
David at the double as England down Italy
The winger's brace, alongside scores from Zara Green, Carmela Morrall, Sophie Hopkins and Lilly Plowman, saw England over the line in the scorching heat in Caerphilly.
Italy held a 15-0 half-time lead thanks to tries from skipper Elena Errichiello, Chiara Cheli and Mihaela Pirpiliu but had no answer to England's ruthless performance during the second 40 minutes.
Italy, who made six changes from their defeat to France in their opening fixture, put England under pressure from the outset and made it count when captain Errichiello peeled off the back of a scrum to power over after just three minutes.
Two yellow cards made England's job of getting back into proceedings even harder, Morrall the first to go to the bin for contacting an opposition player's head at the breakdown before Keevy Fitzpatrick followed suit on 28 minutes for illegally bringing down a maul.
And with England briefly down to 13 players, Cheli touched down after a rolling maul to give Italy a 10-0 lead.
Despite David's superb last-ditch tackle on Kristin Kone, England couldn't stop Italy scoring a third try just before half time, Pirpiliu finishing off a glorious move which saw the ball moved quickly through the hands out to the left.
Trailing by 15 points, England produced a flying start to the second half, reducing their deficit to just a solitary point within four minutes of the restart.
Green was first to cross the whitewash, scoring close to the posts after a period of English pressure, before David raced down the left wing to give England their second try.
43' | MILLIE DAVID IS RAPID! ⚡️
The winger flies away and England are back within a point! 🔥
ITA 15-14 ENG#ITAvENG | #U6NSummerSeries — Red Roses (@RedRosesRugby) July 11, 2025
David's second completed the comeback just shy of the hour mark, stepping inside astutely to dot down on the left after being set up by Ella Cromack.
Morrall's try stretched England's lead with 10 minutes to go when she burst through from close range, but Moioli's opportunistic score once again made the encounter a one-score game.
The result was put beyond doubt late on as Hopkins collected Lia Green's grubber kick to score England's fifth try before Plowman benefitted from a rolling maul to add the icing to the cake.
Discover the future of international rugby at the 2025 Women's Summer Series – where rising stars shine. Follow the action live at sixnationsrugby.com/u6n and on Instagram @u20sixnations.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Independent
8 minutes ago
- The Independent
Euro 2025: Spain's style vs. England's will to win sets up fascinating final
A title game between defending champion England and World Cup winner Spain is the Women's European Championship final that many wanted. How they got to Basel on Sunday is a whole other story. Spain has mostly cruised through its five games except for a late scare in a tense semifinal against Germany. England has trailed for long periods of three games and survived being on the brink of elimination in both knockout games. Spain is a supremely technical team with a dream midfield pairing two-time Ballon d'Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí. England has incredible will to win and has called a pair of dramatic game-changers off the bench, Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly. 'We always have the confidence that in terms of positioning and having possession, we tend to be very precise and it's difficult to take the ball off us,' Putellas said. "So we're ready for anything.″ It looks like an ideal final of contrasting styles. One made possible only because England's humbling opening 2-1 loss to France ultimately kept the title holder out of Spain's side of the knockout bracket. Leaders and trailers Four vs. 219. That's the number of minutes Spain has trailed at Euro 2025 games compared to England. Spain fell behind between the 10th and 14th minutes of a group-stage game against Italy when some starters were rested because the team was likely to finish top. England gave up two first-half goals against France in their group, again to Sweden in the quarterfinals and one more to Italy in the semifinals. England's equalizing goals by Agyemang in the knockout games came in, respectively, the 81st and then the sixth minute of stoppage time. 'I think we've nearly killed her twice this tournament!' England's Ella Toone said of coach Sarina Wiegman. 'She says we've definitely aged her.' Spain midfielder Patri Guijarro said of England's resolve: ″There's no fragility. And I think that above all, their competitiveness, is what has got them this far. But what they're doing is not easy.″ Trading wins Spain and England each beat the other when winning their recent titles, and they traded wins in a UEFA Nations League group this year. England eliminated Spain 2-1 after extra time in the quarterfinals of its home Euro 2022. Does this sound familiar? England trailed into the 84th that day before two substitutes — Alessia Russo and Toone — assisted and scored to force extra time. Spain got a deserved 1-0 win in the 2023 World Cup final played in Sydney, Australia. Spain is now on a run of 13 wins in 14 games and the blip was a 1-0 loss to England at Wembley in February. Spain won the return game 2-1 on June 3, rallying with two Clàudia Pina goals in the second half. Winning women coaches For the eighth straight edition, the title-winning coach will be a woman. England's Wiegman and Spain's Montse Tomé were in a minority of seven female head coaches with the 16 teams that started in Euro 2025. They are the last coaches standing to extend a winning run started in 1997. Wiegman won the past