Shona Powell-Hughes (born 8 July 1991) is a

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the 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 of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

professional player who plays

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen 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. Their current head coach, as of January 2025, is Sean Lynn. History As far back as the ni ...

and Gloucester-Hartpury. She made her debut for the Wales national squad in 2010 as the youngest member of the team at the time, 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 featuring England women's national rugby union team, England, France women's national rugby union te ...

Club career

Powell-Hughes played for both

Skewen RFC Skewen Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Skewen, South Wales. Skewen RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys (rugby union), Ospreys. Club history There's evidence of a Skewen rugb ...

and

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

before joining Gloucester-Hartpury in 2019.

International career

Powell-Hughes was called up to the

for the

2010 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was the sixth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in England. The International Rugby Board Executive Committee selected the host union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limit ...

, the youngest member of the team at the time. She then made her debut in a match against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where she was brought on as a substitute. She made a further appearance as a substitute in the following match, against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She made her Six Nations Championship entrance in 2011, where her efforts earned her the title of Young Player of the Year. Prior to the

2015 Women's Six Nations Championship The 2015 Women's Six Nations Championship, also known as the 2015 RBS Women's Six Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual Women's rugby unio ...

, she was one of the players picked out by captain

Rachel Taylor Rachael Taylor (born 1984) is an Australian actress and model. Rachael or Rachel Taylor may also refer to: * Rachael Taylor (rower) (born 1976), Australian rower * Rachael Taylor (academic) (born 1971), New Zealand childhood nutrition academic * ...

as 'one to watch' in an interview for ''

Rugby World ''Rugby World'' is a monthly rugby union magazine running since October 1960. It is published monthly by Future plc and edited by Joe Robinson. Long-standing editor Paul Morgan left in January 2012. Morgan was long considered a leader in the in ...

'' magazine. The team subsequently scored a 13–0 victory over England, marking only the second time the Welsh women had beaten the English team. Powell-Hughes gained further attention during the 2016/17 championship when she scored tries from the back of the scrum in consecutive games against Ireland and France. After appearing in the

Rugby Sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...

at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

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Powell-Hughes was then picked for the rearranged 2020 Six Nations fixture against Scotland – her first appearance since 2017. She then represented Wales in the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship. She has earned 46 caps to date.

Personal life

Powell-Hughes is active in promoting rugby for girls and young women. In 2015, she publicly endorsed the Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City AFC Community Trust's 'Girls 4 Sport' scheme, which sought to increase the level of sports coaching available to girls aged 9–11. In 2018, she was appointed as a Wales Rugby Union 'Game Changer', a scheme designed to increase and improve rugby opportunities for women and girls. In this role, she worked with all areas of the Wales Rugby Union, along with clubs, schools and hub officers, to increase the number of women and girls regularly involved in Welsh rugby, and to improve the rugby products on offer to the Welsh female population.

Honours

* Women's Six Nations Championship 'Young Player of the Year', 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell-Hughes, Shona 1991 births Living people Rugby union players from Bridgend Skewen RFC players Wales women's international rugby union players Welsh female rugby union players 21st-century Welsh sportswomen Wales international women's rugby sevens players