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England v Wales: Women’s Six Nations rugby union – live | Women’s Six Nations
Key events
38 min: Wales once again kick the ball away after showing some neat work in midfield. But they get it back soon after as England spill in contact. Wales are up inside England’s half. De Vera, who has had a good game, is heavily involved. Joyce does well out in the left tram to keep the ball alive until she spills it right at the last. Good ball retention from Wales, but they’re finding out that this England team is not easily breached. England will have the scrum between their 22 and halfway all the way on the right.
36 min: Three Welsh line-outs. Three Welsh penalties. It’s another trick play – a short throw to the front of the line, straight to the prop who wasn’t there to lift, but instead turned around and grabbed the bullet pass. That caught England off guard and they swarmed around the ball carrier illegally.
35 min: David, who was off for a HIA, has failed her test so Breach will remain out there. A harsh end for David on debut, but at least she bagged a try.
TRY! England 24-12 Wales (Jones, 33)
Oh so crafty! That is right off the training pitch. They go to the front of the line-out. But rather than maul, they pop a short pass for Tuipulotu who was on a blind run down the blindside. She then passed for Jones who was hanging in the tram after throwing to the line-out and she did well to wrestle the ball down under supervision from two English defenders. Lovely stuff. The conversion is missed but that’s a lovely bit of work from the Welsh.
32 min: Another maul, another penalty for Wales. This time it’s inside the England 22 so they can kick a little closer. Five out.
31 min: Wales win a penalty from a maul off a line-out shortly after the restart. George crossfield kicks and finds Singleton on the right wing. Wales keep the ball but fail to make any ground. Soon they spill it but will come back for the penalty, which is hoofed out of touch about 18 metres short of the England line on the left.
TRY! England 24-7 Wales (Jones, 28)
How cruel for Wales! Marlie Packer gets away with deliberately spoiling Wales’ ball. On her back, refusing to roll away. England play to the whistle and they’re away. They hammer the line with strong carries until the cracks emerge. Jones, who was born in Cardiff, gets a flat pass from Aitchison before standing up her defender and then putting the after burners on, ghosting upfield to finish from about 30 metres out.
TRY! England 19-7 Wales (M Packer, 25)
Ruthless! This time they get the maul sorted and Marlie Packer dots down off the back of a mighty shove from the pack. A mere minute ago Wales had a line-out inside England’s patch. But they overcooked the throw and now they’re a further seven points adrift after Rowland nudges the extras.
25 min: England nick a line-out in their own half and in a flash they’re screaming down field with Kildunne round a defender and charging in the left tram. She passes short to Moloney-MacDonald to her outside but the winger runs out of room. She flings a hopeful ball back infield that doesn’t find a mate, but there’s a Welsh infringement so England get a penalty.
23 min: Wales keep the ball after the scrum and hold onto the ball. Until Bevan hoofs a pretty ordinary box kick that is easily marked in the backfield by Kildunne.
22 min: A tearful Kabeya leaves the field. She really doesn’t want to go but she has to as her shoulder looks in real trouble.
22 min: Wales win a penalty in midfield. This came off England having a scrum all the way on the left wing and failing to find a hole anywhere in the line. Great defence from Wales who look up for this. They’re doubling up in the tackle and England just haven’t been able to get their off-loading game away. So the hosts lose patience and go searching for quicker ball, committing an infringement on the floor. Kudos to the Welsh.
20 min: Kildunne launches an attack from deep and spirals a pass for Rowland hovering on the lefft wing. But she’s tackled out of touch.
This much-changed England side is not quite delivering. Wales have come to play. Good game so far.
TRY! England 12-5 Wales (Bevan, 18)
Wales hit back! Bevan deserves that after making all that ground from the turnover ball. Rather than go for a driving maul, as everyone expected, they set up a big carry off first phase. Then Bevan picked and went and found a hole to score. The tough conversion is made from the left and Wales are back in this.
17 min: Off the scrum, England make a mess and get in a tangle in the midfield. The ball goes loose and Bevan grabs it and canters a full 40 metres. She looks destined for the line before she’s cut down. Jones tries to steal it but the Welsh support is up and they wrestle the ball back. Wales have the advantage. George goes for a cross-kick to the corner. David catches and makes the mark, but Wales will have the advantage to play with. Phew, hectic period that. They kick to the corner and will line-out from five out.
15 min: George overcooks the restart and hands possession straight back to England, who will have the scrum on halfway.
TRY! England 12-0 Wales (David, 13)
Fairytale! Millie David, on debut, in front of her home fans, scores a try! And what a try. England too slick after recycling from the line-out. Packer finds Aitchison who finds Rowland. Then a floated skip pass finds David who still had some finishing to do, but she made it look pretty easy. Great step off her right boot before bursting round the last defender on the right wing. Rowland can’t convert.
12 min: England win a kick battle. L Packer collects the ball at the breakdown and immediately rakes a box kick, knowing there is no one covering the Welsh backfield. George runs around and mops up before returning the kick. But she can’t find much ground. England with a promising line-out position.
10 min: England just win the small moments more often than not. Wales set the maul from the line-out but they couldn’t get the ball out the back. England’s maul defence swamped the ball carrier and stalled momentum. So they’re rewarded with a scrum feed on their 22.
9 min: Better from Wales. Off a line-out on the left, they go down the line and suck in two defenders with a clever dummy. Powell, up from fullback creating the overload, has time to send a grubber into the left corner. It’s a lovely touch finder that had her chasing winger interested for a second.
England, though, have no problem exiting from a line-out five out from their own line.
Wales will come again with a maul from a line-out of their own between the halfway and the 22m lines.
