Women's Six Nations 2026, week three

This week feels like the week that is probably the most predictable, at least going into it, in terms of results. England are going to beat Wales, the only real question is, can we continue to see signs of Welsh improvement, even against the Red Roses? Italy have been poor, Scotland mid, but mid beats poor, even away. And whilst Ireland are trying to challenge for second place, doing so in France, and with Ratier keen to have a big improvement after last week’s terrible first 25 minutes feels like a bridge too far.

The Games

England v Wales

So one side of the ledger you have England scoring 10 tries in a comfortable victory. That should be measured against the 12 they scored last week against Scotland as a benchmark, and the four missed conversions are an indication of how wide many of those tries were dotted down which, in turn, is a reflection of hard the Welsh defence kept working, kept making the English make another pass, and another one. Most of the time they were good enough to do that, but the Welsh defence also prevented multiple tries too, perhaps as many as another ten. (The Scots last week didn’t just let England score freely, they stopped some too but, by and large, the English smashed through the last line of defence early enough to score under the posts and have easy conversions all day.)

In the set piece, I think Wales probably won the lineouts, both sides had great mauls in attack, England might just have edged that, I think Wales edged the scrums. But, in all honesty, the fact that I can write that sincerely (I may be biased and an England fan might see it differently), shows just how strong the Welsh forwards have become. England have been the class act in women’s rugby for several years now.

And whilst I’ve been rude about the Welsh attack, it’s been by far the weakest part of their game, they scored four tries, all from close lineouts, but two with nice backs moves, two through the forwards. There is definitely work to be done here, but a try bonus point against England is a huge result for Wales and a clear sign of how they’re improving, week on week. I also said keeping England under 64 points would be a mark of their improved defence, and 62-24 was a big tick in both columns.

Italy v Scotland

Italy have faced France, a tough prospect, and Ireland away, which is a bit of on enigma at the moment but still tough. However, they’ve looked poor. One try against France, ok, only two against Ireland, they might be that great defensively but it felt more like Italy were that bad.

And then came this match. Five tries by halftime, Scotland scoreless at the break. Although they lost the second half 14-12, they also lost three players to yellow cards, all deserved, which both slowed their attack and made their defence somewhat more porous. But 41-14 is still a result and who knows where it came from?

France v Ireland

If you look at the final score, 26-7, this looks like a comfortable win for France. If you look at the times the tries were scored, Ireland scored their only try when the French were a player down, Les Bleues exploded in the second half, scoring three of their tries after the break. All of this fits the narrative of how the French play under Ratier, and their dominance over the Irish.

However, if you look at points per entry into the 22, I only have the stat with about 20 minutes to go, and it definitely changed because France scored after this, the French were at 2.3 points per visit to the 22, Ireland 0.2. That tells one story. Ireland basically squatted in the French 22, but couldn’t score. There was a knock on at the base of a ruck. There were at least two, probably three, and it’s possible I’ve forgotten some, TMO interventions for potential tries held up. The Irish 10 kicked for the corner but kicked it dead twice, blowing potential chances. All those held ups are down to massive defensive effort. I think the knock on was too, the 9 hurried, trying to get the ball out to the right player and fumbled it.

Whilst I’m not the biggest fan of tackle stats, the French had I think six players make low to mid 20’s individual tackles, and they were well over 90% tackle completion as a team. Again, some effort.

I have to mention the referee, sadly. There was quite a bit of venom in this game at various points. To my biased eye a lot of that started from the Irish players, although I’m sure the French weren’t saints. But the ref seemed to let that go rather than stepping in. I’m not sure it reached card territory, but a couple of penalties and warnings would have helped calm things down. Equally the rucks, particularly when the Irish were defending, but several times when they were at risk of being turned over too, were a mess and badly policed. They started that way, and got worse and worse. The Irish women are getting away with as much as the Irish men, maybe more.

The crowd had been silent for most of the first half, but woke up as France gradually extended their lead, and the match ended with La Marseillaise ringing around the stadium. Relief, joy or a bit of both?

Happy Coaches

1. Roselli. I honestly don’t know where this Italian performance has been hiding, and the cards are a blemish, but that was a great result.
2. Lynn. I nearly put Lynn top, that performance against England was great. Everything Wales have been doing well was tested against the best, and stood up to it. And they added scoring points, more than Ireland and Scotland combined managed.
3. Ratier. Ratier clearly has a plan, and his team are buying in to it and executing that plan. It makes for a tense first half and a happy home crowd at full time, but also a pretty happy coach.
4. Mitchell. The English media are talking about the Red Roses sweeping Wales aside. I think Mitchell will be less satisfied, looking at four tries conceded, lineouts lost, scrum penalties, attacks stopped and more. It’s still a win, but there are a lot of things to work on.
5. Bemand. This was a match of what-ifs, hands and arms under balls and near misses. But Ireland will have desperately wanted to win this and finish second, instead it’s yet another loss.
6. Fukofuka. That was a disaster. Losing badly to England, even at home, ok. A close loss to a reinvigorated Italy, that would have been ok - for the last forever (eight years I think) the margin between these teams has been about a try. Then it turned into a 30-point blowout. Scotland have excuses, the late withdrawal of their captain for example, but this was terrible.

Looking Ahead

Next week is a rest week. In two weeks time we have:

• Italy v England: Despite Italy's improvement, England are going to win.
• Scotland v France: France have become a team it’s hard to score against and, it’s fair to say after three games, who burst into attacking life in the second half. Scotland struggled to score against the weakest version of Wales, England and Italy. I don’t know if France will fix their first half scoring woes, but they’ll be too good for the Scots.
• Ireland v Wales: Even against the French defence, Ireland were unlucky not to score more than once, held up several times and a knock on denying them several more tries. They ought to win, especially at home, but with the way this Welsh side are building, my guts are saying this could be an upset.