The second round of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations saw some tasty match ups, so let’s get into it…
Ireland v Italy
Whilst records were broken at the RDS with 6605 fans through the turnstiles, it felt like a game of push and pull between the two sides. Ireland came out with intent and looked to be onto something with an early penalty try.
The game was entertaining right until the end, as Katie Corrigan intercepted a pass from Rigoni allowing her to storm over the whitewash, but it wasn’t enough as Italy held on to secure the bonus point win.
It’s important to note that this Italian team did play in the WXV2 earlier this year, which is a level above the WXV3 that Ireland featured in. This meant that the Italians earned more game time against stronger sides, which might be giving them a bit more of an edge.
We are def a better team than a yr ago, but we're finding out in real time that in an era where more things are equal than ever before (ie the pro women's era) your rate of progress has to be better than everyone else's. Italy were not fazed by our fast start. Lessons to learn! https://t.co/uNCeUd8xxK — Ali Donnelly (@AliDonnelly) March 31, 2024
Scotland v France
Wow was this a tasty game. Rachel Malcolm’s side have been a strong talking point throughout this tournament, giving both fans and the media a fair amount to admire.
Considering France came into this tournament as front runners, I don’t think we saw the squad at it’s full potential in this match. I was expecting more points on the board, but France can be unpredictable at times.
When they click as a team, you can see it. A prime example of this had to be the Kelly Arbey try which came about from a true team effort of shipping the ball down the line - it just looked clinical.
A little inside information for you, the game was that thrilling that most of the media at Ashton Gate stayed in the media room to watch the final moments before heading up to cover England vs Wales!
If you are interested in the analysis side of things, I suggest you give Phillipa Tuttiett a follow and take a look at the below video, it’s brilliant - we don't see enough of this in the women's game in my opinion.
Guinness W6N Analysis Drop ⚡️ — Philippa Tuttiett (@PhilipaTuttiett) April 2, 2024
Scotland defence against France in R2 of the @Womens6Nations was brilliant. This video explains how and why the Scottish tackling was so effective! #w6n pic.twitter.com/kfuAy5tN7e
England V Wales
The record was set for a crowd at a Guinness Women’s Six Nations match outside of Twickenham with 19,705 fans in attendance. I was lucky enough to be at Ashton Gate working this match, and you could hear the crowd!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5JixlAIdrX/?hl=en
England looked dominant and in control. The squad came under criticism during their World Cup campaign for relying too heavily on their forwards rolling maul to score, but it’s clear that under John Mitchell’s leadership the tactics are changing.
Wales did not seem to get into the flow of the game until the end, which you simply can not do against the English. A word must go out to Keira Bevan for her quick take of a penalty which lead to her dotting the ball straight under the posts.
Let’s take a look at what the tournament table looks like going into the fallow week:
My fantasy picks for this round:
Katie Corrigan l Ireland
Corrigan’s late try gave Ireland a real glimmer of hope. The way she was able to intercept the ball had every single fan up on their feet, a classic rugby move that gets the heart beating and the crowd going! It felt more special that this was done on her second cap for her country too.
Abbie Dow l England
You won’t see many post-match highlight reels that don’t feature Abbie Wow. She is able to exploit the smallest amount of space on the pitch, and is a seriously dangerous opponent with her fast thinking feet.
Keira Bevan l Wales
The Welsh scrum half certainly made an impact from the bench, having been on the pitch for a matter of minutes before scoring an absolute stormer, making something from nothing0. It happened so quickly, I had to look over to commentary to see the replay of her quick tap and go from a penalty which resulted in a try.
We are now moving into a fallow week, which means we will be catching up after round three.
See you then!
Stella Mills
Want to get involved in the action? Sign up to the Her Sport x Energia Fantasy Rugby Leagues! Join one of our leagues and stay up to date with the action on hersport.ie to help you pick your team.
Click one of the links below and you'll be able to get started!
Join League I
Join League II
Join League III
Join League IV
Join League V
Join League VI
