Wales Women’s U20’s beat Scotland 52–29 in the Six Nations Summer Series after an outstanding first-quarter performance laid the foundations for this well-deserved victory.
After losing their opening match against Ireland on Saturday, Head Coach Liza Burgess would have been very pleased with the improvement shown in this performance in the blistering heat of Ystrad Mynach.
Burgess made four changes for this match – and although her young charges conceded an early three-pointer to Lucy MacRae just two minutes in – three minutes later full-back Mollie Wilkinson scored the first of Wales’ four tries in the opening quarter.
Player of the Match Hanna Marshall created the space for Wilkinson to cross the whitewash under the posts – and Marshall comfortably added the extras.
In the game against Ireland, Chiara Pearce created a try with her first touch off the bench, and Seren Singleton claimed a try later in that match. Ten minutes into today’s game, the two combined for Wales’ second try – Pearce timed her pass to Singleton perfectly, and the winger broke clear to score in the corner once again.
Marshall converted expertly from the touchline to give Wales an 11-point lead after 11 minutes.
Savannah Picton-Powell scored the other Welsh try against Ireland on Saturday – and after Sian Jones cleverly switched play – Picton-Powell emulated Singleton’s feat by claiming her second try of the Series. Marshall confidently added her third conversion.
Following the loss to Ireland, Branwen Metcalfe publicly stated that Wales would perform much better against Scotland, and as the opening quarter of this match drew to a close – the captain charged her way over the Scottish line to claim her team’s fourth try. An early bonus point for Wales and a fourth conversion was duly added by Marshall.
Picton-Powell thought she had claimed her second try of the afternnon after half an hour’s play – but after lengthy deliberation, the Television Match Official ruled that Nia Fajeyisan had knocked the ball slightly forward earlier in the move.
After conceding 28 unanswered points, Scotland pulled themselves together admirably and managed to have the last word in the opening period. Following a fine break by full-back Poppy Mellanby – fly-half Ceitidh Ainsworth had a clear pathway to the try line to reduce the deficit at the break to 20 points.
Just as they had done so in the first half – Wales started the second period on fire and scored two more tries within the first five minutes.
Replacement Rosie Carr reaped her reward from an accurate lineout and an effective rolling maul – and Savannah Picton-Powell could not be stopped from crossing for her second try three minutes later – showing her considerable strength to reach the line. The only surprise was that Marshall missed both conversions.
Scotland’s character and resilience must be noted and praised, as slick passing from their backs led to a try for replacement Freya MacColl with half an hour to go. Even after Ainsworth converted – there was still a 23-point gap between the teams.
A yellow card for Sian Jones for an illegal tackle gave Scotland some further wind in their sails – and when 7 more points were added to their tally – thanks to a Poppy Mellanby try and Lucy MacRae conversion – real confidence grew in their play with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Although Sian Jones had returned to the field – Scotland’s positive momentum continued – and when MacRae converted Freya MacColl’s second try of the afternoon with 13 minutes left – Wales were biting their nails as Scotland had scored 21 unanswered points – and had secured a bonus point in the process as well.
With 10 minutes to go, replacement Lowri Williams thought she had sealed the victory for Wales – but unfortunately her attempt to ground the ball cleanly was unsuccessful.
But the large crowd needn’t have worried too much – as another replacement, Dali Hopkins, recorded Wales’ seventh try a few moments later – putting the match out of Scotland’s reach. Another replacement, Ffion Williams, added the conversion.
With the final play of the match, Wales passed the 50-point mark as Evie Hill crossed jubilantly and Williams added a second conversion – to bring the scoring and sweating to an end in Ystrad Mynach.
After the final whistle, Wales captain Branwen Metcalfe said: “We’re very happy with the result and much happier with our performance today as well. The girls have made me a very proud captain today. Even in the heat – we played well, and although we could have scored more tries, I must praise every one of our players for working so hard in the sweltering heat.”
Wales will return to Ystrad Mynach at 3:30pm on Thursday for their final game of the 2025 Summer Series, when Branwen Metcalfe and her squad will face Italy – who have lost both their matches so far against France and England.
Although the Italians were leading England 15–0 at half-time, Lucy Calladine and her teammates hit back strongly after the break, scoring six tries to claim their second victory of the Summer Series.