
Italy rout woeful Wales in Women's Six Nations finale
Wales completed a miserable Women's Six Nations campaign with a record 44-12 defeat by Italy in Parma.
Wales, who lost all five of their matches, led 12-10 at half-time but conceded 34 unanswered points in a one-sided second half.
Kate Williams deservedly put Wales ahead with a try inside 10 minutes after relentless early pressure, but a converted try from Sofia Stefan and a penalty from Michela Sillari gave the hosts the advantage.
Wales snatched that back just before the interval when prop Gwenllian Pyrs forced her way over, with Keira Bevan adding the conversion.
It did not take long on the resumption for things to change, though, with a Sillari penalty nudging Italy back in front in the 49th minute, and from there things quickly went downhill for the visitors.
Tries from Francesca Granzotto, Silvia Turani and Vittoria Minuzzi secured the bonus point, and Granzotto added a second before Aura Muzzo concluded the scoring after Natalia John had been sin-binned for a high tackle.

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

The 42
3 days ago
- The 42
Italy thrashed by Norway as Belgium held in World Cup qualifying
ITALY CRASHED TO a 3-0 loss away to Norway as the four-time champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the last two World Cups. Italy are playing catch-up with Norway, the Group I leaders with a maximum nine points after wins over Moldova and Israel in March when the Azzurri were still involved in the Uefa Nations League. Israel are second on six points after a 3-1 win over Estonia in Tallinn, where Norway will head for their next game on Monday. Italy return home to face Moldova in Reggio Emilia in their second game. Belgium kicked off their qualifying bid in Group J with a 1-1 draw against North Macedonia. Maxim De Cuyper gave Belgium the lead after Romelu Lukaku's shot was blocked but former Leeds man Ezgjan Alioski volleyed in the equaliser with four minutes to play in Skopje. Advertisement North Macedonia are unbeaten through three matches but trail Wales, who top the pile on seven points following a 3-0 home win over Liechtenstein. Joe Rodon, Harry Wilson and Kieffer Moore struck in Cardiff to keep Wales unbeaten since the appointment last year of Craig Bellamy, whose side head to Brussels next week. Croatia hammered Gibraltar 7-0 in their opening match in Group J. Substitutes Franjo Ivanovic and Andrej Kramaric both scored twice, with Marco Pasalic, Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic also on target in the Algarve. Czech Republic are the pacesetters in the section with three wins from three after a 2-0 victory at home to Montenegro. Adam Hlozek and Patrik Schick got the goals for the hosts. The 12 group winners qualify automatically for next year's expanded 48-team tournament, while the runners-up head into the play-offs which will decide the final four qualifiers from Europe. Cieran Slicker. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Elsewhere, Cieran Slicker had a debut to forget as Scotland's World Cup qualifying warm-up friendly ended with a 3-1 defeat by Iceland at Hampden Park. Luckless home goalkeeper Angus Gunn sustained an injury in the third minute and eventually had to be replaced by the 22-year-old Ipswich stopper, minutes after which he conceded possession before Andri Gudjohnsen beat him with a terrific drive. John Souttar levelled in the 25th minute from a corner but Slicker and his defenders struggled collectively when the visitors regained the lead from a corner, just before the break, with Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson putting through his own goal. Slicker was again found wanting in the 52nd minute when he was beaten by a Victor Palsson header, which added the gloss for the visitors. Iceland had lost all six of their previous meetings with Scotland but they deserved their first win. – © AFP 2025 - Additional reporting from Press Association


Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Sarah Healy wins 1,500m at Diamond League in Rome
Sarah Healy produced a magnificent finishing kick to win the 1,500 metres at the Rome Diamond League meeting on Friday night. Just like she did in winning the European Indoor title over 3,000m last March, Healy bided her time over the last 150 metres, holding third coming into the homestretch behind leader Susan Ejore from Kenya, and Australia's Sarah Billings. Just when Billings moved in front and looked poised for victory, Healy came again and took the win in 3:59.17, a rare Irish victory on the Diamond League stage inside the Stadio Olimpico. Billings held on for second in 3:59.24, with fellow Australian Abbey Caldwell coming through for third in 3:59.32. It was Healy's first outdoor 1,500m race this season, the 24-year-old already improving her 3,000m best to 8:27.02 in finishing third in the Rabat Diamond League 10 days ago. READ MORE In a stacked field of 15 women, 13 of which had run sub-4:00, Healy again showed her growing confidence since her indoor success in March, which she followed with a sixth-place finish in the World Indoors. She will race the 1,500m again in Paris on June 20th. Her best stands at 3:57.46, run at the Paris Diamond League last July, which looks under threat, as does Ciara Mageean's Irish record of 3:55.87, clocked in Brussels in 2023. Cathal Doyle ran a lifetime best of 3:32.15 in the men's 1,500m earlier in the night, although that left him back in 14th place, where the 16 finishers all ran sub-3:33. Victory went to Azeddine Habz from France, in a season best of 3:29.72, ahead of Kenya's 2019 World champion Cheruiyot Timothy, who clocked 3:39.75. It took a full second off Doyle's previous best of 3:33.15 set last year, the Dublin athlete moving closer to qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo in September. Kenya's Beatrice Chebet, the double Olympic champion from Paris last summer, produced another stellar run to clock the second fastest 5,000m time in history with her 14:03.69, just two and half seconds outside the world record.


Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Hollywood stars aim for 17,500% jump in value of Wrexham football club
Wrexham AFC, the Welsh football club owned by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is considering selling a stake for a valuation of up to £350 million (€415 million), people familiar with the matter said. The club is working with investment bank advisers to canvas demand from potential investors, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. Reynolds and McElhenney bought Wrexham for about £2 million in 2021 when it was a non-league club. Since then, the club's profile has been raised significantly thanks to a documentary chronicling the actors' ownership. A valuation of €415 million would amount to a jump of 17,500 per cent since the actors bought into the club. READ MORE Earlier this year, Wrexham's valuation hit roughly £100 million after the Allyn family from New York acquired a near-15 per cent stake. Internal talks are focused on how to raise capital to help Wrexham compete in the EFL Championship, the division to which it has just been promoted for the first time in more than 40 years. A new valuation of around €415 million would easily make Wrexham the most expensive team in the Championship. Sheffield United FC, which just missed out on promotion to the Premier League, was recently bought by a US consortium at a valuation of roughly £111 million. Wrexham's promotion to the Championship has been a rare example of well-known US investors succeeding in turning around the fortunes of an British football club. Wrexham's last reported accounts showed revenue of more than £26 million in League Two. The team's next results are expected to be £30 million to £40 million for its latest season in League One, one person said. Wrexham expects sales of about £50 million in the Championship thanks to increased revenue from broadcasting, sponsorship and publicity tied to its star owners, the person said. It's unclear if Wrexham will be able to convince investors to buy in at such an increased valuation. Talks are at an early stage and no final decisions have been taken, the people said. A spokesman for Wrexham declined to comment. Reynolds has had a number of business successes. In 2023, T-Mobile US bought Mint Mobile, the budget wireless provider part-owned by Reynolds, for as much as $1.35 billion. In 2018 he bought a stake in Aviation American Gin owner Davos Brands LLC. Two years later it sold itself to Diageo for $610 million. Both Reynolds and McElhenney are part of an investor group that bought a 24 per cent equity stake in the Alpine F1 Team. Wrexham not only needs capital to add new talent to compete in the Championship, often seen as one of the hardest leagues in which to achieve promotion, but also funds for a new, roughly 7,000-seater stand that will boost capacity at its stadium. – Bloomberg