The Women’s Six Nations is done and dusted for another year as England were crowned Grand Slam champions in style.
The Red Roses put on a show to beat Scotland 80-0 on Saturday before Sunday’s double-header as France faced a trip to Italy and Wales hosted Ireland.
And Wales emerged with the bragging rights as their 24-5 bonus point win lifted them above Ireland into fourth in the final standings.
Meanwhile, Italy had Manuela Furlan to thank for their 31-12 bonus point win over France, moving them up into second as the curtain came down on another fascinating Championship.
Wales stand tall
Despite scoring four tries, Wales’ defence might well have been the most impressive thing about their win in Ireland.
After conceding to an early Beibhinn Parsons try, Wales shut Ireland out for the rest of the game managed to remain unscathed as Siwan Lillicrap was sent to the sinbin for a first-half high tackle.
And it was Ireland who had the lion’s share of the territory, with 69 per cent played in the Wales half.
Alisha Butchers and Mel Clay racked up 33 successful tackles each during the match, with Elinor Snowsill and Beth Lewis both contributing more than Irish player on the pitch.
In total, Wales made more than double the amount of tackles (296) than Ireland (141) managed all game.
Jasmine Joyce looked in fine form again and carried the ball 15 times for her team, racking up 191 metres with the ball in hand – more than any other player.
Ireland scrum-half Kathryn Dane was responsible for making 120 passes but so strong was the Wales defence that for all their might, the visitors struggled to string together threatening attacks.
Italy leapfrog Les Bleues
Italy left it late to earn the bonus point that took them to a second-place finish at this year’s Championship.
And it was a dominant display from the Azzurre, with their captain Furlan at the heart of the action.
Furlan made more metres (125) than any other player on park and scored the crucial try with four minutes left on the clock in a famous victory in Padua.
Italy managed to break through the France defence on nine occasions and won 110 rucks and mauls combined, compared to France’s 68, to give them a healthy platform to execute their game plan.
England make it a dozen
The Red Roses powered to victory over Scotland on the final day of the Championship to claim a Grand Slam title.
England’s 12 tries were the result of a dominant performance that saw them enjoy almost three-quarters of the territory.
The result was a mammoth 1,390 metres made evenly distributed through the England team, with very little opportunity for Scotland to gain any momentum, being restricted to 40 per cent possession.
Katy Daley-Mclean opted to use her boot on 13 occasions, as well as kicking 18 points through the posts.
