WRU hand ex-Wales international Director of Women's Rugby role

The Welsh Rugby Union have announced the appointment of Nadine Griffiths as their new Director of Women’s Rugby.

Griffiths, who won 44 caps for Wales during her playing career, joins from Cardiff Rugby where she has served as Community Foundation Director.

Her post-rugby career began with the WRU in the early 2000s as a rugby development officer. Since then she has worked in professional sport, governing bodies and multi-agency partnerships.

Upon her appointment as the WRU’s new Director of Women’s Rugby, Griffiths described it as a “full circle” moment: “I am passionately Welsh. I have a great understanding of the opportunities and the barriers across the women’s and girl’s game and the challenges our clubs face.

“That insight matters, because growth won’t come from copying others, it will come from building something that reflects Wales, its communities and its identity.

“I feel like I have come full circle from the young girl in Pencoed who watched the 1991 Rugby World Cup and dared to dream of pulling on that red jersey, to now being responsible for inspiring the next generation to do exactly the same.

“This is a hugely exciting time. Women’s sport is on a remarkable growth trajectory in Wales and globally.
“With the inaugural women’s British & Irish Lions tour in 2027, the whole world is about to sit up and take notice of the women’s game once again.

“We will have Welsh representation on that Lions tour. We will make trailblazers of the players already leading the way and we will create a new generation of female sporting heroes to inspire our children and grow the game across this great, rugby-loving nation.”

Griffiths, who begins her new role on June 1, represented Wales at the 1998 Rugby World Cup and later became one of the first female level 3 coaches in the UK. She was a member of the coaching team that led Wales to a successful 2013 tour of South Africa.

She succeeds Belinda Moore in the role. Moore joined the WRU in January 2025 shortly after her departure as chief executive of Premiership Women’s Rugby and left the organisation March to join the England and Wales Cricket Board at The Hundred’s growth director.

Abi Tierney, WRU CEO, said: “Nadine shone through in a competitive field of candidates and is uniquely placed. She has played and coached at the elite end of the game, but has also dedicated her career to the women’s and girl’s pathway in Cardiff and to developing community rugby. We are thrilled to welcome her back into the WRU family.”