Shona Powell Hughes

Shona Powell-Hughes (born 8 July 1991) is a Welsh Rugby Union professional player who plays prop for the Wales women's national rugby union team and Gloucester-Hartpury. She made her debut for the Wales national squad in 2010 as the youngest member of the team at the time, and represented them at the 2021 Women's Six Nations Championship.

Club career Powell-Hughes played for both Skewen RFC and Ospreys before joining Gloucester-Hartpury in 2019.

International career Powell-Hughes was called up to the Wales women's national rugby union team for the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup, the youngest member of the team at the time. She then made her debut in a match against South Africa, where she was brought on as a substitute. She made a further appearance as a substitute in the following match, against New Zealand.

She made her Six Nations Championship entrance in 2011, where her efforts earned her the title of Young Player of the Year. The team subsequently scored a 13–0 victory over England, marking only the second time the Welsh women had beaten the English team.

Powell-Hughes gained further attention during the 2016/17 championship when she scored tries from the back of the scrum in consecutive games against Ireland and France.

In 2018, she was appointed as a Wales Rugby Union 'Game Changer', a scheme designed to increase and improve rugby opportunities for women and girls. In this role, she worked with all areas of the Wales Rugby Union, along with clubs, schools and hub officers, to increase the number of women and girls regularly involved in Welsh rugby, and to improve the rugby products on offer to the Welsh female population.

Honours

Women's Six Nations Championship 'Young Player of the Year', 2011.