
Jess Fishlock keen to look at positives after Wales defeat
But it was a historic night for Fishlock as not only did she score her country's first goal at a major tournament, she also became the oldest women to score at the European Championships at the age of 38 years and 176 days when she prodded home Ceri Holland's improvised cross.
When informed of her age record, she said on ITV1: 'I guess I'll take that as a compliment.
'But I couldn't get these accolades without my entire team behind me.
'I'm very grateful, and maybe after the tournament, I'll let that sink in a little bit.'
Despite the heavy scoreline, which saw Clara Mateo, Kadidiatou Diani, Amel Majri and Grace Geyoro put France a point away from the knockout stages, Wales competed for large parts of the game in St Gallen.
Fishlock added: 'I am extremely proud of these girls. I think there were moments and for most of the game we were in it, we were kind of doing exactly what we were expecting to do.
'And I think the biggest learning from us in this entire tournament so far is the little moments we just have to be a little bit better at.
'But we're so close. I'm so proud of this group.'
Boss Rhian Wilkinson was enthused by her side's display.
'I've never been prouder,' she said. 'I think this team, they just keep surprising me, and the courage and bravery to play.
'These are the fine margins we've got to learn. There's a fitness level and there's a detail level, but to be that courageous to show up against one of the best teams in the world, I truly believe France is easily top three, and to score a first goal, is amazing. I'm very proud.'

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The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Five players to watch at the Women's Rugby World Cup
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup promises to be the grandest competition yet with record ticket sales and more professional players involved than ever before. New Zealand's Black Ferns enter as two-time defending champions and the likeliest rivals to home favourites England, with France and Canada also harbouring realistic hopes of winning the tournament. An expansion to 16 teams will provide vital opportunities for a broader range of nations across the women's game, and plenty of players are set to star as the game continues to grow. While a number of Red Roses and other Six Nations stars are now well established, a major tournament offers a chance for players elsewhere to showcase their talent on the sport's biggest stage and display the quality within the sport. Here are five individuals who could stand out at the tournament: Jorja Miller, New Zealand New Zealand have a tendency to lift their level significantly in a World Cup year, coming from nowhere, really, three years ago to shatter England's dreams and triumph in a thrilling final in Auckland. They looked a little way behind the Red Roses in their last meeting with John Mitchell's side but the Black Ferns were back closer to their best in the Pacific Four series earlier this year, with the return of Portia Woodman-Wickliffe – who has a haul of 20 tries from her two World Cups so far – adding extra threat out wide. Ruby Tui, a star in 2022, has not even made their squad. There are plenty of established faces in Allan Bunting's squad but a newer name to look out for is Jorja Miller, part of the gold-medal winning Kiwi sevens side at Paris 2024. An uber athlete and intelligent individual, the flanker has kept co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu out of the starting side at times – a mark of how highly the 21-year-old is rated. Claudia Pena, Spain Once a force in the European game, Spain have stagnated a little since their ejection from the tournament that is now the Six Nations, with Las Leonas short of regular chances to test themselves against appropriate competition until the launch of WXV two years ago. Their World Cup return is welcome after missing out on the last tournament – though New Zealand, an improving Ireland and a well-organised Japan make up a tricky Pool C. Stalwart back Patricia Garcia is now enjoying a richly deserved retirement but in 20-year-old Claudia Pena, they have unearthed a new star. The youngster took Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) by storm last season at Harlequins, combining wonderfully with Ellie Kildunne in Ross Chisholm's backline and earning an extended deal with the London club. Her usage will be interesting – Pena thrived at outside centre for Quins but has been deployed at full-back regularly by her country. Maximising her touches will be key, you'd think, if Spain are to succeed. Caitlyn Halse, Australia There are plenty within women's rugby that are predicting big things for Australia over the next few years, the athletic talent within the country undoubted and their rise likely to be accelerated by a home tournament in four years' time. Former England captain Jo Yapp has begun to put the foundations in place on which to build, though the Wallaroos coach will depart after this World Cup to return home. News of sevens star Charlotte Caslick's ankle surgery is a bitter disappointment, while the circumstances surrounding Maddison Levi's non-availability for the tournament remain slightly unclear – it is as shame not to see such a gifted individual in the 15-a-side game. Winning the clash with the United States will be vital if Australia are to escape Pool A and teenager Caitlyn Halse will be a key figure. Not yet 19, Halse has looked assured in her young Test career so far, and possesses both a big boot and natural counter-attacking threat. Sinead Ryder, Samoa Samoa will be another welcome returnee to the World Cup, the Pacific Island side hoping to give England, the USA and Australia a strong challenge in their three pool games having impressed at the third tier of WXV in Dubai last year. The absence of Cassie Siataga, who has withdrawn for personal reasons, is a blow but there are still plenty of experienced figures from the domestic scene in New Zealand. Among them is Sinead Ryder, who used to keep rising Red Roses star Maddie Feaunati out of the Wellington side. At 33, the back row will be a figure Manusina coach Mataafa Ramsey Tomokino may hope to count on. The fact that Ryder has had to crowd fund to enable her to get to the tournament, meanwhile, displays that while top players in some countries are now fully professional, it is still a challenging landscape for most at the tournament. Sophie de Goede, Canada Canada have also had to source financial support from their fans ahead of the World Cup. Consistent overachievers despite the lack of resources behind them, the forward depth is a particular strength for Kevin Rouet – it was Canada, of course, who pioneered a seven forwards to one back bench split in the semi-final near miss against England in 2022. Back to bolster the ranks after recovering from an ACL tear is the supreme Sophie de Goede, as complete a player as currently exists in the women's game. Leader, lineout caller, goal-kicker – there isn't a lot that the daughter of two former Canada captains can't do on a rugby pitch. De Goede looked back up to full speed after an extended lay-off with an excellent showing from lock against Ireland in Canada's final warm-up game.


