The Ireland Under-20 players celebrate following their record victory over Scotland at the recent Six Nations Women's Summer Series ©INPHO/Geraint Nicholas
Captain Jane Neill and Robyn O’Connor’s impressive performances for the Ireland Under-20 Women (sponsored by PwC) have been recognised with their inclusion in the Team of the 2025 Six Nations Women’s Summer Series.
Coached by Niamh Briggs, the Ireland U-20 squad won two of their three Summer Series matches – a first for Irish Rugby’s leading age-grade talent – and posted a new record victory when running out 62-7 winners over Scotland in Caerphilly.
The Team of the Series, according to the Opta Index, is comprised of four French players, three each from Italy and Scotland, two apiece from Wales and Ireland, and one from England.
15. Poppy Mellanby (Scotland)
14. Anaick Konyi (France)
13. Savannah Picton-Powell (Wales)
12. Lucy MacRae (Scotland)
11. Robyn O’Connor (Ireland)
10. Ceitidh Ainsworth (Scotland)
9. Pauline Barrat (France)
1. Mailys Borak (France)
2. Chiara Cheli (Italy)
3. Alice Antonazzo (Italy)
4. Jane Neill (Ireland)
5. Robyn Davies (Wales)
6. Lou Roboam (France)
7. Sophie McQueen (England)
8. Elena Errichiello (Italy)
Neill, Ireland’s influential leader up front, started all three games in Wales, one in the second row and the last two in the back row. She was the player-of-the-match in the final round against Scotland, scoring a try in each half.
The Arklow youngster – one of the U-23 players permitted in the squad for the Summer Series – also captained Ireland at last year’s inaugural tournament, and since then has been a Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship winner with Leinster, and a Celtic Challenge runner-up with the Clovers.
Noted for her strong ball carrying, lineout ability, and tough tackling, Neill, who was part of last year’s Team of the Series too, made the most dominant tackles (7) during the 2025 edition.
In addition, the Old Belvedere starlet led the Ireland team statistics with 30 carries, 36 successful tackles, a joint-tournament high three breakdown steals, and 14 lineout takes and two steals.
A number of players from last year’s Summer Series have gone on to represent their country at senior international level – including Ireland lock Ruth Campbell – as well as looking set to feature in the fast-approaching Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Speaking about that and her own tournament experience, the 21-year-old Neill said: “It’s amazing to see the growth. I was fortunate enough to captain last year’s squad, and I think six or seven of the girls have since been involved with the senior camp.
“I know Ruth Campbell is now consistently with that team, and she was playing with us last year. It’s really inspiring to see the senior team is achievable through this.
“We were feeling quite a bit sore after the defeat to France. We felt that let them kind of get the run of it at the end, and we didn’t put our best foot forward.
“So to come out with that performance and result against Scotland, with only a six-day turnaround, was class. I couldn’t ask for any more, to be honest.
“We worked really hard as a pack to get some new lineouts going there, and then the back-line were extra sharp. It’s a great tournament, it is the highest level of rugby I’ve ever played.
“It’s extremely important for girls our age to get that kind of hit-out against opposition of an international standard. It’s really class and I’m excited to see how much more it builds in the future.”
O’Connor, whose quick feet and eye for a break have seen her shine in the back-three, started this past season with an eye-catching senior debut for Leinster as she helped them to become back-to-back Interprovincial champions.
One of 37 centralised players contracted to the IRFU Women’s High Performance programme, the Wexford native has gained valuable experience with the Ireland Women’s Sevens team, scoring four tries during her maiden HSBC SVNS Series campaign.
Like Neill, the recent Summer Series was O’Connor’s second tournament with the Ireland U-20s after playing in Parma last summer. She finished as the joint-third top try scorer in Wales with three tries, including one during the opening 27-10 triumph over the host nation.
Just a couple of days after her 20th birthday, she bagged a second-half brace against the Scots in a lively cameo performance. Notably, she topped the 2025 Series’ stats for running metres (317.4) and line breaks (6), and made double figures for tackle breaks (10).
Reflecting on the runaway win over Scotland, O’Connor said: “I was very happy with how I performed, but huge credit to the rest of the girls who were able to create space for me and get the ball to me.
“I’m very proud of this team. We only came together at the beginning of this year, and we’ve become so close over the past two weeks at the tournament. We’ve really grown together as a team and that showed during the performance.
“We’re very excited and proud of how we performed. In comparison to the loss to France, we really came on and we tidied up the little bits that we needed to get better. We’re all feeling great about that.”
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