Ellie Kildunne scored a whirlwind hat-trick in the space of nine minutes on her 50th cap as England thumped Wales in front of a record crowd in Cardiff. The full-back, who won her first cap in 2017, has now scored 39 tries for the Red Roses and at 25 years old there is a lot more to come from the World Rugby player of the year.
Kildunne, who has lost only two games in an England shirt, had been kept largely quiet in the first half which inspired an impressive performance in the second half where she sliced through the Wales defence like butter. The England head coach John Mitchell said: “She is a breath of fresh air, she is very, very talented.
She is maturing her game all of the time, she has had different challenges in 2025 where teams try to take her out of the game and give her less ball. But she is finding different ways to enter the game as well. I think as much as she has plan A, which is a great running game, I think you will see her develop other skills as she counters the challenges.”
Kildunne was not the only one to shine as Maddie Feaunati had another storming performance, while the centre Meg Jones also had an impressive match. For Jones there was an added layer of emotion as she was making her first England appearance since both of her parents died and she capped it with a phenomenal solo try.
It has been a decade since Wales have had the bragging rights against England in the Women’s Six Nations and another dominant performance from the Red Roses ensured the hosts’ wait would continue. England were far from their best, which is a frightening prospect for their future opponents as they were still able to run in 11 tries. Handling errors were the main cause of frustration for Mitchell’s side, particularly in the first half.
McGann scores hat-trick in big win
Anna McGann claimed a hat-trick as Ireland swept aside Italy 54-12 in Parma to notch a long-awaited away win in the Women's Six Nations. The Irish last celebrated success on the road in the 2021 tournament and were coming off defeat to France in the opening round but they ran in eight tries at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. McGann crossed twice in the first half and finished things up with another late score, while Dannah O'Brien slotted seven conversions in a near flawless kicking display. Italy were up against it from the off, Valeria Fedrighi sent to the sin bin in the opening minutes after a high tackle, and Aoife Dalton was first to take advantage. McGann followed with her first two tries and Amee-Leigh Costigan also snuck through, while Sofia Stefan added the consolation for Italy in a half-time score of 28-5 to the visitors. The Ireland second row Linda Djougang got the scoreboard moving again in the second half as they banked another converted try but was then shown a yellow card for head contact. Dorothy Wall and Brittany Hogan forced their way over as Ireland continued to pile up the points and although Beatrice Rigoni converted her own try to reduce the arrears, McGann sealed things with her third dash to the line. PA Media
The hosts did come away with one record to be proud of as no Welsh women’s team had experienced a matchday quite like this one. The attendance of 21,186 obliterated the previous record for a Welsh women’s sporting event on home soil, 16,845, which was set by the national football team in November.
Conditions were perfect with the roof closed, which amplified the cauldron effect an extravagant light and fire show created. It revved up the crowd and infused the game with the emotion only this rivalry can create.
The battle-like atmosphere was translated on to the pitch with Jaz Joyce-Butchers’ pace the highlight early on as Wales looked to score first. The England flanker Sadia Kabeya secured a turnover but a knock-on by the fly-half Zoe Harrison in the in-goal area gave Wales a five-metre scrum. The resulting attack ended with Jenni Scoble going over to give Sean Lynn the perfect start to his first home game in charge.
It was not long until England fired back with Feaunati going over. Jones followed it up by running half the length of the pitch to touch down, pointing to the sky as she scored as a tribute to her parents. Once England turn the scoring tap on, their opposition are rarely able to stem the flow and the Red Roses extended their lead through Sarah Bern and Feaunati tries.
The Principality exploded at the start of the second half thanks to a break by Lisa Neumann but Wales were unable to convert it into points and England punished them once again. Kildunne, the player of the match, brought out her signature rodeo celebration every time she touched down, with the full-back the scorer of the next three tries.
France secured their second win of this year's Women's Six Nations and a bonus point with a 38-15 win over Scotland in La Rochelle.
The hosts made a fast start as Carla Arbez [pictured] finished off a break by No 8 Teani Feleu in the 11th minute. Morgane Bourgeois added the conversion and two penalties to make it 13-0, but Emma Orr kicked, chased and touched down for Scotland after Lisa Thomson pounced on a French handling error. Helen Nelson added the extras to reduce the deficit to 13-7 at half-time.
Bourgeois kicked another penalty soon after the restart before France further extended their lead through a brilliant long-range drop-goal from scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus. Nelson slotted over a penalty to leave Scotland nine points behind approaching the hour mark, but France found another gear in the latter stages.
France scored twice in three minutes through Feleu and Seraphine Okemba down either flank to take the game beyond their opponents. Bourgeois then dived over herself to score the hosts’ fourth try and seal a bonus point. Scotland drove across from a lineout in added time for a consolation score, Elis Martin touching down before Nelson’s conversion effort hit the post.
Having beaten Ireland 27-15 in Belfast in their first game, France host Wales next while Scotland, who defeated Wales in their opener, will face Italy. PA Media
Wales had a commiseration try by Kate Williams but a pinpoint Harrison kick to Abby Dow, making her first appearance since breaking a bone in a hand that ruled her out of the end of the Premiership season, let England in again.
There were two tries for sevens star Abi Burton, who made her England debut from the bench, and Dow added another in an utterly commanding performance for the visitors. Burton was in an induced coma in 2022 because of a rare brain illness and she said of her journey to wearing a Red Roses shirt: “I tried not to think about it too much before but afterwards when I saw my mum, dad and grandparents it made it super-real and special. They have been on that journey with me so the fact we got to share a special moment meant the world to me.”
Wales more than fronted up in the encounter and they prevented a record win, which came in 2005 when England trounced them 81-0. But the Red Roses continue to bloom in their era of domination. The victory extended their winning run in the tournament to 31 matches and their victories in all competitions to 22.
Can anyone stop this England team? On this evidence it is difficult to see.