The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Who are the Red Roses? Player-by-player guide to England's Rugby World Cup squad
The Red Roses enter the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup as strong favourites to triumph on home soil in England. John Mitchell 's side have gone unbeaten in the three years since their final defeat to New Zealand at the last major tournament and continue to set the pace at the top of women's rugby. Mitchell, appointed head coach in 2023 and tasked with ending a nine-year wait for a world title, has selected a 32-player squad for the World Cup featuring mostly familiar faces having worked hard to build depth over the last two years. With four survivors of the successful 2014 England side, and several new stars also included, the New Zealander hopes to have put together the right blend to allow the Red Roses to triumph at Twickenham on 27 September. Props Hannah Botterman Club: Bristol Bears A powerful ball carrier, Botterman is now firmly established as England's first-choice loosehead, who combines set-piece solidity with real prowess over the ball. A high-energy figure on and off the pitch. Mackenzie Carson Club: Gloucester-Hartpury Capped three times by Canada after making her debut against England in 2018, Carson came from nowhere into the Red Roses fold in early 2023 – and hasn't looked back since. Qualifying thanks to her English mother, an injury has disrupted her year a little yet Carson always felt a certainty to make this squad. Sarah Bern Club: Bristol Bears Probably the most complete prop in the world, Bern burst on to the scene at the 2017 tournament and has run amok ever since with dynamism that belies her position and power-packed frame. Named on The Independen t's 2025 Pride list, her wider profile has begun to match her ability on the pitch with Bern an increasingly prominent social media figure. Maud Muir Club: Gloucester-Hartpury Muir has begun to seriously threaten Bern's position as top tighthead, which is a mark of how she has grown into a front-row force. Having bounced around the front row early in her career, the 24-year-old has been allowed to knuckle down at one spot and flourished. Kelsey Clifford Club: Saracens A hugely valuable front row figure given her capacity to cover both sides of the scrum, Clifford has always been a strong set-piece operator and is now a developing threat in the loose, too. Only 23 but firmly established at Saracens. Hookers Lark Atkin-Davies Club: Bristol Bears Marshall of a maul that will again do damage, Atkin-Davies is a standards-driver within the England environment and outstanding lineout thrower. Amy Cokayne Club: Sale Sharks Cokayne balances plenty of skill and steel in the tight with comfort in wide-open spaces, and will rival Atkin-Davies for the starting No 2 shirt. The pair's high quality have helped get the best out of one another and their teammates, with England's set-piece again sure to be a strength. May Campbell Club: Saracens Campbell has edged out Connie Powell for the third hooker spot on account of an excellent Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) campaign both in the front row and at flanker for Saracens. An outstanding ruck scavenger, Campbell is slightly undersized yet is very good around the park. Locks Zoe Aldcroft (captain) Club: Gloucester-Hartpury Appointed captain in a year of a home World Cup, Aldcroft never has a bad game. Tireless and totemic, her athleticism means she may well be deployed in the back row while she is finding her voice as a leader. Abbie Ward Club: Bristol Bears Having become a mother between the last World Cup and this, Ward has re-established herself as a second row starter. An excellent lineout operator and incredibly driven professional. Rosie Galligan Club: Saracens An international career initially interrupted by career-threatening battles with bacterial meningitis and serious injury has flourished in the last few years. Galligan is another springy lineout jumper who now plays with real authority around the park. Recently became engaged to teammate Marlie Packer. Morwenna Talling Club: Sale Sharks Capable in either the second row or on the blindside, Talling embraces the workhorse term and relishes doing plenty of unseen work. A proud northerner, the 23-year-old was born and raised in Yorkshire and now calls Sale home; her physicality is valued by the England staff. Lilli Ives Campion Club: Loughborough Lightning The youngest member of the squad, Ives Campion is a former England U20s captain who has been mentored closely by both Ward and Aldcroft. An avid TikTok poster, like plenty in the Red Roses squad. Alex Matthews Club: Gloucester-Hartpury Among the most consistent England players in fifteens and sevens for more than a decade, Matthews has evolved from youthful tyro into a No 8 of sheer class. A World Cup winner in 2014 and Olympian at Tokyo 2020, she may be quiet off the field but Matthews will be a key cog in England's bid for success. Sadia Kabeya Club: Loughborough Lightning A surging force in the run-up to the last World Cup, Kabeya is now firmly established in the England set-up. Among