Latest news with #Women'sSummerSeries
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
France down rivals England to finish with 100% record
France finished the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series as the only team with a 100% record after downing England 52-39 in the competition's final match. Doubles from Faustine Piscicelli and Elina Folituu and further scores from Mailys Borak, Anaick Konyi, Zoe Jean and Julie Espinosa made sure France took the spoils in the battle between the two unbeaten sides. The results from the final day of #U6NSummerSeries action 🤩 — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 17, 2025 England, who had beaten Scotland and Italy in their first two games, gave as good as they got, scoring six tries of their own through Amelia MacDougall, Grace Clifford, Lucie Sams, captain Lucy Calladine, Sophie McQueen and Zara Green, but ultimately couldn't find an answer to the questions their opponents posed to them. France made a blistering start to the encounter as Borak crashed over after just three minutes, with Pauline Barrat adding the extras. Going behind sparked England into life and they were level 10 minutes later when MacDougall beautifully peeled off the back of a ruck, catching the French defence off-guard to dot down. Les Bleuettes got themselves back in front halfway through the first half as Piscicelli's dominant run allowed her to dash over England's tryline. Ella Cromack's penalty brought her side to within four points with a classy kick, but the U20 Red Roses were powerless to stop Konyi storm down the left wing to register France's third try. England responded with a period of sustained pressure which proved fruitful as Clifford scored from close range to reduce their deficit to six. Espinosa's yellow card seemingly didn't help the French cause but despite being down to 14 players, they extended their lead through Jean's try when the clock was in the red at the end of the first half. Sams gave England the perfect start after the break, burrowing over after multiple waves of attack on 43 minutes, but Folituu's close-range score three minutes later put France back in the ascendency. England would not lie down, however, retaliating almost immediately as skipper Calladine profited from England's forwards using their physicality to push France back. However, England ceded momentum back to their opponents as Espinosa made up for her earlier sin bin by opportunistically scoring in the left corner. Piscicelli's timely interception allowed her to bag a second try on the hour mark and with England down to 14 due to Millie David's yellow card on 68 minutes, France had the game under control. McQueen hit back when she crossed over, but Folituu's late second score capped a fine French victory despite Green rounding off the scoring for England in added time. Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Calladine bursting with pride despite France loss
England captain Lucy Calladine was bursting with pride with her teammates' efforts despite falling to a 52-39 loss against France in their final match of the 2025 Six Nations Women's Summer Series. France ran in eight scores during the gripping encounter in Caerphilly, but England gave as good as they got and scored six tries of their own through Amelia MacDougall, Grace Clifford, Lucie Sams, Calladine, Sophie McQueen and Zara Green. The result also represented a marked improvement from 12 months ago in Italy when France downed the U20 Red Roses 72-21. And Calladine, who plays domestically for Loughborough Lightning in Premiership Women's Rugby, said the nature of her team's performance made it feel like they'd won. The results from the final day of #U6NSummerSeries action 🤩 — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 17, 2025 'I'm so proud,' she said. 'That scoreline is the closest it's ever been [against France] during the whole four years I've been involved. I'm so proud of the girls. They all worked so incredibly hard and it's a win in our eyes.' England beat Scotland 31-17 in their opening Women's Summer Series game before coming from 15-0 down at half-time against Italy to win 36-20 in their second. It means they finished alongside Ireland who also won two of their matches. Calladine explained she'd enjoyed being able to lead her team during the competition in Wales and hinted there is more to come from her side. 'This team makes it incredibly easy for me to be captain,' she continued. 'They're all so kind, so caring and they work incredibly hard for each other. Honestly, I couldn't ask for more from a team. What they do makes it so easy for me. We had a great two wins and obviously this [result] doesn't reflect how good we are as a team.' This has been the second incarnation of the Women's Summer Series, a tournament designed to give U20s players the opportunity to play more competitive rugby to help with their development. Calladine was grateful that her and her contemporaries had been given a platform to show what they could do. '[This tournament is] massive, especially with the World Cup coming up,' she added. 'It just shows you how cool the talent is coming forward. It's important to play these games, especially against the likes of France, because it just makes us a better team, and it makes for exciting rugby. 'More people are coming every year to watch. I've been doing it for three or four years now and the crowds have just got bigger and bigger. We always talk about how can we leave the shirt in the best place and I think we've done that today, so I'm really happy.' Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Dalgliesh proud of players' development despite three defeats
