Rosie Eccles on Representing Wales at Her Final Commonwealth Games

Wales has produced many remarkable athletes, but few embody the nation’s grit, warmth and quiet steel quite like Rosie Eccles. Raised in the heart of South‑East Wales near Chepstow, Rosie has become one of the country’s most decorated boxers, a Commonwealth champion, an Olympian and a role model for young athletes across the nation.  As she prepares for her final Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Rosie reflects on a journey shaped by determination, hiraeth and an unwavering pride in wearing the Welsh vest.

I’ve spent more than a decade stepping into rings all over the world, but nothing has ever compared to walking out with the Welsh dragon on my chest.  As I prepare for my third and final Commonwealth Games, that feeling, that deep pull of hiraeth, is stronger than ever.  It’s a word that doesn’t quite translate, but to me it means belonging, longing and home all at once. And Wales has always been home.

At fifteen, I wandered into a boxercise class and the moment I put on gloves, something clicked. It just felt like my sport.  I trained in secret at first, sneaking out at 3am, pushing my moped down the road so my parents wouldn’t hear, riding to Newport to train before school.

That stubbornness carried me through the years that followed.  I became the first girl to box for my local club.  I earned my place on the Welsh Team and then Team GB.  I won European medals, international podiums and in 2022, the moment that changed everything: Commonwealth Games gold.

Standing on that podium in Birmingham, hearing the anthem, wearing the Welsh vest, that was the moment I realised what mattered most to me in sport.

My years with Team GB shaped me in ways I’ll always be grateful for. I trained with some of the best athletes and coaches in the world and I learned what it meant to push myself to the absolute limit.  But after eight years on the World Class Programme, something inside me shifted.

I realised I wanted to come home.  I wanted to represent Wales full‑time, to reconnect with the people and the place that made me who I am.  

Qualifying for the Paris Olympics was another milestone I’ll always be proud of.  The Games didn’t unfold the way I’d dreamed, an early exit after a controversial decision but even then, the thing that pulled me back wasn’t revenge.  It was Wales.  It was the chance to come home, to wear the vest again, to fight for something bigger than myself.

That’s why this final Commonwealth Games means so much. It’s my last walk to the ring, my last time representing the nation that shaped me.  I want to retain my title.  I want to finish with pride. But more than anything, I want to honour the values that have guided me: honesty, loyalty, integrity, kindness.  Those matter more to me than any medal.

Now, more than ever, I’m thinking about the next generation.  I’ve failed plenty of times and I’ve learned that failure isn’t something to fear. “Go after things with everything you’ve got,” I tell the younger boxers.  Dreams test you.  They shape you.  They reveal who you are.

If I can pass anything on, it’s belief, belief that they belong, belief that they can achieve, belief that being Welsh is a strength.  The future of Welsh boxing is bright and knowing I’ve played even a small part in that means more than any podium.

Whatever happens in Glasgow, I’ll walk away knowing I gave everything.  To my sport, to my team and to Wales.  And I’ll carry that dragon with me long after the final bell.