the most destructive defenders at John Mitchell's disposal, the Loughborough flanker likely has designs on a starting spot on the openside but has operated on the blindside in the last 18 months at times, adding lineout jumping and a wider role in attack to a skillset that still seems to be growing. Marlie Packer Club: Saracens No longer skipper but still a vital part of the Red Roses leadership team, Packer is combativity and competitiveness are her trademark qualities but can distract from how rounded her game is. At 35, this is probably a last chance to repeat the 2014 triumph of which she was a part – whether in a prominent or smaller role, she will not take a backwards step. Maddie Feaunati Club: Exeter Chiefs Lured north from New Zealand having been born in Leeds, Feaunati has been the breakthrough star of England's 2025 to challenge for a starting spot. Still a rough diamond in some ways, she is well-liked by coaches and players alike and provides something a little bit different in the forward pack. Father Zak won 13 caps for Samoa and portrayed Jonah Lomu in Invictus, the 2009 film starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. Abi Burton Club: Trailfinders A tale of resilience to rival any in in the squad, Burton spent 25 days in a coma in 2022 with autoimmune encephalitis. Returned to the sevens circuit a year later and appeared at an Olympics before making her international 15-a-side bow during this year's Six Nations, where she immediately impressed to earn a place in this squad. Scrum halves Natasha 'Mo' Hunt Club: Gloucester-Hartpury A shock omission from the travelling party three years ago, Hunt has returned better than ever to find maybe career-best form in her mid-thirties. A livewire character hasn't always meshed with previous England coaches but Mitchell and Lou Meadows, the attack coach, have got the best out of her, aided by clarity of communication and a willingness to back their players' decision-making. Lucy Packer Club: Harlequins Packer was the beneficiary of Hunt's omission last time around and produced a composed showing after a late call into the starting side for the World Cup final. The Harlequin has since been given plenty more opportunities in England's biggest games and provides sharp service from the base of the ruck. Fly halves Zoe Harrison Club: Saracens For a long time the heir apparent to Katy Daley-Mclean, Harrison hasn't had things all her own way since the World Cup-winning No 10's retirement, battling with fluctuations in form and an ACL injury that sidelined her for much of 2023. She boasts one of the best kicking games in the sport, though, both from hand and tee, and has the ability to put people into space like the best playmakers. Holly Aitchison Club: Sale Sharks Started the last World Cup final in the centres but has since been reinvented as an intuitive distributing fly half who has helped unlock England's wide attacking game. Enters this tournament with a bit of an injury niggle yet may well emerge as a leading fly half option if the Red Roses wish to play expansively. She's worked hard to refine her work from the tee, too. Helena Rowland Club: Loughborough Lightning Among the most valued members of the squad, Rowland is England's Miss Versatility, and has started games at 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15 in the last few years – as well as providing emergency scrum half cover in the run-up to this tournament. Like plenty of others in the 32-player group, comes from a sevens background and has the fast feet one would expect. Still unbeaten in a Red Roses shirt having missed the final defeat last time around due to a cruelly timed injury. Centres Tatyana Heard Club: Gloucester-Hartpury A vital cog in England's backline, Heard balances ability as front-foot carrier with a clever short-passing game. The inside centre can sometimes fail to garner the plaudits she deserves -when Heard goes well, so, generally, do the Red Roses. Meg Jones Club: Trailfinders A free spirit, Jones bounced between sevens and fifteens after appearing at the 2017 World Cup yet has really nailed down her best role since returning to the Red Roses squad in the autumn of 2023. Quick as a hiccup and highly creative, she still speaks with a Welsh twang that betrays her Cardiff upbringing but she is a key leader and vice-captain within this England squad. Emily Scarratt Club: Loughborough Lightning A remarkable fifth World Cup for a player who did plenty to change perceptions of the sport. Scarratt thought retirement may be on the cards after a serious neck injury forced a long lay-off but has come back to prove plenty wrong, and is still among the game's most gifted players. No longer a starter, yet her value has been clear throughout the lead-up to this World Cup. Jade Shekells Club: Gloucester-Hartpury Shekells was not really on the radar as a World Cup contender at the start of this year, yet England like her potential at inside centre, a position where alternatives to Heard were lacking a little. Plenty of time spent on the sevens circuit are indicative of the athletic traits she possesses, while Shekells often stood out