After an all-action opening to the Women’s Six Nations last weekend, the Championship has its feet well under the table as Round 2 approaches.
Wins for England, Italy and reigning Grand Slam champions France set things off to a flyer, and all six sides will be looking to build on early form when they return to the field.
With the fixtures spread tantalisingly across the weekend, there are no excuses for missing any of what promise to be three more cracking match-ups.
Scotland host Ireland on Friday night; Wales travel to Italy on Saturday; and England welcome France in the battle of last year’s top two on a grandstand Sunday.
Scotland Women v Ireland Women
Kick-off: 19:35, Friday 8 February
Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Tickets are available here
Two of the sides felled in Round 1 will both be desperate to get their campaigns back on track when they face off at Scotstoun under the Friday night lights.
Ireland kicked off the Championship last weekend as they were unlucky to fall to a 51-7 defeat to England in a scoreline that perhaps flattered the victors.
Adam Griggs’ side nearly went ahead early in the fixture and battled throughout, deserving more than their second-half penalty try, something that the head coach has been keen to stress in the wake of the defeat.
“We want to be a team that’s hard to beat,” he said. “Obviously the scoreline was a bit unflattering to us, but you can definitely know that England were in a Test match. We will not give up in any match.
“We’re making sure that will be something that we’ll take through to the games against Scotland and Italy coming up now.
“We’re going to be that side that plays for full 80 minutes, and try and keep pressure on teams.”
Scotland, similarly, proved stern resistance to Italy, who took until the 73rd minute of the Round 1 contest to break Shade Munro’s side down.
A classic first-half encounter showed what Scotland can do as they weathered extensive Italian pressure to persevere, getting their reward when they levelled the scores on the cusp of the break.
They will look to build on a classy performance in last year’s clash against Ireland, which saw them notch a first-ever win against the side, with a dramatic 15-12 triumph.
Chloe Rollie, who looked dangerous throughout last weekend’s defeat, scored the winning try in that instance, and will no doubt hope to replicate her success on Friday night.
Italy Women v Wales Women
Kick-off: 20:00 local, 19:00 GMT, Saturday 9 February
Stadio Via del Mar (Ettore Giardiniero), Lecce
Tickets are available here
Saturday afternoon will be a special occasion for the Italian city of Lecce, as the Via del Mare prepares to host its first-ever international rugby match.
And home support will hope that their side – who marked their Championship intentions with victory in Glasgow – can keep up their battle for a maiden Women’s Six Nations title.
New captain Michela Sillari stepped up the mark in Scotland, perfect from the tee with four kicks from four, and the Azzurre will no doubt look to their talismanic centre to deliver once again.
Wales are the side who make the trip to Apulia for a second European trip in as many weeks, looking to bounce back after they lost out 52-3 to France on Sunday.
A tough outing against a strong French side saw Wales show impressive rearguard defence, but backs coach Gareth Wyatt knows that they will have to get their hands on the ball if they are to trouble Italy.
“It is important we lick our wounds and fight back. We will learn from what happened last weekend and it is important for us to focus on Italy this week,” he said.
“Italy will be a big challenge as well, as we found out last year. We aren’t a big side, and hopefully we can move them around, but we need to win more possession.”
England Women v France Women
Kick-off: 12:45, Sunday 10 February
Castle Park, Doncaster
Tickets are available here
Last year’s decider, clashes between England and France are always spectacles to behold.
France’s narrowest of triumphs in last year’s Championship maintained their Grand Slam hopes as they edged past England 18-17 on home soil.
And the Red Roses will be desperate to enact revenge as proceedings shift across the channel, brimming with confidence after they ran in eight tries from eight different scorers against Ireland in Round 1.
A fine performance from stalwart Katy Daley-Mclean will have England fans dreaming of inflicting a first Women’s Six Nations defeat on France since 26 February 2017.
But since last year’s Grand Slam, Les Bleues have – if anything – only grown stronger as an imposing proposition.
A landmark victory over New Zealand in the Autumn Internationals marked them out as the team to beat in women’s international rugby, a fact further enforced with their nine-try triumph over Wales last time out.
With each side earning Grand Slam honours across the previous two editions of the Women’s Six Nations, the stage is set for an all-time classic on Sunday.
