It’s a cockeyed world we live in. Les Bleues continue hunting for a first victory over the Red Roses since 2018. At the same time their junior teams trounce their English counterparts in a way that recalls derisive comments about professionals playing amateurs; 74-0 the latest offering. And so many of both current elite squads
In stark contrast to John Mitchell’s approach, Nanni Raineri has already announced just 24 players to play Wales in the last round of the Six Nations. They are: Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, Aura Muzzo, Alyssa D’Incа, Beatrice Rigoni, Francesca Granzotto, Veronica Madia, Sofia Stefan, Silvia Turani, Vittoria Vecchini, Sara Seye, Sara Tounesi, Giordana Duca, Ilaria Arrighetti.
What are we to make of John Mitchell’s selections across the current Six Nations? His Round Five squad is: Zoe Aldcroft, Sarah Beckett, Hannah Botterman, May Campbell, Mackenzie Carson, Poppy Cleall, Kelsey Clifford, Amy Cokayne, Maddie Feaunati, Lizzie Hanlon, Sadia Kabeya, Maud Muir, Cath O’Donnell, Marlie Packer. Connie Powell, Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward, Holly Aitchison,
Wales v France It was do-or-die time for the Welsh. I hesitate to cast blame in one direction, but I feel the coaches have a lot to answer for. Why were the backs so limited in their attacking options? Why did players mass close to the breakdown without any obvious plan for exploiting the next
Italy v Scotland – Round Four Only the players’ parents might be able to remember the last time the Scots won away in Italy, but this was a sequence they were desperate to end. That vital third place in the table would mean the chance to mix it with the big guns in WXV1 next
England v Ireland Result: England 88 Ireland 10 Player of the Match: Ellie Kildunne (third time this series!) Your homework for this evening: write out a detailed game-plan for beating the Red Roses (maximum 500 words). The performance all England had been hoping for took place in front of a big crowd at Twickenham. Playing
Wales v France – Preview Sunday 21 April, Cardiff Arms Park Teams are shown below The alarming prospect for Wales is a drop from WXV1 to WXV3 within one year. That is the reality of their current position. They face France at home in Cardiff, a game they can only dream of winning. Then a
Round 4 – Saturday Match Previews Fixtures: England v Ireland, Twickenham Stadium, KO 14.15 Italy v Scotland, Parma, KO 16.45 The four teams are shown below. England v Ireland The big news – though it goes completely unmentioned in the team announcement and Scott Bemand’s comment – is the absence of Sam Monaghan from the
The conclusion of the men’s Guinness Six Nation’s tournament used to signal the end of the Northern Hemisphere’s winter international season. Now it serves as block-busting precursor to a women’s competition that grows in stature year-after-year. Thomas Lyte, the Royal silversmiths and goldsmiths, are at the heart of a tournament that boasts a trophy befitting
It’s not a new story, a national side’s fortunes can go up and down. At the Stoop In 2020 I recall Siwan Lillicrap looking distraught as she faced a battery of reporters, asking her opinion of the latest Welsh perfomance (7-66) – alternating in two languages. The neutral observer could only sympathise with her. The
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