Women's Six Nations: Wales enjoy record crowds, rising stars and highest ranking
- Published
Wales celebrate their third bonus-point win of the championship out in Italy
Records were smashed, stars were born and legends bowed out - this year's Women's Six Nations had it all.
England enjoyed another Grand Slam, beating France in a scintillating finale in front of a world record crowd of over 58,000 at Twickenham.
Wales also had cause for celebration, their five-try victory over Italy securing a consecutive third place in the championship.
It sees them rise to sixth in the world, their highest ever ranking.
Wales' best Six Nations performance since 2009 also reserves their seat at the top table of World Rugby's new global tournament, WXV this autumn.
A sign of their progress in only their second year as professionals.
Perfect 10
There was more expectation on Wales to seal their place as "the best of the rest" in this year's campaign, with the number of full-time contracts rising to 25 in January.
They got off to the flying start in their first home match against a struggling Ireland side, playing in front of what was the first record crowd - 4,962 - for a women's game in Wales.
Wales ran in five tries, including a first in the tournament for "prop idol" Sisilia Tuipulotu. It was certainly a sign of things to come from the 19-year-old.
The occasion was only marred by another serious injury to lock Gwen Crabb.
Wales backed up that victory with a trip to Scotland in round two, with Hannah Jones' side intent on "storming the castle".
The Edinburgh encounter proved more of an arm wrestle, but Wales' front row proved the superstars once again, with Tuipulotu and Gwenllian Pyrs bagging two tries each.
Mind the gap
So far so good, Wales had a maximum 10 points as they headed into a top of the table clash with England.
It was the hottest ticket in town, with the 8,862 sales smashing the previous record set against Ireland three weeks earlier.
There was a lot of hype in the build-up and it was easy to get carried away into thinking Wales would repeat their 2015 victory over the Red Roses.
For the opening 30 minutes it seemed the hype was justified, Wales shot out of the blocks and clearly rattled the World Cup finalists.
But to use that old cliché, it proved a game of two halves as England ran in six unanswered tries to crush any hopes of a Wales Triple Crown.
It was a reality check, but at the same time hugely encouraging.
The England game was the first time Wales Women sold out Cardiff Arms Park
An away trip to the "hostile" crowds of France followed, and this was no less of a challenge as another record crowd (18,604) bid farewell to the outstanding Jessy Tremouliere in her final home match.
It was Wales' turn to start slow this time and France took full advantage of their vulnerability out wide.
But the introduction of the "bomb squad" - the return of front row Tuipulotu, Pyrs and hooker Kelsey Jones, along with flanker Alex Callender off the bench - saw the visitors claw their way back into the game, and win the second half 14-10.
The Italian Job
Wales travelled from Grenoble straight to Parma, staying away between games marking another first for the women's side.
And a week in the Italian sunshine proved worthwhile as Wales signed off in style.
Despite not beating Italy since 2017, Wales were under pressure as anything less than three wins would have been deemed a disappointment.
Italy also had a point to prove and pushed Wales all the way in a frantic first half, but Wales' fitness shone through and in the end it was a comfortable victory.
The game also saw the departure of two stalwarts of women's rugby, both of whom had given 17 years to their shirts.
Italy captain Sara Barattin and Wales prop Caryl Thomas were fittingly given standing ovations as they ran out one last time.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Progress
Professional sport is a results-based business as we know, and if we measure Wales' progress on the championship table, they have definitely made strides on last year.
They finished on 15 points compared to 11 in 2022 and scored five more tries with 17.
All but three of Wales' scores came from the pack, a reflection of their new power game, but as Wales' attack coach Shaun Connor said, they will not lose too much sleep over who is crossing the whitewash, as long as they do.
Progress can also be measured by Wales widening their player pool.
They blooded four new players this tournament; New Zealand naval officer Kate Williams, along with fellow forwards Bryonie King and Abbey Constable and wing Amelia Tutt.
Women's Six Nations: Snowsill praises 'best of rest' Wales as they secure third
What the pundits say
Former Wales women coach Chris Horsman:
"The programme, the players, everything has moved forward. It has been such an impressive and important tournament.
"We have had record crowds, three bonus-point victories, the emergence of new players, more contracts, it's just positive, positive, positive.
"Credit to the coaches, credit to the girls and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) for investing in the programme.
"It's been a fantastic tournament with fantastic games and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it."
Former Wales centre Alecs Donovan:
"It's amazing just to think how far they have come in a year.
"Girls growing up can now say 'I want to be a rugby player', that's never happened before in Wales.
"It's brilliant for the girls, I know how hard they work and the sacrifices everyone's had to make and long may the rewards continue."
Former Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap:
"We are seeing glimpses of how we compete with the best in the world, what we need to see is how we compete for 80 minutes and the more times we can play them the better we will be at that.
"Going into tier one of World XV with 15 points in the Six Nations - which is outstanding - will give us that opportunity to compete more often and close that gap."
Former Wales full-back Dyddgu Hywel:
"Wales have come really far, it is so nice to see these players with contracts being professional rugby players.
"I'm so proud of them, they are getting that support from the union and it is exactly what they deserve."
Watch Tuipulotu's reaction to player of match award
Stand out performer
It is hard to think this time last year Sisilia Tuipulotu was plying her trade in Wales' second row, making her debut against Ireland.
Head coach Ioan Cunningham set about her transition to prop in time for the World Cup, saying the teenager had the potential to be world class in that position.
It was a prediction that has certainly proved true.
The 19-year-old won back-to-back player of the match awards against Ireland and Scotland, carried relentlessly against England, was part of the "bomb squad" that helped salvage the second half against France and was once again on the scoresheet against Italy.
Her four tries make her Wales' leading try-scorer this campaign, it is scary to think how good she is going to get!
A notable mention must also go to Abbie Fleming who really stepped up to the plate having not been a regular starter in previous campaigns.
Wales wing Amelia Tutt is presented with her first Wales cap
View from the top
Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham:
"We've grown as a group, we've evolved our game a bit, the challenge now is to compete with England for 60, 70, 80 minutes as we move forward.
"I'm super proud of everyone, the players, the backroom staff.
"Everyone deserves credit for all the hard work that has gone in. We have done it in a pretty short space of time as well and the growth of the team is really exciting. I'm looking forward to the future.
"I'm pleased that we are scoring more tries, I think we're showing that we've got a power game now.
"I'm delighted by dripping in some new caps, developing the future towards 2025.
"Sisilia has been outstanding with her transition to tighthead, and there have been some other outstanding players in this campaign.
"Beth Lewis has been unbelievable, Georgia Evans, Alex Callender has been awesome and Hannah Jones has led us extremely well, I'm delighted with that."
So after proving their worth as the "best of the rest" once more, all that is left for Wales to do now is smash through the glass ceiling to England and France.
Cunningham has made no secret of the fact that he wants an entire squad of professional contracts, or he fears Wales will be left behind come the 2025 World Cup.
WRU interim chief executive Nigel Walker said Cunningham "was in his ear" on the eve of the Italy game about contracts.
"We're talking about it [increasing the number]," Walker said.
"It's a long-term project.
"We know that other countries around the world are investing more, we know we need to invest more, but we've got to do it in a way which is sustainable."
Watch this space!