Women's Six Nations 2023, Week One

This year I’d the first year we’ve got every nation with some level of professionalism. Even sides like Wales, which could be fully professional, are going through a transition stage, with some of their players not willing or able to swap to the professional contracts, so it will probably be a number of years until we’ve got a fully professional elite women's game, but we’re definitely moving that way.

We’re also seeing a lot of teams in transition as players retire after last years RWC, coaching teams are changed too, and there are the inevitable injuries, perhaps made somewhat worse than usual by the RWC - several teams were missing players from injuries sustained in New Zealand.

On to the games.

Wales v Ireland

This was a game characterised by three things really.

1. Physically the Welsh, particularly the forwards, but honestly all over the pitch were just bigger and stronger than their opponents. The first scrum went back like they’d packed against a scrum machine but there were no weights on it, and that level of dominance up front just carried on throughout the game. Not at every single occasion but it was pretty one sided.
2. The wind. There was a gale blowing down the length of the Arms Park, and between halves it lengthened or shortened kicks by about 10-15 metres. Notionally that should even out of course, but when the stronger side start with the wind at their back and score four tries to none in the first half, it’s a long way back.
3. Sadly the refereeing has to be mentioned too. The ref got a lot of things right of course but there was a brawl with about half a dozen players and she just ignored it… that’s not good. There were enough other weird calls that it gave the impression that she wasn’t really in control of the game, which is a shame.

The second half was much quieter, Wales eased up a bit, the wind meant Ireland could escape a bit better, Wales couldn’t quite apply the pressure as easily, but really the thing that will annoy Cunningham is that the Welsh defence let a try though. The inaccuracy on attack was frustrating as a fan - this was one of those games I watched because it’s the Six Nations, dammit, not because it was a good game to watch, but after the first half that’s clearly a relatively easy thing to work on. Ireland are not the biggest challenge that Wales will face in this championship but, even compared to the autumn and the RWC, Wales are looking stronger, faster and, apart from the first ten minutes, better organised on both sides of the ball. Ireland were rebuilding last year and look to be rebuilding again. Their promo pieces for the television might say “we’ve gone pro, no need to rely on the luck of the Irish” but they need something more than this.

While the scoreboard wasn’t as one-sided as the France or England games against the other sides over the last few years, and England wouldn’t have gone off the pace in the second half (they didn’t later that day against Scotland), this Welsh performance really looked that dominant. Ireland really only put any pressure on them twice in the whole game, once for long enough to score. Really not good enough.

England v Scotland

Injuries through both camps, and Sarah Hunter’s last game. The England coach's last campaign - some weirdness around that with the short run to the next RWC and why hasn’t his replacement been put in place already? There were a lot of specific talking points.

The scoreboard at halftime was similar to the earlier match, where Wales were four tries up, England were five up, but…

The Irish didn’t get near the Welsh try line in their first half. That was partly the wind, partly the Welsh defence. Scotland were genuinely unlucky not to score twice - one was a diving effort where if the player had had arms even two centimetres longer she’s have dotted the ball down on the line instead of short. Given that player was the scrum half, that’s not unreasonable to hope for… the other needed a pass one metre from the line to be thrown with sympathy instead of a bullet pass 30 cm out of reach.

I compared the dominance of the Welsh over the Irish to the dominance of the English and French of years gone by. Ironically although the scoreboard, always the ultimate arbiter in sport, shows England were almost totally in control - and for large periods of the game that’s correct - Scotland constructed attacks and applied pressure on multiple occasions and were unlucky to only score one try. They were soundly beaten by a better team but they showed signs of trying and probably of being able to produce.

England have not noticeably fallen off the pace and still look to be a step up on the rest, with the possible exception of France based on this performance. We will have to see how true that is over the coming days and weeks.

Italy v France

This game was close throughout. Last year it started that way and the quality of the replacements really made the difference - the French subs were a step up in quality than the players they replaced, the Italians were probably a step down. This year, although France stretched it out to a ten point game with about a minute to go

judging exactly where the gains and losses of the teams from last year are is hard. Italy looked better over all, but France looked good, great at times. However, in both halves the wind was a big factor, France had the benefit in the first half, Italy should have had the benefit in the second but… the skies opened. Handling, particularly for the last 20 minutes, was really hard and it badly affected both sides. The French dominance at scrum, in particular, meant they could camp down in the Italian end and keep the pressure on them. It will be fascinating to see how they both go over the coming weeks.

Happy Coaches

Cunningham and Middleton. Both sides had clinical first halves. England carried that on, edge to Middleton, but had more serious looking injuries than Wales, edge to Cunningham. Really, they’re both happy, they both have things to think about, but they both have good results and relatively clear list of things to work on.

Oritz and Mignot. France won, and were dominant at the scrum. There’s work to do, but it’s a result and there are a lot of positives.

Raineri. Italy were real competitors in this game. Looking at the dominance the French had in the scrum I don’t think Italy could have won if the rain had stayed away but… you never know. On this weekend’s showing, the game with Wales will be the decider for them.

Easson. Scotland got hammered by England. Plus ça change. But, despite leaking ten tries, Scotland put up a spirited defence, and certainly kept stringing together attacks that were all too often unlucky not to be converted into points. They were beaten by a much better team but there is a lot to build on here.

McWilliams. Ireland got pwned. There’s no other way to put it. He’s got a lot to do.

Looking Ahead

Ireland v France

This is going to be messy. France will win at a canter.

Scotland v Wales

This match will be interesting. This weekend just gone, they played teams who are going to finish towards, if not actually at, opposite ends of the table. These two teams are going to finish somewhere in the range 2-5, more likely 3-5. So these games are about sorting out that pecking order. I think Wales have moved on more than Scotland and will take more from their victory than Scotland did from their defeat. Wales to win. A bonus point is not unreasonable to expect, but we’ll see.

England v Italy

This will be an interesting test for Italy, how well do they stand up against the English? I can’t see them winning but I think they’ll perform better than Scotland did.