Ursula Pritchard

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Ursula Pritchard
Personal information
Full nameUrsula Pritchard(née Bowers)
Born (1978-06-29) 29 June 1978 (age 47)
Wrexham, Wales
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) [1] [2]
Netball career
Playing position(s): WD, GD, GK, C
YearsClub team(s)Apps
1990s Deeside Netball Club
2001 Canterbury Flames
2002–2006 Hucclecote
2002–2007 Team Bath
2008–2011 Bay of Plenty NPC
2014– Team Bath
YearsNational team(s)Caps
1999–2014 Wales 74

Ursula Pritchard, originally known as Ursula Bowers and also known as Billy Bowers, is a former Wales netball international. She captained Wales at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and 2007 World Netball Championships. She also represented Wales at the 1999 and 2003 World Netball Championships and at the 2002 and 2014 Commonwealth Games. At club level, she captained Team Bath when they won the 2004 Super Cup and the 2005–06 and 2006–07 Netball Superleague titles.

Contents

Playing career

Early years

In her youth and early career Bowers, played for several teams and regions including Deeside Netball Club, [3] Central, North East Wales, [4] [5] [6] and Hucclecote. [7] [8] [9]

Canterbury Flames

After playing for Wales in the 1999 World Netball Championships, hosted in Christchurch, Bowers opted to move to New Zealand. [10] In 2001, she played for Canterbury Flames, helping them finish as runners-up in the Coca-Cola Cup league. In 2002 she returned to play for Wales at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15]

Team Bath

Between 2002 and 2007, Bowers played for Team Bath, initially in the Super Cup and later in the Netball Superleague. She played in four of the five Super Cup campaigns and in 2003, she became Team Bath captain. She went onto captain them when they won the 2004 Super Cup and the 2005–06 and 2006–07 Netball Superleague titles. After returning from her second spell in New Zealand, Bowers, now Pritchard, rejoined Team Bath as a member of the coaching team for the 2013 season. She was then included in the playing squad for the 2014 season. [1] [2] [16] [17] [18]

Bay of Plenty NPC

After playing for Wales in the 2007 World Netball Championships, hosted in West Auckland, Bowers again opted to move to New Zealand. In August 2008 she married Ben Pritchard and the newlyweds settled in Tauranga. [10] [15] Between 2008 and 2011, she represented Bay of Plenty in Netball New Zealand's National Provincial Championship. [19] [20] [21] [22]

Wales

Between 1999 and 2014, Bowers made 74 senior appearances for Wales. On 30 January 1999, she made her senior debut for Wales against England. [12] [23] She had previously represented Wales at under-16, under-18 and under-21 levels. [2] She subsequently represented Wales at the 1999 and 2003 World Netball Championships, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and at several European Netball Championships. [23] She captained Wales at the 2006 Commonwealth Games [2] [18] and 2007 World Netball Championships. [15] [18] [24] [25] After returning from New Zealand, Bowers, now Pritchard, played for Wales at the [2014 Netball Europe Open Championships]], helping them win the tournament and qualify for the 2015 Netball World Cup. [18] [23] [26] On 1 August 2014, Pritchard made her final appearance for Wales at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in a match against Northern Ireland. In 74 matches, Pritchard won 38 and lost 36 with a win rate of 51.35%. [23]

TournamentsMatches playedPlace
1999 FENA Open [12] [13] 4
1999 World Netball Championships [12] [13] [27] 914th
2002 FENA Open [4] [14] (Note 1)
2002 Commonwealth Games [5] [28] 66th
2003 FENA Open 3
2003 World Netball Championships [29] 814th
2004 FENA Open 3
2005 FENA Open 2nd
2006 FENA Open 2nd
2006 Commonwealth Games [8] [9] [2] [18] [30] [31] 68th
2007 FENA Open 2nd
2007 World Netball Championships [15] [18] [24] [25] 612th
2014 Netball Europe Open Championships [18] [26] 31st
2014 Commonwealth Games [32] [33] 68th

Source: [23]

Notes

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Honours

Team Bath
Wales

References

  1. 1 2 "2005–06 Team Bath squad". www.teambath.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "2006–07 Team Bath squad". www.teambath.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  3. "October Organisation of the Month - Wales Netball". walesnetball.com. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Welsh netballers face old rivals". www.bbc.co.uk. 15 February 2002. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Weston left in reserve". www.bbc.co.uk. 14 June 2002. Archived from the original on 12 March 2004. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  6. "Billy says get playing netball". bbc.co.uk. 16 December 2004. Archived from the original on 9 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  7. "Netball: Weston battle to stay in Division 1". www.dailyecho.co.uk. 18 December 2002. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  8. 1 2 "Netball: Longville backs Games team to show their best". www.walesonline.co.uk. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Wales Announces Commonwealth Games Team". IFNA. 26 January 2006. Archived from the original on 10 September 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  10. 1 2 "Flame still burns in Billy". www.stuff.co.nz. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  11. "Netball: Flames out to prove their class". www.nzherald.co.nz. 18 May 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Top star Bowers carries flame". www.walesonline.co.uk. 11 July 2001. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 "No place for Bowers but she vows to roar back; NETBALL: Welsh ace still targets Commonwealth Games". Western Mail . 30 January 2002. Retrieved 2 October 2024 via Free Online Library.
  14. 1 2 "Raewyn Henry leads Welsh hopes". www.southwalesargus.co.uk. 14 February 2002. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Netball: Wales captain only has one-way ticket". www.nzherald.co.nz. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  16. "Team Bath defend their Super League Title". womensportreport.com. 9 June 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  17. "Team Bath name exciting squad to defend Superleague crown". www.teambath.com. 26 November 2013. Archived from the original on 2 September 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Final journey for Welsh great 'Billy'". www.leaderlive.co.uk. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  19. "Defence to the fore as BOP name squad". www.nzherald.co.nz. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  20. "Disrupted side to face elevated BoP squad". www.stuff.co.nz. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  21. "Netball: Rude awakening for Bay". www.nzherald.co.nz. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  22. "Wellington's collapse leaves coach mystified". www.pressreader.com. 1 October 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 "149 – Ursula Pritchard nee Bowers". walesnetball.com. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  24. 1 2 "Netball – Lovatt helps Wales to success at the Worlds". www.dailypost.co.uk. 16 November 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  25. 1 2 "Women Netball XII World Championship 2007 Auckland". www.todor66.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  26. 1 2 "Women Netball Europe Open Championship 2014". www.todor66.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  27. "Women Netball X World Championship 1999 Christchurch". www.todor66.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  28. "Ursula joins squad in push for glory". www.dailypost.co.uk. 14 June 2002. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  29. "Women Netball XI World Championship 2003". www.todor66.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  30. "Wales select Games netball squad". bbc.co.uk. 26 January 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2012.
  31. "Netball Netball - Women Melbourne 2006". thecgf.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  32. "Commonwealth Games 2014: Bouts, balance, (net)ball and bikes - in pictures". www.theguardian.com. 25 July 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  33. "Northern Ireland's Lisa Somerville and Wales' Ursula Pritchard..." mbphoto.photoshelter.com. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2025.