Former Wales rugby international Alecs Donovan lets out something of a self-deprecating laugh as she admits she has been Googling how to become a Welsh Rugby Union board member after a damning seven days for the governing body, where serious allegations of sexism, misogyny and racism have seen chief executive Steve Phillips resign and rugby bosses commit to an external probing of its culture and behaviours.
The former Wales Women centre walked away from her international rugby career in 2021 feeling unable to give any more to rugby as an amateur player while trying to build a full-time business at the same time. She had made her Wales debut at the Principality Stadium three years earlier, after which she had to go straight to work, and earned seven caps in total, following in her Wales international father Alun's footsteps.
Now a respected rugby pundit and successful businesswoman, the Swansea native is one of few players to have publicly shared insight into what their time playing for Wales Women was actually like (something she wishes more ex-players would do) in a bid to bring about positive change and raise the profile of women's rugby and women in sport.
