The Penn State Women’s team leave 3.30am on Thursday to Wales for the annual spring break trip to Europe. The team has never been based in Wales, a traditional hot bed of rugby, but they did play some games there in 2007 when the team was based across the English border in Bath.
There are 4 games scheduled for the trip, plus the traditional War of the Roses match. The first matches are against Cardiff Harlequins, currently top of the Welsh Women’s Division 1 and their developmental side. The team plays just one day after they arrive which means that jet-lag will be a factor. The War of the Roses, a traditional intra-squad match where players are either red or white roses for their Penn State career, will be on Monday afternoon. The team will play the University of Wales Institute of Cardiff (UWIC) Olde Girls on Wednesday evening. UWIC are the current British University champions and have a play-off game in the afternoon for their A side so we will play their olde girls. On Friday night (note change in schedule) the team will play another women’s division 1 team, Pontyclun. The team managed to get tickets for the Wales vs Italy match at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday so Pontyclun kindly moved the match to Friday night.
Check back here for daily updates from the tour!
