For the first time in women’s rugby history, Ireland shocked the world by beating the defending champions, the Black Ferns, at the Women’s Rugby World Cup. The victory marked a new beginning for the Six Nations women’s rugby awards season.
Ireland pulled off a stunning comeback to beat reigning world champions New Zealand 29-27 in their WXV opener in Wellington.
The win is one of Ireland’s most significant victories in women’s rugby history, especially considering the Black Ferns’ dominance on the world stage. The team is on a marked upward trend after finishing third in this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
Last year’s women’s final was a huge step forward for Irish fans who cling to Six Nations tickets.
Winning in New Zealand is considered one of the highest achievements by an Irish woman. The win will no doubt boost demand for tickets to the Women’s Six Nations, which begins in less than four months.
New Zealand opened the scoring after nine minutes when hooker Atlanta Lolohea touched the back of a driving maul. But Ireland responded quickly when flanker Aoife Wafer, who is included in the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations Championship squad, lunged over the line from close range.
Renee Holmes’ penalty extended New Zealand’s lead to 10-5 and Wafer scored her second, digging in off the base of an attacking scrum. O’Brien put Ireland in front with the conversion and their advantage was 7 points to 1 when hooker Neve Jones scored a try after referee Sara Cox consulted with TMO Ian Tempest.
O’Brien was off target on the subsequent conversion. New Zealand were level at half-time when wing Katelyn Vahaakolo finished and Holmes converted the second. Midway through the second half, a Holmes penalty put her side ahead while Niamh O’Dowd was in the sin bin, but Ireland responded with their next score when they had fully recovered to 15 men.
More good work from Wafer helped King get their first score before Mererangi Paul extended to put New Zealand back ahead. But with time almost running out, King went from close range to level the score again at 27-27. O’Brien kept his composure and earned an additional two points off the tee.
Ireland coach Scott Bemand praised his team and called it a landmark moment for Irish women’s rugby. The win sets a strong tone for Ireland in the WXV competition against Canada and the United States.
This development for Ireland is a good move towards improving the women’s Six Nations game. This will help create more competitive activity on the field and in return help increase Six Nations ticket sales.
Women’s Six Nations – Wales kick-off against England
Wales are set to host England at the Principality Stadium in the 2025 Women’s Six Nations.
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) hopes its match against the defending champions on Saturday March 29 will again break attendance records for an independent women’s rugby Test in Wales.
10,592 watched Wales play Italy in the 2024 Six Nations final.
Wales will also travel to Newport’s Rodney Parade for next year’s Championship when they play Ireland on Sunday 20 April.
Wales previously played their home games at Cardiff Arms Park.
WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said it was “phenomenal” to see the women’s team play at the National Stadium earlier this year.
“It is an ambitious move for Wales Women to face England at the Principality Stadium, but I am confident we can break the home appearance record thanks to the support our fans have shown the team,” she said.
“It will also be a huge boost to return to Rodney Parade after an incredible debut win over Australia in the WXV warm-up earlier this month.”
Meanwhile, Welsh hooker Caris Phillips has signed a new contract with Harlequins Women.
The 31-year-old, who has 76 caps for his country, joined the London club in November 2023 following the collapse of Worcester Warriors Women.
Tickets for Six Nations games will be available soon.
Disappointment for Wales continues
Just a week after the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) gave us positive news for the women’s game, the players suffered a crushing defeat against Australia in Cape Town.
With 37 full-time signings and a flagship fixture against England at the Principality Stadium expected in the Six Nations, Wales have deservedly landed their WXV2 opener against the Wallaroos.
And who can blame them? They beat their opponents for the first time in their history, running out 31-24 winners in a fierce warm-up match at Rodney Parade just eight days ago.
The Wales camp stressed the importance of following up on this week’s game, but were the first to admit they had lost the physical battle after the game.
They also suffered their worst ever Wallaroo defeat as the gold and green ran riot in a devastating second half attack that saw Wales lose 37-5.
Wales put together a six-day comeback before facing Six Nations rivals Italy on Friday. Italy lost 19-0 to Scotland in their opening match.
Wales’ preparations were less than ideal. Not only did they have less than a week to acclimate to Cape Town, but they also traveled without one of their star players.
Sisilia Tuipulotu was left in the UK after what the WRU said was an “administrative oversight” over her visa.
Ioan Cunningham was also forced to overhaul his matchday 23 squad after Kate Williams and Hannah Jones suffered injuries in training.
But the director made no excuses. “It’s the same in Australia. We both played last Friday and did the same amount of traveling.
“We have to take a look at ourselves, dust ourselves off, review our games and learn quickly because the turnaround time is short.
“It doesn’t help to be interrupted during the week. Last week we had three players and this week we had two. But it’s part of what we do. Injuries are rare and you just have to adjust and react as best you can. That’s why we have a team and we support everyone on our team.
“Credit to Australia; “In the last 25 minutes the intensity has changed and it has moved away from us.”
