BBC & S4C secure rights to screen Wales Women autumn internationals

BBC Wales and S4C have announced that they will be screening all three of Wales Women’s autumn rugby internationals in a new deal with the Welsh Rugby Union.

The matches against Japan, South Africa and Canada will all be available to watch on free-to-air TV, with Scrum V‘s Catrin Heledd anchoring the TV broadcasts.

Radio Wales and Radio Cymru will also be covering the team’s penultimate campaign before next year’s World Cup in New Zealand.

Wales Women’s campaign begins on Sunday 7 November at Cardiff Arms Park when they play Japan and the match will be screened live on S4C’s Clwb Rygbi at 4.45pm with the remaining two matches will be broadcast on BBC Two Wales.

Wales face South Africa on 13 November as both sides bid for a place in World Rugby’s top 10 rankings, and the final game on 2 November will arguably be the toughest of the campaign as captain Siwan Lillicrap leads her team against Canada who are currently ranked third in the world.

The team are preparing for next year’s World Cup under the recently appointed coaching team led by former Wales U20s boss Ioan Cunningham who replaces Warren Abrahams, assisted by Geraint Lewis, Richard Whiffin and World Rugby coaching intern Sophie Spence.

Committed

Sue Butler, S4C sports commissioner, said: “We’re looking forward to Wales Women beginning their autumn series on S4C as part of our support of Welsh rugby across the board. Good luck to our women in all three games, we’ll be with you.”

Rhuanedd Richards, director of content and services at BBC Cymru Wales, said: “I’m so pleased we’ve been able to announce this new deal with the WRU.

“BBC Wales is committed to bringing top quality women’s sport to the audience and this deal allows fans to follow the team’s journey throughout the tournament. I can’t wait to see the campaign get under way.”

The BBC and S4C lost the rights to cover Wayne Pivac’s Wales team during their autumn internationals against New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Australia, to Amazon which is also producing its own Welsh-language offering.

Radio Wales lost the rights to cover Wales men’s matches, leaving talkSPORT broadcasting the autumn series for the first time. However, Radio Cymru will have full live commentary of all men’s autumn international games this year.

Wales Women’s autumn rugby fixtures and kick-off times

• Wales v Japan, Sunday, November 7, 5pm, Cardiff Arms Park, S4C
• Wales v South Africa, Saturday, November 13, 12.15pm, Cardiff Arms Park, BBC Two Wales
• Wales v Canada, Sunday, November 21, 5pm, Cardiff Arms Park, BBC Two Wales