two, with England in 2022 and her native Netherlands in 2017. Germany coaches Silvia Neid and Tina Theune won the previous five. Spain never reached the final in 13 previous editions since 1984. Penalty shootouts That first final 41 years ago is the only one decided by a penalty shootout. Sweden beat England in a rain-soaked, near-empty stadium in Luton after a two-leg final ended 1-1. The scorer of Sweden's decisive penalty, and its goal in the first leg, was Pia Sundhage, who coached Switzerland to the quarterfinals here, losing 2-0 to Spain. England's second shootout in Women's Euros history also was against Sweden, last week in the quarterfinals. A madcap affair saw only five of 14 spot kicks scored and Sweden fail twice when scoring would have sent England home. Spain was involved in just one Women's Euros shootout, losing to Austria in the 2017 quarterfinals. ___


Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
Stokes century as England pile up massive 669
MANCHESTER, England, July 26 (Reuters) - Captain Ben Stokes' first century in over two years fired England to their fifth highest total in test history on Saturday, the dominant hosts all out for 669 on day four of the fourth test again India with a first-innings lead of 311. Resuming on 544-7, with Stokes on 77, the skipper looked nervy as he edged towards a long-awaited ton, pointing to the skies -- a celebration in tribute to his father -- when he reached three figures. Stokes became only the fourth England player in test history to take five wickets and make a century in the same match, and was the first captain to do so. After Liam Dawson had been dismissed and Stokes passed his latest milestone, the skipper upped the ante, with a huge six and another four taking him past 7,000 test runs and the hosts past 600. The boundaries continue to flow, with Brydon Carse getting in on the act before Stokes was out for 141. Carse attempted one six too many and was also caught on the boundary for 47 to bring England's colossal innings to an end. England the five-match series 2-1.


The Sun
9 minutes ago
- The Sun
‘There's big decisions to be made' – Eddie Howe breaks his silence on Alexander Isak telling Newcastle he wants to leave
EDDIE HOWE admits Newcastle need to 'make a decision' on the future of Alexander Isak. But the Toon boss has insisted that any negotiation for their £150m-rated star striker must be in the best interests of the club. 5 5 5 Isak, 25, is understood to have told the Newcastle hierarchy that he wants to leave this summer and will not sign an extension on his current deal that expires in 2028. Having not travelled on the club's Asia pre-season tour with a reported thigh strain, Liverpool are said to be preparing a world-record bid to lure Isak to Anfield. Sunsport understands that Saudi side Al-Hilal have offered him a £32million-a-year deal — but his heart is set on Liverpool. Quizzed on Isak's future hours after landing in Singapore, Howe said: 'There's always big decisions to make when you're at Newcastle. That goes with the territory. 'I wouldn't put a timescale on it. With these situations, it has to be right for the football club. 'Obviously, everything is taken into context below that, but the club will make the right decision with all the information that it has. 'Ultimately, to try and move the club forward in whatever way that is. Then it's up to us to make good decisions the other way and try and improve the squad as best we can. 'That's what we're trying to do, regardless of Alex's situation. Of course, we want stability and we want the group to have a really good feeling. 'We are in a very strong position financially. We are determined to be successful. 'We are ambitious. We've got a great season ahead of us. We need to add to the squad and continue to improve. 'And if the journey can continue to an upward trajectory, I think that's what we all want. So that's what we're battling to try and achieve.' Liverpool have recently signed Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike for £79m, but are still open to breaking the bank for Isak – who has also been monitored by Arsenal. Isak pulled out of Newcastle's 4-0 friendly defeat to Celtic last weekend through injury, which coincided with rumours of his departure ramping up. Howe continued: 'I have to say, the feeling during pre-season has been as good as any other. "I don't think we're distracted. We're here, we're focused and we're working hard. 'Of course there are things going on behind the scenes. [Isak] will be aware, he's in the news every day and I'm sure that's not easy for anyone in that situation. 5 5 'I'm not actually having daily contact with anyone connected with the board, we're out here, it's been a whirlwind here in the sense of training and the intensity of what we're doing. 'So, that's for other people to deal with back home. I've got 30 players here that I need to look out for and to prepare the team as best we can. 'We do share a really good relationship with him. He's been magnificent for us since he's joined. He's very popular in the dressing room. 'We'd love him to continue his journey at Newcastle. Hopefully he'll be back playing the black and white shirt, that's what we all want to see.' On whether Isak is close to signing a new deal at St James' Park, Howe added: 'As far as I am aware, I don't think there are any contract talks taking place at the moment. 'That would be for a later date potentially. With the situation as it is, there's still so much that could happen. 'I said against Celtic after the game, I certainly hope he stays. I said I was confident that he'd stay. 'But it's football, and who knows what the future may bring.'