Social media was abuzz over the weekend as the Women’s Six Nations made its much-anticipated return with two blockbuster encounters on Saturday.
The streamlined Championship began in Doncaster as defending champions England got their campaign underway with an impressive 52-10 win over Scotland at Castle Park.
All eyes then turned to Vannes where France showed bundles of flair as they ran in eight tries to defeat Warren Abrahams’ Wales 53-0 under the lights at the Stade de la Rabine.
And with the dust only just settled on the first round, we’ve had a look at the best of the reaction on social media to the thrilling Championship action over the opening weekend.
Scarratt: I’m glad the Cleall sisters are on my team!
We start with arguably the performance of Round 1 from England’s Poppy Cleall, who was named Women’s Six Nations Player of the Match for her display against Scotland.
Cleall scored a try for the Red Rose and her display attracted plenty of plaudits online, with England’s Rachael Burford among those celebrating the talented No.8.
It was not just a special for Poppy, though, as her sister Bryony also crossing the whitewash in what was her first international match for two years after a series of injury troubles.
And the siblings took to England’s twitter to thank the Red Roses fans for their support.
Amy Cokayne was another of the England stars on display at Castle Park, much to the delight of the Royal Air Force who took to Twitter to celebrate the flying officer.
In France, Les Bleues were in fabulous form as they got the better of Wales, with England legend and Women’s Six Nations ambassador Maggie Alphonsi impressed by what she saw.
The performance of Gabrielle Vernier saw her named Women’s Six Nations Player of the Match and England World Cup-winner Rocky Clark believed it was more than deserved.
Caroline Boujard’s quickfire hat-trick ensured France stormed into a 31-0 half-time lead from which they never looked back as the hosts enjoyed a dream start to the Championship.
But Boujard was also quick to laugh at herself on social media after she was spotted slipping by one eagle-eyed viewer, who asked whether she was prouder of her treble or staying on her feet.
On a tough night for Wales, there was still a number of positives for new head coach Abrahams to reflect on – including debuts for Jess Roberts, Donna Rose and Megan Davies.
And we finish with France captain Gaëlle Hermet, who was delighted with the performance of her team as she took to social to reveal how proud she was to wear the blue jersey once again.
