The first weekend of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations fixtures did not disappoint.
A word must first go out to Ireland, on the face of it the girls in green stepped away from France with a loss. However, it’s worth noting the gap in score lines is closing, which marks progress for the side. The squad, like many others in this tournament, has undergone changes in the coaching set-up - with ex-England rugby coach Scott Bemand fulfilling the role of head coach for Ireland women.
Much improved performance from Ireland 👏🏼
2024: 🇫🇷 38 - 17 🇮🇪
2023: 🇫🇷 53 - 3 🇮🇪
Looks like building has been successful in the last 12 months and we look forward to next weeks game against Italy in what’s tipped to be a highly competitive game. #SixNations #FraIre— Her Sport (@HerSportDotIE) March 23, 2024
Players are now working alongside (or should I say against) the shot clock, which is a new feature for this tournament to reduce timewasting when kicking. We saw Keira Bevan leave this down to the wire with her kicks.
The introduction of the Bunker Review system was evident, with England’s Sarah Beckett having her on-field yellow upgraded to a red.
But how did that come about? The Bunker Review system is a system which gives referees the ability to send a decision on fowl play to the ‘bunker’ for review in isolation away from the pitch. The bunker team will then have eight minutes to review the proposed incident by making use of Hawk-Eye, split screen and zoom technology. This gives more accuracy to on-field decision-making and also ensures the game can flow better and be less stop-start in nature.
Fantasy rugby players up and down the land let out a bit of a screech when Sarah Beckett received her Red Card, I know my phone certainly started buzzing as she was a key player in multiple different fantasy leagues.
Saturday’s fixtures provided some tantalising moments, as Scotland made history securing a win on Welsh territory for the first time in 20 years, whilst maintaining a 7-match win streak.
Top picks from this week
For all my Fantasy Rugby friends out there, here are my top picks from this week:
Neve Jones | Ireland
Otherwise known as the smiling assassin, it would be remiss of me not to include Jones. Don’t let her size fool you, she has come up against some of the best players and certainly knows how to put them in their place. She was the top tackler in last year’s tournament making a whopping 90 tackles, and this streak looks to have continued this year as she made 23 tackles on Saturday's fixture against France - making her the top tackler of round 1.
In fact, this deserves a full thread...
Hi, I'm Neve Jones, the legend, the smiling assassin. https://t.co/5Bd2SbRpfH pic.twitter.com/6D7hIRc5qS— IrishWomensRugbySupportersClub (@IrishWomens) March 23, 2024
Ellie Kildunne | England
The England back has got pace on pace on pace. The last thing you want to do is give EKD an inch because she really will take a mile. She has the unique ability to cut through a team’s defence like a hot knife through butter.
Coreen Grant | Scotland
Grant was electric this weekend, the way she stormed over the try line gave me goosebumps. Everyone loves the first try of the game, but that one from Grant was special.
🏉 @sageuk Play of the Round
💪 Caity Mattinson threw a 7.8m pass at 37.4kph
🔥 Helen Nelson with a 0.5s reload threw a 8.3m pass at 37.1kph
😮💨 Then a final 6.3m pass from Meryl Smith at 37.8kph with a 1.1s reload to Coreen Grant to score their opening try 🤩#SageInsights pic.twitter.com/QxwhGKIzMf— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) March 24, 2024
Sisilia Tuipulotu | WALES
Tuipulotu makes it her business to be good. The Welsh forward plays her rugby for PWR-winning side Gloucester-Hartpury and is often seen smashing things up on the pitch.
I wanted to finish off this article with something to think about…
Despite going down to 13 players at one time and having issues with discipline, the Red Roses still finished with a bonus point win against Italy. The Guinness Women’s Six Nations has long been criticised for its lack of competitiveness - often cited as a two-horse race against France and England. For me, this was a bit nervy to see a far below-average England team still steamroll through - and just shows how far ahead the English are with player development.
It’s not all bleak though, this tournament features six teams all with some form of professional contracts - and the nature of sport is you never know what might happen next.
See you all next week!
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