for Worcester before their demise. Club: Unattached A supreme finisher and deep thinker about the game with real pace, a fierce fend and prowess as a defender, Dow is the archetypal modern wing. She is keen on crochet away from the pitch. Ellie Kildunne Club: Harlequins The reigning World Player of the Year, the charismatic Kildunne is an expressive player on and off the pitch. Perhaps guilty of trying to do too much herself early in her career, Kildunne has become a top-class full-back and will be one of the faces of the tournament. Jess Breach Club: Saracens Another of those unbeaten at international level, Breach scored six tries on international debut in 2017 and boasts a fine scoring record overall. A real speedster, playing at full-back for Saracens has helped refine the 27-year-old's wider game on the wing. Likely again competing for a starting wing spot with… Claudia Moloney-MacDonald Club: Exeter Chiefs Having begun her international career at scrum half, the Exeter wing has overcome two separate serious neck injuries to make a second World Cup as a real strike weapon out wide. She has added Moloney to her surname ahead of the tournament after marrying Ireland hooker Cliodhna during the summer. Club: Gloucester-Hartpury Sing arrives on the back of a superlative season with the title-winning Gloucester-Hartpury side in Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR). A different sort of full-back to Kildunne but still a counter-attacking threat, and adds real value as probably the best place-kicker in the squad.


Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gary Lineker takes aim at the BBC boss who sacked him in his review of first Match of the Day since he got the boot from £1.35m-a-year contract
Gary Lineker has given his verdict on the first Match of the Day since his departure - and made a thinly veiled dig at BBC Sport chief Alex Kay-Jelski. Lineker, 64, departed the iconic show at the end of last season after 26 years at its helm, with Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates replacing him as a cast of rotating hosts. Lineker, who was the longest serving host in the show's history and was the BBC's highest paid presenter on £1.35million a year, presented for the final time in May after announcing his decision to step down in November 2024. Despite planning to front the BBC's live coverage of the 2025-26 FA Cup and the 2026 World Cup, he departed early after sharing a post about Zionism featuring a depiction of a rat on social media, which has anti-semitic connotations. Lineker apologised but said it was 'best for all concerned' if he left completely. Chapman took the reins for the first episode of the new season and Lineker joined several other viewers in being impressed, before he aimed a dig at Kay-Jelski, who was said to have a big role in the former striker's departure. 'I mean, I must say I enjoyed it,' he told The Rest is Football podcast. 'I went out for dinner then I came home and I got in in time to watch it. Gary Lineker has given his verdict on the first Match of the Day since his departure Lineker shared photos of himself watching the show on Saturday night from the sofa 'I thought it was really good. Chappers did a great job. 'And despite all... there was a lot of talk that they were going to change things. And I think you know what it's like when you get a new guy in as new head of sport thinking he wants to do this, wants to do that. 'But in the end, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. And I think that was very much the sensible decision and I thought the programme was great.' Lineker's co-host Alan Shearer, who was a pundit on the first episode of the new campaign, then pressed him on how he felt watching from outside the studio on Saturday night. 'It wasn't weird really,' Lineker replied having posted photos of himself watching the show from the sofa. 'I was quite relaxed. I was thinking I haven't got a three-and-a-half hour journey at the end of the show, but no I really enjoyed watching it. 'I think that's the first time that I've watched Match of the Day on a Saturday night for... I don't know how many years. 'I don't know how many years because the only time I ever missed the show was if I'd get the odd Saturday off to take a holiday so I'd go somewhere. Lineker also aimed a thinly veiled dig at BBC Sport chief Alex Kay-Jelski in regards to the show Mark Chapman hosted the first episode this season alongside Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney 'So it's been so long since I since I watched it and it's a bloody good show Match of the Day... it really is.' Lineker also gave his thoughts on Wayne Rooney's debut as a pundit after the former Man United striker signed a £800,000-a-year deal to regularly appear on the show this season, while he also praised his colleague Shearer. Rooney had been criticised by some fans, although others enjoyed listening to a fresh voice on the show. 'I thought the the programme was great,' Lineker added. 'I thought Wayne Rooney did really well as well as yourself Alan, some good analysis in there. 'It was so nice watching it holding a glass of wine.'