Cerys Cuming: 'It’s an important message, I can do hard things after having the baby'

In July 2024, the media announced that 49-cap winning Welsh international and PWR winning Gloucester-Hartpury front row, Cerys Hale was retiring from rugby at 31.

Newport-born Hale represented Wales in the 2017 and 2022 World Cups, and was one of few remaining players who had transitioned from the amateur to professional era.

Two years later, eagle-eyed followers of the Celtic Challenge would notice the return of Cerys Cuming to the bench of Gwalia Lightning. Cuming, now married, with newborn daughter in tow, has made an understated return to elite rugby.

Cumin has described this stage of her life as her ‘career 2.0’, with things changing dramatically in the past two years.

Post-retirement life for Cuming has been busy. As well as becoming a new mum, Cuming also stepped up from part-time into a full-time role as Pathway Manager for Dragon’s Women, and is now Performance Lead, a role she was particularly passionate about; coaching a side she had previously played for as a junior. It was the combination of the World Cup and her newborn daughter that nudged Cuming back into the idea of returning to rugby.

“I felt that actually I’d achieved what I wanted to achieve, I was really pleased with where I was at. And I had a good job opportunity with the Dragons and it just seemed right for me,” said the prop.

“I didn’t retire to have a baby, but I knew as soon as I retired, I’d like to start a family. I know people, are happy to do it in the middle of their career. But I just didn’t know how I’d feel after I had had a baby. I didn’t know if I’d want to go back to that commitment and go back to rugby.

“So I took Eleri to a 2025 Rugby World Cup game in Exeter to watch Wales and it was probably also the hormones” she laughs, “but I was just so overwhelmed and inspired.

 

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“I was really proud to be there with my daughter in a sell-out crowd in a home World Cup, watching my friends play and I thought, ‘wow, rugby has still got a very big hold on me’.

“I also missed the people. What became apparent to me quite quickly was that I really, really loved being a mum and I didn’t want to leave Eleri at all. But I was conscious that I need to be me too. But the only thing I could really think of that I wanted to do was play rugby.”

It wasn’t a straightforward decision, but some coaxing by her ex-coach at Gloucester-Hartpury certainly helped.

“I was still in two minds. It was quite a big commitment and I didn’t know where I fit in at that point. I hadn’t played in over a year. And because I was quite poorly with sickness when I was pregnant, I didn’t do much training when I was pregnant either. I just felt like it was probably too big of an ask really.

“Then I was watching Gloucester-Hartpury play at Kingsholm, and (then head coach) Sean Lynn said to me, ‘do you miss it?’ And I was like, ‘yeah, I really do’.

“It’s an important message as well for Eleri, that I can do hard things after having the baby and also do things for me as well, even though she’s obviously my main priority.”

Following the conversation with Lynn, Gwalia Lightning contacted Cuming and offered a return pathway into rugby. Cuming’s connection to the Celtic Challenge side is extensive having assisted as a forwards coach for the side the previous season whilst pregnant.

“So he (Lynn) said if it’s something that I was interested in, they can support me to make a return to play. I did over a month of training and weights and skills and eased back into contact before I was available to play.

“I think it’s been a really good opportunity for me to go into the squad with people that I know very well, because I coached them last year and just offer a bit of a difference in experience.

“Gwalia are a really young side, I must bring the average age up significantly!” Cuming chuckles. “I think it was a good opportunity to bring a bit of experience within the squad.

“I’m quite competitive and I’ve realised I’ve got my own goals within the squad. So I’m someone with different experiences and a ‘bit of age’, and hopefully a bit of knowledge too. So I went in and did all my return to play alongside the squad, which was really good. And I’ve been lucky enough to get selected which is great.

“And the results speak for themselves, they’re doing really, really well this season.

A true Welshwoman, Cuming is passionate about the representation and development of women’s rugby within Wales. This is reflected in her current role at Dragons as Performance Lead. The decision to return to a Welsh club is not insignificant in its poignance to Cuming.

“Before I retired, I was playing in Gloucester, but actually the opportunity to now play back in Wales is something that I’m really grateful for and something that I think, actually, is probably how I will want to finish my career now that I’ve got that opportunity.

“And that is a credit to the work that’s gone into the Celtic Challenge, and the standard of training at Gwalia, and the standard of the league. Just to have that opportunity to be really competitive.

“And we’re seeing the games are getting more competitive. Obviously, Wolfhounds are particularly strong, but the rest of the games are feeling like a battle for at least 70 minutes.

“I think it’s growing as a league and an exciting time for people to be either coming back to play in Wales or for those youngsters to be happy to remain playing in Wales and not feel like they have to go elsewhere to find opportunities.”

As the WRU and Welsh Rugby continue to make headlines across the men’s game, the success of the Celtic Challenge, and particularly the growth of the Welsh teams this season, for example Brython Thunder’s stunning 14-0 upset against top of the league Wolfhounds last weekend is a positive beacon of Welsh success in an otherwise mirky forecast.

Gwalia Lightning have equally had a strong season, currently sitting third in the table. For Cuming, five appearances on return, she reflects that this is less a coming out of retirement, and more an evolution into a new chapter.

“One thing that I was a bit apprehensive about coming back is that people expected me to be the same person that I was, or the same player that I was when I decided to retire.

“Obviously nobody can take away from me that I’ve got 49 caps or whatever, but equally I haven’t played for 18 months.

“I had a really good conversation with the Gwalia coach head, Cat (Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin), and she’s been really, really supportive of my return and how that works around my family. I just said to her, I want to come in fresh.

“Like, you don’t know who I am. You don’t know anything about me. And I want everything to be on merit with what I achieve and how I train.

“It’s the second version of me who’s probably a bit softer around the edges, but it just takes away a bit of the expectation. I know I’ve got expectations on myself, but I wanted to have that space to see what I’ve still got, really, because it has been a long time.”

Likewise, a newborn has presented several learning curves.

“I always would pride myself on my technical knowledge, so I’m glad I’ve still got that, and I’ve spent all of my maternity watching rugby. But I guess, physically, I’m not as strong and I’ve had to work hard on that element. I find that quite frustrating sometimes. I remember the first time I did the line-up lifts after coming back, I felt it in all of my abs. Previously I wouldn’t really feel anything but now I lifted them and went ‘oh my gosh, my stomach’. I think that was probably a bit of a wake-up call for me.”

But Cuming, like a true world class player, is still ambitious and driven.

“I like playing knockout rugby. So, particularly from a Gwalia point of view, (my dream would be) making the semi-finals this year because those occasions are what I absolutely loved when I was in the first stage of my career.

“If I can do what I can to help the team get to those semi-finals and work as hard as I can to get a place in the 23. At the moment that is what I’m working towards, so hopefully, hopefully!”

With two more Celtic Challenge matches to go of the regular season before the semi-finals, this weekend Gwalia have a stern test on their hands facing table topping Wolfhounds, wounded from their first loss of the season in round 8.