Jenna De Vera, a student at the University of Bristol, has been called up to play for Wales during the 2023 TikTok Six Nations.
The 19-year-old Film and Television with Innovation student is a Centre by trade and has been playing for the University’s women’s rugby team, having already captained Scarlets U18s.
This impressive call-up at such a young age comes following some strong performances for the country’s development team at the Celtic Challenge in January. Her work both in training and on the pitch was described as ‘outstanding’ by Head Coach Mike Hill.
De Vera is yet to win a cap for Wales, but the experience gained simply by rubbing shoulders with her teammates will do no harm to her development.
Wales beat Scotland this weekend in a 34-22 win, building on last week’s dominant performance against Ireland. With games against England, France and Italy still to come, there may be opportunities for De Vera to break into the senior team.
Being part of any international set-up is an incredible achievement, not least of all as a student trying to balance training, studying and socialising. However, this is just the start of what will hopefully be a flourishing career.
