AHEAD of this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, a global panel of experts from rugby website, RugbyPass, have compiled a rundown of the top 50 women’s players in the world right now.
The ‘Top 50’ itself has been dominated in terms of representation by nations who are favourites for the tournament – in particular England, New Zealand and Canada – with Black Fern’s star Portia Woodman-Wickliffe being named the number one women’s player in the world right now. However, the rankings also paint a bleak picture for Welsh women’s rugby, as not a single Wales player has made the cut.
To get a Welsh perspective on the Top 50, RugbyPass spoke to former Wales lock, Siwan Lillicrap, who also captained the side at the last World Cup in 2022. Lillicrap praised the list, particularly noting its diversity.
She said: “What’s also really nice in this list is the mixture of players from different nations. Aoife Wafer [5], for instance, who has broken through in the last season and performed so well for Ireland.”
She also championed several players in the top 10, including England’s Zoe Aldcroft (3) and Hope Rogers (8) of the USA.
She added: “Zoe Aldcroft is a world class player, who I was fortunate enough to play with at Gloucester. She is the ultimate professional and she always leads from the front, no matter what number she’s got on her back. For me, she’s one of the best operators at set pieces in the game, but also, her work rate around the park is phenomenal.
“Hope Rogers just seems to be getting better and better. She also seems to be peeking again this year ahead of the Rugby World Cup. I know the USA don’t have many opportunities to earn caps, but she has recently had her 50th which is a huge achievement. Even though she is a prop, the significance of her work around the park, her ball carrying and how powerful and strong she is really helps that USA side.”
Siwan did however express her disappointment regarding the lack of a Welsh presence within the Top 50 and claimed there are several Wales players who should have made the list.
She expressed: “From the whole list, I did notice the lack of Welsh players. Alex Callender would be there for me; she’s one of the best sevens in the world right now.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t see her throughout all of the Women’s Six Nations campaign this year for Wales due to injury, but she made an impact on her return and she was guaranteed the starting shirt for Harlequins throughout the season.
“She really does make a difference to the Welsh squad when she’s on.
“She’s a workhorse, the number of instances that she gets in the game whether it’s tackles, turnovers, or touches on the ball, she’s that good that she often tops the charts on performance stats.
“She’s not the biggest but her determination, grit and rugby knowledge, she always gets over the game line for Wales, so she’s probably Wales’ standout player in the forwards.
“I know she’s been injured but Sisilia Tuipulotu should also be there. I’d say she is one of the best tight head props in the world when she’s on form. Her explosive, powerful, strength is second to none.”
Some other additions Lillicrap believes should be added to the list are Keira Beven, who she describes as “one of the best nines in the world” and Kayleigh Powell, who she believes has “got something else as a 10. She’s got a running game, she’s got a kicking game, and she’s a very brave defender”.
When asked about the rest of the Top 50, Lillicrap questioned the player in the top spot, saying: “It’s an interesting choice for number one with Portia Woodman-Wickliffe…She has been outstanding, so I completely get why she is out of retirement.
“But, is she number one on this list? I’m not too sure because in the position she plays there’s a lot of quality back threes out there in the world; she’s definitely in the top 10 but maybe not number one.”
She went on to say that “Alex Matthews [13] and Pauline Bourdon-Sansus [2], should be in with a shout as being one of or even the number one player right now.”
Siwan also voiced her dissatisfaction regarding the position of England fullback Ellie Kildunne: “‘World Player of the Year’, Ellie Kildunne down in 11th? I fully agree with Megan Jones [6} being in that top 10, she’s been outstanding for England, but 100% I’d put Kildunne up there.”
Despite the gloom around the Wales representation, Lillicrap ended her comments on a positive note, believing next year’s Top 50 list might be a different story.
She concluded: “There’s young exciting talent coming through all nations, but we’ve got some really, really good, exciting talent and I’m confident ahead of the World Cup in four years that there will be more Welshies on that top 50 list.”
