{"id":50810,"date":"2020-02-27T15:54:04","date_gmt":"2020-02-27T15:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/intercardiff\/?p=50810"},"modified":"2020-09-25T10:51:36","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T09:51:36","slug":"we-go-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/we-go-again","title":{"rendered":"The Valkyries go again because who else will?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>The Cardiff Valkyries will play the season\u2019s final game on Saturday. How does the country&#8217;s only female American football team continue to compete at its level?&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/hands-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Just a short bus ride from Cardiff City Centre, Wales&#8217; only female adult tackle football team readies for their final game on Saturday.  <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s simple: Zoe John wants to smack someone in the face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cI\u2019m ready!\u201d shouts the Cardiff Valkyries team captain and linebacker. \u201cCome on!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s here the huddle of 15 women surrounding John presses in even tighter, as if on some sports paradigm cue. At the final practice of the 2019-2020 season, the adrenaline for a match six days away courses through the throng, flirting with fever pitch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">You\u2019d be forgiven in forgetting there\u2019s no other place in the country like this: this slipshod huddle of females streaked in mud and grass shouting that yes, Wales\u2019 only all-female American football team wants to \u2014 and\u00a0<i>will<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 smack someone in the face.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">So as 17 hands meet in the huddle\u2019s centre, move up and down twice in textbook unanimity, and on three, shout again, it\u2019s impossible to deny the echoes certifying to whomever can hear them that yes, the Valkyries will do just this.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/zoeexcited-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Zoe John has helped lead the team huddle since 2016, playing first on both a female university team as well as a men&#8217;s team when no female team was available.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">On Saturday 29 February at 1.00 pm, the Cardiff Valkyries will play their final games of the UK\u2019s 2020 Sapphire Series against the Cheshire Bears and Leicester Falcons. With a loss and a draw against the Falcons and a bottom ranking against the Bears, the Valkyries come hungry for comeback.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">But Saturday\u2019s round robin finale vaunts a little something extra: It\u2019s only the second time in Valkyries history the club will host on Welsh turf. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWhich is a nice feeling,\u201d says centre and defensive lineman Mandy Gould. \u201cBecause when you\u2019re welcoming someone to their death, it\u2019s always nice to be at home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cYou send them away licking their wounds,\u201d adds wide-receiver and quarterback Katherine Fretwell, matching Gould\u2019s grin.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/huddle1-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>&#8220;We need to come out strong. We need to come out fast. Heads in the game, ready to go,&#8221; says Coach Browning. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Since 2016, the Cardiff Valkyries have been the UK\u2019s only adult female 7-a-side tackle football team to wave a Welsh flag, which has its perks. It means, technically, the women can say they play for Wales.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">If you\u2019re Gould, it means making history by scoring the first female touchdown on Welsh soil two years ago. The closest competitor living three hours away means an all-star reservoir of bus songs and ceaseless opportunities to annoy teammates with your chicken satay. Not to mention the ever-so-often stop to take photos in children\u2019s rides.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Yet, for four years, other options haven\u2019t existed. Long bus rides for helmet-to-helmet time have been as habitual as putting the helmets on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cBasically there\u2019s us, and there\u2019s this big void of space where there\u2019s no one,\u201d Fretwell says. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6><strong>Confused? Watch our Three-Minute American Football Guide<\/strong> <strong>here:<\/strong> <\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The big void of space would, assumedly, make the Valkyries a beacon for Wales\u2019 female athletes. But while the Valkyries have grown from 10 to 15 fresh faces in 2020, the team still finds themselves assumed to be a fancy dress hen-do when sporting their kits off pitch. Others brazenly ask if the ladies actually require such attire, which only triggers a now de facto response:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cYes, I do. Do you want me to show you,\u201d recites Gould with a cool shrug.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The issue isn\u2019t so much females sporting kits largely associated with large men pummelling into each other. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-wales-43316757\"><span class=\"s2\">Female rugby<\/span><\/a>\u00a0players in Wales increased from 170 to about 10,000 in three years. Other contact sports like roller derby are played regularly by girls at schools and clubs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIf you consider that, really we should be having three, four times as many players here,\u201d says wide receiver and defensive corner Sara Pratt. \u201cBut there\u2019s really no interest in American football.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football1-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>The Valkyries begin training in November for the Sapphire Series. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Free safety and running back Zoe Wilder recalls toting a football to her school playground, only to toss the ball to herself or a wall. John played on a men\u2019s team for three years before the Valkyries. Playing American football requires seeking it, Wilder says, though most don\u2019t know the sport exists.