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Women’s Six Nations State of Play heading into 2018

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If 2017 was a big year for women’s rugby, there is every indication that 2018 will be another thriller with the excitement building for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations.

If 2017 was a big year for women’s rugby, there is every indication that 2018 will be another thriller with the excitement building for the upcoming Women’s Six Nations.

Defending champions England will be looking to retain their title after taking the Grand Slam in Ireland in March, while the Irish – under new coach Adam Griggs – will be targeting revenge.

A new-look France team enjoyed a strong November, and there were also promising performances from Scotland, Wales and Italy.

With that in mind, we have taken a look at where each team stands heading into 2018:

ENGLAND

Simon Middleton’s team enjoyed a strong year with a Grand Slam and then a World Cup runners-up spot before finishing with a whitewash of Canada during the November series.

Add in a win in New Zealand over the Black Ferns and the start of the Tyrrell’s Premier 15s, and it’s been a year full of highs.

Heading into 2018, Middleton will have been particularly impressed by the way a number of young players flourished when given their chance on the Test stage.

Chief among them was Jess Breach, who has 11 tries in two Tests so far, while at the other end of the experience scale, Sarah Hunter marked her 100th appearance for England in November.

Their Six Nations campaign begins in Reggio Emilia against Italy, while the final two games against World Cup semi-finalists France and Six Nations runners-up Ireland, could prove crucial in the final shake-up.

FRANCE

With a new coaching set-up coming into 2017, France almost made a dream start to the year when they led 13-0 at Twickenham at half-time in their Six Nations opener.

The home side came back to win that game, and Les Bleues had to settle for third overall after also narrowly losing to Ireland.

They earned some measure of revenge over the Irish at the World Cup, before again falling to England – this time in the semi-final stages.

In November it was a much-changed side which proved too strong for both Spain (97-0) and Italy (41-21).

Since then the squad for the Women’s Six Nations has been announced with the returns of the likes of Gaëlle Mignot, the long-time skipper, centre turned flanker Marjorie Mayans, as well as World Player of the Year nominees Romane Ménager and Safi N’Diaye, both of whom did play in November.

Starting off their campaign against Ireland in Toulouse, Les Bleues will host both of the teams who finished above them last year as they look to reclaim the crown they last won in 2016.

IRELAND

A momentous year for Irish rugby saw them play a Grand Slam decider and host a World Cup and yet Adam Griggs will be looking for even more in 2018.

Trips to France to start the Championship, and England to finish, mean it won’t be easy, but the former Leinster coach will be able to call on a new-look squad.

While 2017 marked the end of an era with the retirements of Sophie Spence, Nora Stapleton, Marie Louise Reilly, Ruth O’Reilly and Ailis Egan, there are reasons for optimism heading into 2018.

Skipper Niamh Briggs saw her season ruined by injury, but is fit again and takes her place in the squad, while there are also nine new faces in the 38-woman squad.

Munster provide ten players to the squad after winning the Interprovincial derbies with Griggs impressed by what he saw.

He said: “Over the course of the inter-provincial fixtures I’ve had the opportunity to see the players in competitive and challenging games,” he said.

“It was very valuable for me to see them in action. There is good experience in the squad, with most of the players selected competing at this level for a number of seasons.”

It’s also worth giving a mention to former Ireland international Joy Neville who made strides this year as a referee, being named World Rugby’s Referee of the Year.

ITALY

Often Italy enter the Women’s Six Nations having had no chance to test themselves in November, but their 41-21 loss to France gives Andrea di Giandomenico a chance to gauge where his team currently stands.

With the daunting prospect of defending champions England first up, the Azzurre face a challenging start to the Championship, but Di Giandomenico has plenty of new faces in his squad.

In all there are 11 uncapped players in the 30-women squad selected for the upcoming training camp in Parma in January as Italy hope their new Serie A femminile can help the team to develop.

Sara Barattin remains as skipper, having helped Italy to ninth at the World Cup, while full-back Manuela Furlan adds plenty of experience to the backline.

SCOTLAND

Arguably no team improved more than Scotland in 2017, and coach Shade Munro will be eager to build on that next year.

To that end, a clash with Spain before the start of the Women’s Six Nations should be an invaluable warm-up, with Scotland having beaten the Spanish in November in an uncapped international.

That followed a 2017 Six Nations in which they won two matches, having gone seven years without a win in the Championship prior to that point.

With the likes of Jade Konkel playing out in France and Lisa Martin at Darlington Mowden Park Sharks, not to mention the BT Academy, women’s rugby in Scotland is on the rise.

Their 2018 campaign begins with a trip to Wales, and Munro will be keen to follow up last year’s win over the Welsh with another as Scotland aim to improve on last season’s fourth-placed finish.

WALES

Victory over Ireland to close out the Women’s World Cup in seventh place gave Wales some momentum heading into 2018, with Rowland Phillips turning to the next generation this season.

In November, a 39-22 victory over the UK Armed Forces was all the more impressive given the young nature of the Welsh side, which included teenager Lleucu George playing at fly-half having made the switch from the back row.

In 2017, Wales could only manage fifth in the Six Nations, but a new-look side will be hoping for better, starting the campaign at home to Scotland in Colwyn Bay.

A standout fixture will be against Italy in round 4 when Wales will play at Principality Stadium and hoping to shine in front of a big crowd.

Philllips’ daughter Carys continues to captain the side from hooker and with a warm-up game against Ireland in the offing, they will be keen to hit the ground running in Colwyn Bay.