Former Wales Women's coach Sam Dodge tells Alex Bywater things are badly wrong in the camp
ASA MAN who made a significant contribution to Pat Lam's turnaround of Bristol Bears, Sam Dodge knows a thing or two about what it takes to be part of a successful rugby environment.
Having worked with England and Wales at U20 level, Bristol and Bath in the Premiership and Wales Women, Dodge is a leading strength and conditioning coach at only 32 years of age.
Now he is about to embark on a new challenge in Australia with AFL side Adelaide Crows in a move which will see him up sticks from Newport.
Dodge left the high-flying Bears to rejoin Wales Women in February but departed just a few months later so he is able to give a priceless insight into a Welsh set-up that has struggled badly for the last two years or more.
The Welsh Rugby Union are currently undertaking a review into how their women's team is run after they failed to win a game in the 2020 Six Nations and the shortened 2021 tournament.
Last week, a group of 123 former Wales Women's internationals said “enough is enough” after they launched a petition to improve the state of the female game.
The petition aims to bring performance pathways for females in line with their male counterparts.
“We cannot stand by and watch the women's game deteriorate any further,” the report said.
Since 2020, Wales Women have seen two head coaches in Rowland Phillips and Warren Abrahams depart with the former leaving in mysterious fashion. In March, former captain Rachel Taylor – now coaching at Sale – resigned from Abrahams' set-up with immediate effect.
“In terms of the review, the right questions are being asked of the right people,” said Dodge, who had offers from Premiership clubs and Welsh regions as well as the Crows.
“What's really important is the people who understand the programme are given a voice. Everyone has got an opinion, but not many people have been at the Vale at 9pm on a Friday night when the women's players are trying to squeeze in a gym session.
“Our results in the Six Nations weren't great and Wales aren't competitive, but a lot of the criticism came from people who don't know anything about the programme. I'd challenge anyone to put up with what these girls have to and then be world class.
“It's easy to point the finger, but the work you see from the girls is unbelievable. A lot of them know they aren't where they need to be, but some of them are. I feel positive changes are coming. I genuinely believe that. It's got to be a long-term view and not just about the next World Cup.
“It has to be a five-year plan. I'd say have a good crack at the next World Cup, but I wouldn't view that as the be-all and end-all. Women's rugby in Wales needs to have some longevity about it.”
Wales Women's squad faces an uphill battle as their leading players juggle games for their club sides in England and preparing for Test rugby alongside their day jobs.
As things stand, there is no way their players can compete with a fully professional team like England however dedicated they are.
Dodge added: “During the pandemic the Welsh girls had to go and play in England. The challenge is that the model they are working to at the moment is not quite right and I think people are aware of that.
“Some girls are working 40-hour weeks and then have three hours travelling to training. When they're doing that it's difficult to find ways to make them better.
“The biggest thing the programme needs is to set-up a pathway for the girls to be able to play in Wales and to train around their work commitments. Wales need to try and build an environment like the ones England and Ireland had five or six years ago. It won't happen overnight, but we have to start. My main reason for leaving was I didn't feel it was a set-up where I could fully use my skills to develop the girls. If I couldn't give them my best, I didn't want to give them anything at all.
“Some girls are working 40-hour weeks and then have three hours travelling to training”
“I said that to them when I left. I'm still in touch with a lot of the players and I want them to do well.”
Dodge has been working with Bath since leaving the WRU before he embarks on his Australian adventure. He is a busy man and having previously worked with Welsh Judo, has also created an online programme for grappling athletes. Grip Strength is his business for the future.
“Professionalism, or lack of it, is a factor for Wales Women but it's not the only one in my opinion,” said Dodge.
“Just chucking money at the situation isn't the answer for Wales yet. Money and contracts aren't the only things.
Natalie Powell, who I worked with in judo, won a Commonwealth gold medal and she was pretty much self-funded.
“With Wales, we need to improve the quality of player and to do that you need to put time into it. Time isn't a commodity the girls have at the moment.
“Look at someone like Jaz Joyce. She was in the team of the tournament at the Olympics. She is absolutely outstanding and Wales can produce female athletes like her. How good could we be if we had more contact time? That's the exciting thing.”
Dodge believes Wales can look at the Bears' attitude for inspiration. “When I went to Bristol we came up into the Premiership and everyone expected us to come straight back down. Our attitude was ‘Why can't we challenge the top three?'
“We did that within 18 months. People see the signings we made at Bristol, but behind the scenes we worked our absolute nuts off to try and bridge the gap.
“You wouldn't believe how hard we worked on pushing the team, the culture, and upskilling the players. Look at someone like Callum Sheedy. He was on loan at Jersey.
“Now he's starting for Wales. I've never cared about status. If you're an underdog, that's the best place to be because no-one expects anything of you. You have to harness that and if you can get your players to have that attitude, it's such a powerful thing. The sky is the limit then.”
Dodge is looking forward to testing his skills in a new sport in Australia although he hasn't closed the door on a rugby return.
“I feel I've developed most as a coach when I've put myself in different situations. I'm at a point now where I can move abroad and the Crows is a massive club,” Dodge said. “My long-term goal is really cheesy, but it keeps me grounded. I want to be happy and work in an environment which keeps challenging me.” Sam Dodge is founder of www.grip-strength.co.uk/
