Six Nations Women’s Summer Series: Wales U-20s v Ireland U-20s

Ireland Under-20 Women’s head coach Niamh Briggs has brought a 35-strong squad to Ystrad Mynach in Caerphilly for the second edition of the Six Nations Women’s Summer Series. Catch all the action live on irishrugby+.

SIX NATIONS WOMEN’S SUMMER SERIES – ROUND 1:

Saturday, July 5 –

WALES UNDER-20s v IRELAND UNDER-20s, Centre of Sporting Excellence, Ystrad Mynach, kick-off 3.30pm (live on irishrugby+)

Team News: Captain Jane Neill is one of the returning players included in the Ireland Under-20 Women’s team (sponsored by PwC) for Saturday’s opening Six Nations Summer Series match against Wales.

Back for a second year after last summer’s successful inaugural event in Parma, the Women’s Summer Series features predominantly Under-20 players, with each nation permitted to include up to five U-23 players per matchday squad.

With three rounds of games taking place at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, the competition provides a platform not only for players but also for coaches and match officials to gain valuable experience in a cross-Union setting.

2013 Six Nations Grand Slam winner Briggs has seven players with experience of the 2024 Summer Series in her starting XV, along with Lily Morris and Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton on the replacements bench.

Leinster lock Neill leads the team again, forming a second row partnership with Aoibhe O’Flynn, an Energia All-Ireland League winner with UL Bohemian in April. The pair played together with the Clovers in this season’s Celtic Challenge.

Beth Buttimer and Sophie Barrett (pictured above) both have experience of last year’s Summer Series, scoring two tries between them with tighthead prop Barrett receiving the Most Valuable Player accolade. 19-year-old Connacht prop Ella Burns completes the front row.

A new-look back row sees Connacht duo Poppy Garvey and Jemima Adams Verling combine with MU Barnhall’s Aoife Corcoran, who was part of last year’s Ireland Under-18 squad along with Adams Verling and a number of her new U-20 team-mates.

Caitríona Finn, who only turned 19 last month, and her half-back partner Jade Gaffney, the vice-captain, are back for their second Summer Series campaign, while the centre berths are filled by Lyndsay Clarke, who helped Ennis to gain promotion recently, and Ulster’s Tara O’Neill.

Ireland’s back-three of Niamh Gallagher, Hannah Clarke, and Robyn O’Connor were all part of last year’s Ireland U-20 squad. It has been a busy summer already for Clarke and O’Connor, who played for Ireland in the Rugby Europe Women’s Sevens Championship Series.

Looking to make an impact off the bench will be Balbriggan youngster Alma Atagamen, who has been part of Ireland’s Rugby World Cup preparation squad. She also impressed with a hat-trick of tries in the Ireland U-20s’ 32-14 win over Canada in a training match in May.

Maebh Clenaghan, Saoirse Crowe, Morris, and Rosie Searle are the other replacement forwards selected by Briggs and her coaching team, with backs Emily Foley, O’Sullivan Sexton, and Clara Dunne completing the matchday 23.

Speaking ahead of the opening game, Ireland captain Neill said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. We’re really excited as a team, and we’re obviously playing the host nation Wales so that’ll be tough. They will probably have a really big crowd.

“We’ve trained well over the last couple of days so we’re ready to get going. We’ve been lucky enough to have got going in April, that’s when we had our first camp.

“We’ve been building since then. We were lucky enough to play Canada twice in May, which was really interesting for us to get two games out there as a team.”

Meanwhile, senior-capped players Sian Jones and Gwennan Hopkins will start for the Wales Under-20s, with the latter having scored a try on her Test debut against Ireland during the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

Hopkins joins Lottie Buffery-Latham and captain Branwen Metcalfe in the back row for the hosts, who are coached by Liza Burgess, the legendary former Wales captain who played in four Rugby World Cup.

All of the starting XV, apart from Hartpury College back rower Metcalfe, have represented either Brython Thunder or Gwalia Lightning, showing the importance of the Celtic Challenge in developing young talent in Wales.

The Brython Thunder trio of Stella Orrin, Elan Jones, and Robyn Davies feature in the tight five, while Gwalia regular Carys Hughes, who was the third top points scorers in the 2024/25 Celtic Challenge with 60 points, partners vice-captain Sian Jones at half-back.