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe\u2019re lucky we even have a club. There\u2019s not much opportunity to play when you have to rely on little clubs building,\u201d Pratt says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">The interest dearth makes things particularly difficult when pitted against English and Scottish rivals stacked with 20 to 40 players pumping fresh legs after each whistle. But John barely bats an eye upon admitting at a game last year that the Valkyries fronted a squad of seven altogether. In other words, after the offensive possession was over, there was no jogging off for a cool down. The seven-woman offence was now the seven-woman defence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cSix at one point,\u201d John says.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to risk putting in the QB,\u201d says Wilder.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6><strong>The Sapphire Series, the UK&#8217;s 8v8 adult female tackle football National Championship league, hosts 19 teams ranging in all sizes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h6>\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">It\u2019s what naturally comes with being the perennially smaller team.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cIt\u2019s really do all or die,\u201d says John.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">John is more than literal. While other teams designate particular player roles, the 15 Valkyries learn every position, which isn\u2019t so much\u00a0over-zealous as it is risk management.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">When the quarterback and centre are lost seven minutes into the first quarter, the wide receiver becomes quarterback, the offensive lineman the new centre and the playbook null and void,\u00a0like an impromptu game of musical chairs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cPersonally, I\u2019d call it contact chess,\u201d says Oldacre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cChess with helmets,\u201d adds Gould.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/girlrunning-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Valkyries players must learn multiple positions, from running back (left) to defensive safety. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Like chess, more bodies don\u2019t total success. As Pratt puts it, football isn\u2019t girls getting dressed up and hitting with anger. Teams need leaner players to run and stronger bodies to block. But most importantly, they need strategy to turn that clashing rigmarole into fluid touchdowns, particularly when limited competition means opponents have witnessed exactly when a Valkyries pass play will suddenly become a right-side reverse more than three times in a season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cBasically, whatever [the other teams] do, they can\u2019t be right,\u201d says Fretwell. \u201cWe have to continue to do stuff until they think they\u2019re right, and then we\u2019re going to make them wrong again.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">That can feel like navigating a mental labyrinth, but being the small shrimp is a surprising perk. The spirit from a slapdash, post-practice huddle doesn\u2019t evanesce once the huddle breaks. It grasps onto the few and urges them to aim for the mouths, despite being a few hands short \u2014 or not being a hand at all and still learning to be one anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/football2-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>Strategy is the most important and often underestimated element of the game. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Which is why the Valkyries didn\u2019t expect much from Gould when she subbed-in as centre for the first time in her life in the middle of a game, nor Pratt at defensive back.&nbsp;Instead, they&nbsp;expected them to try and go again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our motto,\u201d says Gould. \u201cWe go again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it could be knitted on their kits, perhaps it would. Opposing coaches with double the numbers still warn players not to get comfortable despite what scorebooks read. The Valkyries aren\u2019t known to get lazy. They\u2019ll keep coming back to knock you down.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAnd we do knock some people down,\u201d says Gould without hesitation. The other players nod in unison.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"366\" src=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/02\/footballsetup-500x282.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption>&#8220;We&#8217;ve done the physical stuff. Mentally, we need to be ready for Saturday.&#8221; <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">Come Saturday, this is precisely the strategy to prove that knocking teams down on Welsh soil shouldn\u2019t be as rare as it is.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cWe\u2019re the only team in Wales and that\u2019s special, but it\u2019s something we\u2019re trying to grow,\u201d says John.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">And if the Valkyries know anything, it\u2019s a simple matter of getting out there and going again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\">\u201cFor everyone out on that field,\u201d says Fretwell. \u201cIf we don\u2019t, who else will?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opposing coaches still warn their teams not to get comfortable. How does Wales&#8217; only female American football team compete at its level?\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":51326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[429],"coauthors":[672],"class_list":["post-50810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport-health","tag-rugby"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Valkyries go again because who else will? - InterCardiff<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/intercardiff\/sport-health\/we-go-again\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Valkyries go again because who else will? - InterCardiff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Opposing coaches still warn their teams not to get comfortable. 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