Welsh Rugby Union | Wales and regions

The Bristol Bears’ rock-solid defender made up for the disappointment of losing to Gloucester-Hartpury in the Professional Women’s Rugby Cup final the previous weekend by producing another top performance alongside fellow defenders Beth Lewis and Alex Callender.

She grabbed two tries herself and was at the heart of another powerful performance from the Welsh pack, helping to turn a one-point game at half-time into a second-half romp.

“It was a great game and a great way to end the season after quite a tough season in a Welsh shirt. It makes us very excited to participate in the WXV2 tournament in the fall,” said Joyce-Butchers.

Last weekend it was disappointing to lose in the cup final, but it was very nice to bring that form into the match against Spain. All credit to the PWR for the quality of rugby it offers us.

“It’s the best league in the world and having eleven players across two teams in the Premier League final shows the level we have in Wales.

“I never felt like we lost control of the game, even though we only had one point at half-time. Even though they came back in when we got a yellow card, we always felt like we were in control.

“We had no doubt that we could win. We embraced the second half and our fitness really showed – it was great to keep them to zero in the second half.”

The Welsh pack has been the main source of tries for the side in recent years, but this time the scores were shared across the team, with four coming from the back division. That was something everyone was happy about.

“It’s so nice to get up from a set piece and see the full-backs score in the corner. You can’t beat that,” added Joyce-Butchers.

“It’s very exciting to see what we can do when we turn the ball, especially with Lleucu George alongside us, who is one of the best No. 10s in the world.

“We have stayed very close and believed in ourselves. WXV2 is where we need to be, it’s where we belong and we’ll have great competition there, rather than in WXV1.

“We still have to put in an 80-minute performance and we know we have to be a little more disciplined. We need to understand the game better and if we can master those things, we will be very difficult to beat in WXV2.”

Wales will be in WXV2 with Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland and South Africa and have arranged arm-up games against Australia and Scotland before heading to South Africa for the tournament. If they can continue to develop their game, they could do well.

And if they continue to provide their defence with good possession, they can reap further rewards, such as Cox’s hat-trick and fullback Jenny Hesketh’s extra try.

“Our game plan was focused on creating chances on the edges and it was a very special day,” admitted hat-trick hero Cox.

“Our mentality was at its best and we knew we were always in charge. I was upset about the yellow card but happy to score three times in the second half.

“We were in control and knew what we wanted to do. There was a consistency in knowing what we wanted to do across the pitch, even though the result could have gone either way at half-time.

“We needed a more balanced game plan and it was a huge relief that we were able to get the job done. We had a good mindset going into the Six Nations but it didn’t work out well for us.

“Hopefully this will put us on a higher trajectory. The World Cup in England will be huge for the sport and for Wales.”