Jasmine Joyce – known as “Jaz” by all – is a sure starter in most people’s Women’s Six Nations fantasy teams. The Bristol Bears winger has been tearing up the Premier 15s league, known for her trademark athletic sprint down the wing.
Despite being in the middle of the Women’s Six Nations tournament, the 25-year-old is currently in Loughborough – because the Wales player is also training with the Team GB Sevens squad in the run up to the Olympic Games.
“I can’t describe the feeling of representing your country in a sport you love, it’s an overwhelming feeling and it’s just everything,” says Joyce.
Now an Olympian and Wales international, Joyce started playing rugby at local club St Davids, inspired by a teacher at her Pembrokeshire secondary school. “As soon as I picked up the ball I just loved it,” she says. “I was six or seven, and I haven’t stopped playing since. As a child I knew I wanted to play for Wales, but we didn’t have the role models that young girls have now – and if you wanted to watch women’s rugby then you had to go to the stadium and watch in person.”
Joyce played many sports growing up, including county-level netball, but soon had to make the choice. “It wasn’t feasible playing so many sports, and my parents kept having to take me to all these different clubs. I enjoyed rugby the most so I decided to stick with it.”
It’s a decision that Wales fans will thank her for, but one that hasn’t come without serious sacrifices. Just three months into her first year of university, when most students are partying at night and living on packet noodles, Joyce was called up to the Wales squad to play in the Dubai Sevens tournament. “It was a dream for me to play rugby, but I had to choose to focus on it,” she says.
Joyce’s dedication to the game is unquestionable. On top of the travelling involved for her club commitments (around one hour and 45 minutes each way from Joyce’s home to her Bristol training ground), the amateur status of Wales Women means that players need to work as well as playing for club and country.
“At the moment, the hours we put into training is practically like being a full-time rugby player, but we then work 37-hour-a-week jobs, or go to university on top of that, and try to filter in any family time as well,” she says.
It’s also becoming harder for countries such as Wales to challenge the professional set-ups of countries such as the now professional-level England and semi-professional France – as witnessed with Wales’ 53-0 loss to France in the first round of the tournament. “We believed we were going to go there and put up a fight,” she says. “France are full-time, so it’s inevitable that these things will happen; there’s only so much we can train.
Joyce says that there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes at the Welsh Rugby Union to secure contracts for players, so that they can excel and show what they’re capable of.
“It’s really hard to compete against teams who are professionals when we are balancing full-time jobs. I’d love to see contracts come in this year.”
The 25-year-old recently made the choice to stop saying no to things in her personal life and is currently in the final stages of completing her teacher training at University of Wales Trinity Saint David – although this is paused while she works with Team GB. “I’ve just decided to live my life and do what I want – I was putting my life on hold.”
While the demands on a women’s rugby player are huge, the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices for Joyce. “It’s my way of giving back to my parents and everyone who helped me when I was younger. My parents love it – they follow me everywhere! When I was selected for the Olympics they were straight on that plane.”
GUINNESS is proud to be the first Official Partner of the Women’s Six Nations, and is working closely with a number of its own partners to increase visibility for the Women’s Six Nations. The brewer has launched an initiative to “Never Settle” until sport is a place where everyone can belong, regardless of their gender, race or sexuality. This initiative is part of a long-term commitment from GUINNESS to continue to grow inclusivity and accessibility for everyone in sport
