree in sports development. Since 2016 Hale has taught at schools around South Wales, first as a science teacher at

Brynmawr Foundation School Brynmawr Foundation School ( cy, Ysgol Sefydledig Brynmawr) is a secondary school in Brynmawr, Blaenau Gwent, Wales. Academic performance In 2016, 98% of pupils entered achieved at least 5 grades A* to C at GCSE level. Facilities The sports ...

, and then with supported-education provider, The Priory Group. She is currently a maths tutor with ACT Training, based in Caerphilly. Hale has specifically chosen to work with children experiencing difficulties, commenting in an interview: “I felt in mainstream schools that sometimes the kids lower down the classes can get forgotten a bit. They don’t have the same opportunities."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Cerys 1993 births Living people 20th-century Welsh women Female rugby union players Welsh female rugby union players Dragons RFC players Rugby union players from Newport, Wales Wales international rugby union players 21st-century Welsh women Rugby union props