Talgarth's Shanelle makes childhood Christmas list dream come true with Wales debut

In a massive win for Wales, Shanelle Williams from Talgarth made her professional debut for her country on Friday, 18 September.

Shanelle is a former Gwernyfed RFC junior player and was subbed on for her first Welsh appearance in the second half of a 50-19 win for Wales over South Africa in the WXV Global Series.

“It was unreal,” Shanelle told The Brecon and Radnor Express. “I think the atmosphere, because we were winning, was just amazing and when I was subbed on the lead was so large that it took all the pressure off of me. It was really enjoyable.

“I had the email about the call up a couple of weeks before preseason. I was over the moon, sent it to my dad and he was shocked.”

Shanelle’s debut was a big tick for Father Christmas also, as when she was a child she had written on her Christmas list that she wanted to play for Wales.

Talking about the heartwarming story shared by Wales’ social media accounts, Shanelle said: “I started playing when I was eight or nine years old and that year I put on my Christmas list to Santa that I wanted to play for Wales, and when I got my first under 18’s cap my sister put it on a Facebook post and then my mum commented about it on the WRU post after the game the other day and their social media team picked it up.”

Shanelle is currently contracted to Brython Thunder who play in the Celtic Rugby Challenge. She grew up playing at Gwernyfed from 8 to 13 for four years through boys and girls teams and then started playing for Red Kites at around 11.

“My dad started taking me down to Cardiff to play for Cardiff Harlequins when our team folded after covid. Following the Quinns I went into Cardiff Blues’ set up and then on to Hartpury College, and couldn’t play for Blues’ any more due to the travelling,” said Shanelle.

She played her first University season last year, but is unable to play this coming season due to her contract in the Celtic Challenge.

After enjoying her first cap with a win, Shanelle was an unused sub in Wales loss to the USA on Saturday, 26 September, but the future looks bright for the Talgarth rugby star.