Teachers, police and a former Wales scrum-half - Yorkshire's women's team set for Twickenham hat-trick
Every occupation from police officers to physios, teachers to students will don the white rose of Yorkshire at Twickenham on Saturday, but a measure of how far women’s rugby union has progressed in the Broad Acres and beyond is that internationals are now stepping out in county colours.
Jess Taylor-Roberts made two appearances for her native Wales back in Covid times and played more than 50 games for Sale Sharks in the increasingly-professionalised top-tier of women’s rugby before putting her family first.
Dropping back down to the second tier to represent Barnsley, a town she has called home for the last 13 years, has made her eligible to represent Yorkshire again, who for a third season in succession are heading to rugby’s storied headquarters.
Taylor-Roberts, a 32-year-old scrum-half, is the co-captain alongside her Barnsley club-mate Jasmin Brankin as Yorkshire look to complete a hat-trick of victories in the Gill Burns Women’s County Championship Division 1 Final against Surrey on Saturday.
“The strength of the women’s game is improving all the time,” says Taylor-Roberts, whose partner is now part of the coaching set-up at Yorkshire.
“I remember us winning at Twickenham with Yorkshire a couple of years before Covid and it has come on so much since then.
“When we first started at Barnsley we were playing on the second-team pitch, now it’s very much on an equal footing – especially with us playing at a higher level than the men.”
A host of clubs across the county will be represented in the Yorkshire team at Twickenham; Driffield, West Park Leeds, Sheffield, Halifax, Hull Ionians and Sandal among them.
Taylor-Roberts may still have a thick Welsh accent but 13 years living and working in Barnsley have given her an appreciation for her adopted home county.
Teaching at a primary school in Cudworth five days a week has also affected her dialect.
“My accent goes in and out of Welsh and Barnsley, especially when I’m teaching,” she laughs.
But rugby for her is a serious business.
Having learned the game in her native country, she started out with Barnsley when she moved to Yorkshire but always wanted to try her hand at the top level.
When Sale Sharks offered her the chance to prove herself at that level, she took it.
“I always wanted to play at that level and I felt I could. Then we had a little girl and I just wanted to prioritise family over travelling an hour and a half to Manchester,” says Taylor-Roberts.
“When you’ve got a full-time job and you’re competing against students and full-time athletes, it’s very hard to sustain, so I made the decision to go back to Barnsley and play in the Champ, one below the Premiership.
“It’s still a decent level, a good standard of rugby, it’s just obviously not the PWR.
“The standard of women’s rugby is going in the right direction, but until they invest a bit more money into it…”
Those two Wales appearances came away in France during Covid restrictions, meaning friends and family couldn’t come out to support her. Representing Yorkshire at Twickenham, and leading this team, is a close second.
“It’s a real honour to co-captain Yorkshire, something I’m very proud of. It’s a lovely group of girls,” says Taylor-Roberts of a team that swept aside Lancashire, 72-0, at Hull Ionians and then Eastern Counties, 46-12, at Huddersfield Laund Hill in the knockout rounds to book their return to Twickenham.
“It’s a good standard, as strong as playing in the Champ. We have a lot of confidence.
“We’re favourites but you never know what can happen on the day,” she added.
“We’re a good group of girls, we’re really positive and it’s been a good campaign.
"There are lots of positive vibes and hopefully we can bring home another win.”
Standing in the way is a Surrey team that Taylor-Roberts admits she knows little about.
“I’m probably wrong to say it, but I don’t like looking into the opposition too much,” she admits of today’s opponents in the 3pm kick-off amid a weekend of County Cup finals.
“Even when I was playing in the Prem, people would say we’re playing against this big-name player today and I’d be like ‘who?’.
“I’d rather just turn up and play what I see.
“From what I’ve heard Surrey will be our strongest opponents. But we’re ready.”
County pride for Yorkshire
Yorkshire Women's head coach Tom Baxter has hailed his players ahead of their return to Twickenham.
“The strength of the group is built on their pride to represent their county,” he said, “but also their individual character to come together from multiple club settings and environments to gel together and become one team.
“The players have shown incredible dedication, hard work and commitment throughout the campaign, and we are extremely excited to see the team pull on the white rose once again.
“The game continues to go from strength to strength in the county, with a rise of 28 per cent of girls playing age-grade rugby this season. Players like these are providing role models for future generations.”