Selected at outside centre, Cardiff Met and Thunder’s Savannah Picton-Powell was one of the uncapped players included in Wales’ extended training squad ahead of their tour to Australia and the upcoming Rugby World Cup.

Six Nations Summer Series Fixtures

WALES U-20: Hannah Lane (Brython Thunder/Cardiff Met/PDC North); Seren Singleton (Brython Thunder/Cardiff Met/PDC West), Savannah Picton-Powell (Brython Thunder/Cardiff Met/PDC East), Freya Bell (Gwalia Lightning/Cardiff Met/PDC East), Nia Fajeyisan (Gwalia Lightning/University of Leicester/PDC East); Carys Hughes (Gwalia Lightning/Hartpury University/PDC East), Sian Jones (Gwalia Lightning/Gloucester-Hartpury); Stella Orrin (Brython Thunder/University of Bristol/PDC West), Molly Wakely (Gwalia Lightning/PDC East), Elan Jones (Brython Thunder/Cardiff Met/PDC North), Robyn Davies (Brython Thunder/Cardiff Met/PDC West), Lily Terry (Gwalia Lightning/Hartpury University), Branwen Metcalfe (Hartpury College/PDC North) (capt), Lottie Buffery-Latham (Gwalia Lightning/Loughborough University), Gwennan Hopkins (Gwalia Lightning).

Replacements: Rosie Carr (Brython Thunder/Bristol Bears), Dali Hopkins (Gwalia Lightning/Cheltenham Tigers), Evie Hill (Coleg Gwent/PDC East), Chiara Pearce (Coleg Gwent/PDC East), Jorja Aiono (Hartpury College/PDC West), Ffion Williams (Hartpury College/PDC North), Hanna Tudor (Ysgol Brynhyfryd/PDC North), Mollie Wilkinson (Brython Thunder/Bristol Bears).

IRELAND U-20: Niamh Gallagher (Trailfinders Women/IQ Rugby); Hannah Clarke (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Lyndsay Clarke (Ennis RFC/Munster), Tara O’Neill (Cooke RFC/Ulster), Robyn O’Connor (Wexford Wanderers RFC/Leinster); Caitríona Finn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Jade Gaffney (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster); Ella Burns (Tuam/Oughterard RFC/Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Beth Buttimer (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Sophie Barrett (Enniskillen RFC/Ulster), Jane Neill (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster) (capt), Aoibhe O’Flynn (UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Poppy Garvey (Railway Union RFC/Connacht), Aoife Corcoran (MU Barnhall RFC/Leinster), Jemima Adams Verling (Creggs RFC/Connacht).

Replacements: Maebh Clenaghan (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster), Saoirse Crowe (Shannon RFC/UL Bohemian RFC/Munster), Lily Morris (Ballincollig RFC/Munster), Alma Atagamen (Balbriggan RFC/Leinster), Rosie Searle (Navan RFC/Leinster), Emily Foley (Galwegians RFC/Connacht), Ellie O’Sullivan Sexton (Old Belvedere RFC/Leinster), Clara Dunne (Wicklow RFC/Leinster).

Referee: Mary Pringle (SRU)
Assistant Referees: Alice Torra (FIR), Jack Davies (WRU)
TMO: Jenny Davies (WRU)

Pre-Match Quotes – Niamh Briggs (Ireland U-20s): “This competition represents a significant step in our player development pathway.

“It provides a valuable opportunity for young athletes to challenge themselves against top-level opposition, experience the demands of an international environment, and continue their progression toward senior rugby.”

Liza Burgess (Wales U-20s): “All of the players are eager to get the campaign underway against Ireland. We have a squad with a good mix of experience and youth.

“Our preparations for the Series have gone very well – and all of the girls selected are really looking forward to the opportunity to showcase their talents in our opening game.”

Previous Six Nations Women’s Summer Series Results –

2024 – Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma, Italy

Round 1: France 57 Wales 12; England 33 Ireland 10; Italy 17 Scotland 13

Round 2: Ireland 17 Italy 24; Scotland 10 France 67; Wales 24 England 55

Round 3: Ireland 37 Scotland 7; Italy 33 Wales 19; England 21 France 72

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