TWENTY years ago, the concept was deemed laughable.

Ten years down the line, and despite progress, the game was still viewed as amateurish and vastly inferior to the male equivalent.

But fast forward to the present day, and women’s rugby, both at club and international level, is now undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, writes Fraser Watson.

Last year’s World Cup tournament in France attracted global attention, and the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series is currently in its third year of the existence.

Furthermore, the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio will include men’s and women’s rugby sevens - with the women’s tournament being given absolute equality with the men’s in terms of both player and team numbers.

On the domestic front, there is now a four tier league system in Wales - and I accepted a recent invitation from Haverfordwest RFC, whose ladies side currently play in Division Two, to see for myself how the game has developed in Pembrokeshire.

The club runs senior and under 18 sides– with the seniors coached by Gareth Charles, Ben John, and Natalie Bowen, and managed by captain Nina Colville and Clodagh Llewhellin. The latter also takes care of the under 18s, alongside Geraint Sargeant and Helen Wilcox.

And as Clodagh explained, the club has come a long way since she helped form them after moving to Wales from Ireland four years ago.

Indeed, last season, they were runners up in both their respective league and cup competitions, winning promotion from Division Three in the process.

“We only had six players for our very first game against Lampeter,” admitted Clodagh.

“But we managed to get a few pictures and press releases in the local papers, and numbers soon started improving.

“I managed to accost Gareth (Charles) one day when he was dropping his daughter Jess of for training, and then roped Ben (John) in as well. They are our two main coaches now and the side would not have been able to carry on without them.”

I was intrigued as to what Clodagh felt the secret was to improving participation levels in a game that, for all too long, was viewed as unfashionable for women and girls.

“Like any team, we are always looking to improve, but at the same time we accommodate anybody who wants to come to Haverfordwest and simply give rugby a try.

“We are very welcoming, something that is really important, and we socialise with each other as well.

“You don’t have to be particularly sporty to join – as long as you don’t mind getting muddy every now and again! We’ve had both youngsters and adults join us despite having never played rugby before, and once they’ve learnt the basics and seen the good banter we have together they tend to stay with us.”

And inevitably, the improved exposure that women’s rugby is now receiving at international level, boosts interest at grassroots.

“The women’s Six Nations is now a big tournament and girls can now see games on television,” said Clodagh.

“Regional women’s matches including the Scarlets, Blues, and Dragons teams are now getting more coverage as well – which helps gives players something to aspire to.

“And the new WRU Schools 7s programme, which all local schools participate in, as helped introduce youngsters to the game and boosted our numbers at training.”

And whilst on the subject of elite performance, Haverfordwest themselves are far from just a social side, with a number of individual success stories having emerged from the club in recent times.

Lauren Morgan, Rhian Perry, Katy Thicker, Jess Charles, Stephanie Harris, Lisa Neumann and Jasmine Joyce are all club players to have represented the Scarlets at under 18 level – while Jasmine and Joanna Price currently represent the senior side that recently won their Regional Championship. Clodagh herself also played for the Scarlets last season.

At international level, both Lisa and Stephanie have played for the Wales Schools 7s side, alongside Jasmine who has since progressed to the senior 7s squad, and appeared in the Women’s Invitational Dubai Sevens last December.

And Joanna, who only took up the game last season, formed part of this season’s Wales Six Nations training squad after being spotted at a 2014 WRU Talent Identification session in Cardiff.

“There is a pathway for our talented players,” said Clodagh.

“And if any of our squad progress to play at a higher level, then we are all delighted for them, even if it means them spending less time with us.”

After fighting their way to a creditable fourth place in their first season in Division Two, the Blues opened their Super Cup campaign in January, and I attended their opening Pool C game against Lampeter at Merlins Bridge.

I thought it would be interesting to see how far the Blues had come, since that aforementioned game against the same opposition four years ago, when they could only muster six players.

And sure enough, in unfavourable conditions, the 80 minutes cemented what Clodagh told me.

Haverfordwest played with structure, organisation, and no shortage of skill as they scored four tries to register a 28-0 bonus point win.

And they followed this up a week later with an even more emphatic 59-0 win against the Bedlinog Vixens, giving them a perfect start to their cup campaign.

“It’s great the mixture of people we have playing for us,” skipper Nina told me after the Lampeter win.

“Some players are mothers with three children; others are teenagers just starting out in the game.

“But we all gel together and as a team we are getting better all the time. It’s a great group to be part of.”

Indeed, it often requires minimal effort to create a new team – but it takes wholehearted commitment to both maintain and improve one.

And Haverfordwest Ladies RFC deserve great credit for creating an environment where players, irrespective of their age, experience or ability, can be welcomed in the fold and then be given the opportunity to develop their skills and performance levels.

The achievements of the Blues, alongside the well documented success of Premiership side Whitland Ladies RFC, prove that women’s rugby in Pembrokeshire, as well as Wales and further afield, is on the up.

Haverfordwest Ladies RFC currently run both a senior and under 18s side.

Both squads train from 7-8.30pm every Monday night at Merlins Bridge, and anyone, irrespective of experience, is welcome to join. For more information, contact team manager Clodagh Llewhellin on 07769 115124. Team sponsors include The Bristol Trader, West Wales Karting, E and C Rewinds, Cleddau Cabs, The Glen, Sarah’s Bootcamp, SJ’s Pig Roast, M and SDP Roofing Services Ltd, The Slate Centre Ltd, The Rising Sun, Cut by Doc, The Welcome Travellers Inn, Ambition Sport and Donations.