Having lost their opening two fixtures to England and Wales, Scotland fell to a 62-7 defeat at the hands of Ireland in their final game in Caerphilly. The Scots fought valiantly throughout and showed brief moments of promise against Ireland, with Freya MacColl's converted try their high point of the match. The results from the final day of #U6NSummerSeries action 🤩 — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 17, 2025 But Dalgliesh, who thought her team played will in patches, admitted the scoreline was in part due to the way she'd instructed her team to approach proceedings. She said: 'I didn't set the team up well enough in terms of attack. I've got to take responsibility for that element. During the first half, when we did get out of our own half, we showed a little bit of promise when we found space.' Despite the results on the pitch over the last two weeks not going Scotland's way, Dalgliesh remained positive and took heart from how far her team had come since they joined up. 'We came together as a group about 12 weeks ago,' she continued. 'We've not had consistent contact time, but it's been good to see the connections that have formed in that time and the development in individual players. I think individually, if I look at every player who's been involved, I can see progression in them. 'I can see development and I can see areas that they've really worked hard to improve. They've got to be proud of themselves for that and ultimately, I'm proud of them for that as well.' Dalgliesh explained the defeats during the Women's Summer Series had been painful but was full of praise for the opportunity to play three matches against tough opposition, which she said will ultimately benefit her squad. She added: 'Having competitive opportunities is massive. We know that our players are not always exposed to that. The Summer Series is a real important step in our pathway to allow us to prepare players to go on and play for the national team. 'Ultimately as much as some of the results and parts of the performances will hurt us from this summer, we will also learn a huge amount as a group.' Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Italy overcome Wales in thrilling Summer Series contest
Cheli's third score proved to be the difference during an absorbing encounter in which Italy took the lead four times in Caerphilly. It was a game that neither team deserved to lose, but ultimately Wales came up just short despite bagging four tries of their own. The two sides were quick out of the blocks as they both looked to assert themselves over the other during the opening exchanges. The results from the final day of #U6NSummerSeries action 🤩 — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 17, 2025 Wales were then able to up the ante and enjoyed success down the left wing with Nia Fajeyisan in particular causing Italy problems with her speed and athleticism. But it was Italy who broke the deadlock after 18 minutes through talismanic captain Elena Errichiello. The No. 8 has been a constant spark for her side during this Women's Summer Series, and she was able to cross over following a strong showing from her forwards near Wales' tryline. Lavinia Pratichetti ensured the extra two points, but the competition hosts rallied after falling behind. Molly Wakely breached the Italian backline on 25 minutes, capping off a period of Welsh pressure to get them on the scoreboard, and the side led by Branwen Metcalfe took the lead 10 minutes later when the dangerous Savannah Picton-Powell skilfully scored. Italy hit back after the break and took advantage of a Welsh lineout error five metres from their line. The throw went long from the touchline and Cheli capitalised to drive over. Pratichetti was clinical from the tee once again as Italy found themselves leading 14-12. But the game continued to unfold in a pendulum-like fashion as four minutes later, Wales retook the lead. A blistering move got the home side within touching distance of the Italian tryline down the right, but when it became obvious the left side would prove fruitful, the ball was worked brilliantly out wide, and Seren Singleton was on hand to finish the move off. Italy's physical prowess has been a strength of theirs through this Women's Summer Series and Cheli was able to score a virtually identical second try to her first – burrowing over off the back of a ruck – to hand back the initiative to the team in blue. Much like a heavyweight slugfest, both teams continued to trade blows, and Chiara Pearce landed the next telling shot, dotting down to edge Wales back in front for a third time. However, Cheli's third close-range try with six minutes to go, and Pratichetti 100% conversion record, proved decisive in one of the games of the competition. Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Metcalfe left to rue what might have been after Italy loss
Chiara Cheli's second-half hattrick ultimately proved decisive for Italy, with the substitute hooker's third try on 74 minutes proving to be the game winning score. It was a game that neither team deserved to lose, but ultimately Wales came up just short despite bagging four tries of their own through Molly Wakely, Savannah Picton-Powell, Seren Singleton and Chiara Pearce. The results from the final day of #U6NSummerSeries action 🤩 — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 17, 2025 But Wales were punished by their opponents for their ill-discipline, as a series of penalties helped Italy, including with Cheli's final score. 'I'm really disappointed with our discipline to be honest,' said Metcalfe. 'I know we can do a lot better than that. It's a shame we couldn't finish it off today. Our intent was great. We worked really hard, and I can't fault the girls' effort. It's just silly penalties in the end that let us down.' Having fallen behind to Elena Errichiello converted try, Wakely breached the Italian backline on 25 minutes to get Wales on the scoreboard. Wales then took the lead 10 minutes later through the dangerous Picton-Powell. Cheli put Italy back in control at 14-12 but Singleton finished off a brilliantly worked move to swing the pendulum back in Wales's favour. Italy's physical prowess has been a strength of theirs through this Women's Summer Series and Cheli was able to score a virtually identical second try to her first – burrowing over off the back of a ruck – to hand back the initiative to the team in blue. Much like a heavyweight slugfest, both teams continued to trade blows, and Pearce landed the next telling shot, dotting down to edge Wales back in front for a third time on 64 minutes. However, Cheli's third close-range try with six minutes to go, and Lavinia Pratichetti 100% conversion record, proved decisive in one of the games of the competition. The result means Wales finish the Women's Summer Series with a record of two defeats and one win having lost to Ireland 27-10 in their first game before bouncing back against Scotland, winning 52-29 on matchday two. Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
