Wales ready to defend World Deaf Rugby titles

Wales men and women are heading to Japan to defend their titles at the Deaf Rugby Sevens World Cup.

The three-day event in Tokyo will be held between 31 October and 2 November.

The 2023 World Deaf Rugby Sevens Cup in Argentina saw the men's team defeat Australia with a 20-5 victory sealing their second title in the sevens tournament and third consecutive title in the Deaf Rugby World Cup for the two Welsh sides.

The women seven's tournament made its debut in 2023 with England beaten 32-0 in the final by Wales.

At their final preparation session before leaving for Japan, players and staff came together at their training ground in Neath, and spoke to BBC Sport Wales.

The day ended with the presentation of the kit that both teams will be wearing in Tokyo.

Sian-Elin Melbourne, chair of Wales Deaf Rugby, also shared a final message to the teams.

"You are not just representing yourselves," said Melbourne.

"You represent your families, your community, everyone that has helped you get here and the generations of deaf rugby players who have worn the jersey before you."

Deaf Wales women's rugby team manager, Kristy Hopkins, added: "It's such an achievement.

"It's such a proud, proud feeling to represent Wales on an international level, and know you're representing the deaf community.

"And for the deaf children looking at us as role models, to see that they too could achieve this in the future, is an absolutely immense feeling."

With the women's team defending their sevens world champions status for the first time and the men's team defending their title for second time, the pressure is on.

"It creates a big target for our backs," said men's captain Joe Yates.

"We've created that target by being successful. It's about us meeting everyone's expectation and making sure we don't disappoint the other countries.

"They're expecting us to be one of the better teams in the tournament and it's up to us to make sure we meet that expectation."

This year the competition also brings an additional challenge. For the first time there will be silent referees, something which is new to the Welsh team.

"There's going to be flags and assistant referees dotted around the perimeter of the pitch, so we've got to learn on the go with that," said Yates.

"They also use hand signals in some aspects which we're familiar with."

But the pressure is not only from being defending champions and the new communication methods.

It also comes from the difficult task of self-funding themselves to represent Wales in Japan.

Currently the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) support the team by providing facilities where the men and women can train.

However, the team are reliant on raising money by players selling raffle tickets and attracting business sponsors for the financial costs of travel, competition fees, food and other needs.

Given their successes, women's captain Kathryn Stevenson says the current support available "does not match our achievements".

"To have two teams, both world champions, in a country as small as Wales... we are so underfunded and underrepresented," added Stevenson.

For many within Wales deaf rugby, success is not just measured by whether or not they win.

"It's not just about winning, it's about playing, it's about getting out there, it's about getting those opportunities to play amongst England, South Africa and Australia players," says Melbourne.

Growing the game and the future of deaf rugby is equally important to all involved in Welsh deaf rugby, with community projects getting children involved in disability sport from a young age.

"For me personally, and for us as a team, it's for the younger generation of deaf children," says Hopkins.

"It's letting the younger generation of deaf kids know that with lots of hard work, they too can achieve absolutely anything."

As the Welsh men's and women's teams prepare for Japan, the significance of representing both country and community is as powerful as ever.

"Whatever the outcome of Japan, nothing can take away the feeling of putting on a shirt and running out on that pitch and knowing you're representing Wales and the deaf community," says Stevenson.

"It's incredible."