TRY! England 7-0 Wales (Feaunati, 7)
Brilliant from start to finish! England’s No. 8 got things going and she dots down. Off the line-out, England set up a midfield ruck and then went back to the right, down the blind where Feaunati brushed off two tacklers in the wide channel. Bern continued momentum with a strong carry and then it was a matter of time. L Packer played the right pass and Feaunati hit the line on an angle at pace. Rowland adds the extras. England up and running.
5 min: Wales win the line-out but M Packer, who has exploded into this game, charges down George’s exit kick. She can’t get there before it’s dotted down safely over the try line by a Welsh hand. But that was great work from the veteran Rose.
4 min: Wales win a scrum penalty. Excellent set and they get the chance to clear their lines. Well done to the Welsh pack.
If there’s one area that England aren’t head and shoulders above the rest it’s the scrum.
3 min: Off the line-out, M Packer charges through the guts and almost finds the line. L Packer recycles and finds Kabeya who spills in contact as Metcalfe and Aiono double up and force the knock-on five metres out. Wales will have the scrum feed.
2 min: Kildunne’s first touch is a beauty. On her tip-toes she holds onto a kick that looked destined to find touch on England’s right wing. She grabbed it and then went on a mazy run, making 10 metres. Soon after England sent it down the line and won a scrum as a Welsh hand caused a knock-on in contact. England will have the scrum inside Welsh territory.
Oh, hang on. It’s been upgraded to a penalty for a deliberate knock-on so England will get the line-out inside the Welsh 22.
Kick-off
Ella Goldsmith blows her whistle and we’re off in glorious sunshine!
It was remiss of me not to mention that Metcalfe is 19-years-old!
19! Nineteen! My goodness. What a moment.
Anthems now. A few tears. Love seeing that. Loads of passion.
The players are lining up in the tunnel.
Not long to go now.
Sean Lynn, Wales’ head coach, was speaking to the BBC:
We are playing the world champions and Grand Slam champions in front of a sold out Ashton Gate. It doesn’t get bigger than that.
England are the trailblazers in the women’s game. They have been professional longer than us and have their own domestic league – that is the reality of the challenge.
This is all about us building our performances and developing our identity as a team. We need to show the same intensity and resilience that we have shown in the opening two games and do it for longer. The grit and ability to dig deep is an attribute we will need against England.
Another yarn from Sarah.
In this one she hears from young Millie David who makes her Red Roses debut on the wing today.
Good to know I’m on the same page as Sarah Rendell.
Here she argues that the Red Roses are doing things few teams, if any, have ever done:
How about some stats, eh?
These have been pulled straight from the WRU website.
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England have won 22 out of 24 meetings against Wales, their only defeats coming in 2015 and 2009
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England have won each of their last 50 international matches on home soil, their last defeat in England coming in November 2016. They have never lost at home to Wales in Test rugby, winning all 20 meetings
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Wales’ Bethan Lewis has made the most tackles of any player in the Women’s Six Nations this year (37) with team-mate Kate Williams making the most dominant tackles (4), while Gwen Crabb has won the most breakdown turnovers
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England’s Sarah Bern is the top try scorer (4), crossing twice in each of the opening two rounds, while team-mate Zoe Harrison has scored the most points (24), not missing a single one of her 12 conversion attempts against Scotland
Wales team
As if the job wasn’t tough enough, Wales will have to do without two of their more senior players as ex-captain Hannah Dallavalle, as well as captain Kate Williams are out injured.
That means Jenna De Vera, who made her Test debut against France off the bench last week, starts at inside centre.
Flanker Alex Callender is still out so much will depend on Branwen Metcalfe who wears the number 6 jersey in her first appearance for her country.
Alongside her in the back row, Bethan Lewis takes over the captaincy.
Wales: Kayleigh Powell; Seren Singleton, Jenna De Vera, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Jorja Aiono; Gwen Crabb, Branwen Metcalfe, Bethan Lewis, Byronie King.
Repalcements: Molly Reardon, Maisie Davies, Donna Rose, Georgia Evans, Alisha Joyce, Seren Lockwood, Freya Bell, Catherine Richards.
England team
20-year-old Millie David, who plays her club rugby for Bristol, makes her Test debut in front of her home crowd.
She’ll start on the wing which means Ellie Kildunne slots back to her usual position at fullback. Emma Sing, who impressed last week, misses out of the match-day 23.
Holly Aitchinson starts at fly-half, replacing Zoe Harrison, while props Mackenzie Carson and Sarah Bern, lock Delaney Burns and back-row Marlie Packer enter the scene from the off.
England: Ellie Kildunne; Millie David, Meg Jones (c), Helena Rowland, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald; Holly Aitchison, Lucy Packer; Mackenzie Carson, Amy Cokayne, Sarah Bern, Abi Burton, Delaney Burns, Sadia Kabeya, Marlie Packer, Maddie Feaunati.
Replacements: Connie Powell, Kelsey Clifford, Maud Muir, Haineala Lutui, Demelza Short, Flo Robinson, Zoe Harrison, Jess Breach.
Preamble
Hi everyone! Welcome to the third round of a Women’s Six Nations that is pretty much going as expected.
England are top of the tree with having scored 17 tries (five more than France) and look unbeatable.
They weren’t at their best against Ireland but still had enough oomph from third gear. Then they revved their engines and pulverised Scotland by a hefty score.
Today they face Wales who were denied at the death by Scotland but got spanked on home soil by France. They’re a team on the rise, no question, but they’re rising from a long way down from where England currently reside. Expect plenty of support, though, for the visiting side as they’re playing just across the River Severn in Bristol.
Is there a more dominant sports team in the world than the Red Roses? Not for my money. If they fail to add to their unbeaten run of 35 Tests I’ll eat my hat. And my shoes. And my leather belt.
Kick-off at 2:15pm.
Teams and other updates, including some cracking reads from around the G, to come.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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