The Welsh Rugby Union can announce Welsh international Ashley Beck has been appointed the Wales interim attack coach for the forthcoming Guinness Women’s Six Nations campaign.
Beck, who won seven Wales caps, will join head coach Sean Lynn’s Wales coaching team for the 2026 Six Nations.
The former Wales centre has been the Brython Thunder head coach in the Celtic Challenge for the last three seasons. Beck was appointed Worcester Warriors Women’s attack coach before the club’s demise in November 2023.
He worked with former Wallaroos coach, Jo Yapp, with the Warriors in the PWR in England.
Beck was appointed Brython Thunder head coach in 2023 and has worked with Wales internationals Alex Callender, Kate Williams, Natalia John, Gwen Crabb, Lisa Neumann, Hannah Bluck, Seren Lockwood and Branwen Metcalfe.
Beck, said: “Playing for Wales is the highest honour you can get when you are a player and it’s the same when you are a coach.
“To be asked by Sean to join the set-up for the Women’s 2026 Six Nations is a real privilege and I am excited by the challenge of coaching at Test match level.
“Having worked with a host of the players in the Celtic Challenge, I know the talent we have in Wales and the challenge for the players is to believe they can compete at this level.
Lynn said: “Ash has a real pedigree in the women’s game and players find him relatable and I know Alex Callender has a high opinion of him and how he coaches.
“We have talked and discussed rugby regularly while he has been in charge of a young Brython Thunder team in the Celtic Challenge and I have been impressed at the way he thinks about the game.
“Ash is full of a new ideas of how to attack teams and I am excited to see what he can bring to the coaching team and the squad.”
Welsh Rugby Union Director of Rugby and Elite Performance, Dave Reddin, said: “Ashley Beck is an exciting young coach and has invaluable experience in the women’s game and we are delighted he has taken this role.
“The work he has done with a young Brython Thunder team, full of young Welsh players, demonstrates how the Welsh Rugby Union’s investment in the women’s game is beginning to pay dividends.”
The WRU can confirm Shaun Connor, the Wales attack coach, has chosen to move on. We thank Shaun for his contribution to with the women’s squad.
We wish Shaun every success in the future.
Noisy Girl
The same whistle is blown at the start of each world cup – This is without a doubt one of our favourite rugby facts. Welsh referee Gil Evans used the same whistle to preside over Rugby games for 20 years, donating it to the New Zealand Rugby Museum in 1969. The tradition was revived for the 1987 Rugby World Cup, and the whistle has been used for every tournament since. Best not to think about how hygienic that 100-year-old whistle is.
are ess tee
Rugby first appeared at the Olympics 1900 – Interestingly, rugby first appeared as an Olympic sport in 1900 when the games were held in Paris. Since then, it’s appeared intermittently until its formal reintroduction at the Rio De Janeiro Games 2016, with both a male and female 7’s tournament played. At those games, Fiji won the men’s tournament winning their first ever Olympic medal in the country’s history.