This Friday, Cardiff Arms Park plays host to the final game of the 2005 Six Nations. But instead of Alfie and his band of muscle-ripped mates, a more elegant force will be playing, in the shape of the Welsh and Irish women’s teams.

The Women’s Six Nations competition runs alongside their male counterpart, but only receives a fraction of the media attention (although this is growing year-on-year). As a result, awareness of the tournament and women’s rugby in general is not high, with many a rugby-fan missing out.

Rugby fans that are aware of the sport and come along to matches witness a brand of rugby that is dominated by the jinking side-step and bone-crunching scrum rather than the garryowen and box kick now often favoured in the men’s game. The players may be smaller, but the pace is fast, tackles are hard and the game is played with as much passion and pride.

As the women’s game is amateur, international rugby players juggle their rugby around professions and studies, requiring an enormous personal and financial commitment. Several North Wales based and Welsh players based in England make the weekly trip to Cardiff for international training, returning straight after to compete in leagues in their respective regions.

On a financial level, the Welsh Women’s Rugby Union gets funding from the WRU and Sports Council for Wales, although significantly more is required through the support of sponsors such as PHS Group and Kukri Sports. Women and girls’ rugby is the fastest growing women’s sport and therefore a sound investment for the promotional pound.

A key propeller of the game’s rapid development is the work of three WWRU Development Officers and the significant time and efforts put in by volunteers and coaches throughout the country. While most of the current crop of senior internationals were not introduced to the game until university, the strength of the Wales U19 and U16 squads is testament to the growth of rugby at junior level in recent years.

So how successful are Wales? In last year’s Six Nations they finished fifth and then claimed fourth place in the 2004 European Championship. In June 2004, history was made as they became the first Women’s team to travel to the southern hemisphere to play South Africa, returning as the first Welsh rugby team (of any age or gender) to successfully win a test series against the Springboks – eat your hearts out boys! This will be a vital season for the ladies, with qualification for the 2006 Women’s World Cup the prize for a top 5 Six Nations finish.

Wales v Ireland is set to be a fantastic finale to the Six Nations, so why not come along to cheer the girls to victory and witness the phenomenon for yourself!

To buy tickets contact the Blues ticket office on 029 20 30 20 30. Tickets are free for OAPs and juniors accompanied by an adult.