Ystrad Mynach to host Six Nations Women's Summer Series
The Summer Series features mainly under-20 squads from all Six Nations unions: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
Each team is allowed to include up to five under-23 players per matchday squad.
The event provides a vital platform for the next generation of rugby stars to compete at an international level.
Councillor Chris Morgan, cabinet member for leisure, said: "It's fantastic to see the Centre for Sporting Excellence hosting international fixtures of this scale.
"Events like this put Caerphilly on the sporting map, showcasing our world-class facilities and commitment to both grassroots and elite sport.
"We look forward to welcoming teams, supporters, and rugby fans to the borough this summer."
The decision to bring the tournament to Ystrad Mynach reflects the centre's growing reputation as a hub for both community use and elite performance sport.
All matches will be streamed live via the Six Nations U20 YouTube channel, with additional content shared across Six Nations Rugby social media channels.
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Wales Online
4 hours ago
- Wales Online
One cut or two, Welsh rugby's biggest decision yet could save or break the game
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While we won't know exactly what the new set-up will look like until October - and potentially even longer until the public are told what teams will be cut or merged - we are highly likely to find out imminently what the WRU views as the optimal structure. According to well-placed sources in the upper echelons of the Welsh game the direction of travel is hurtling towards a reduction from four to two professional clubs. But is this the right way to go? What are the pros and cons of such a radical change? Article continues below With regards going down to two teams, the first argument which is often put forward by disgruntled fans on social media is the following: how many Six Nations titles have Scotland and Italy won with only two teams? The answer is of course zero and it is a fair question to ask, but Wales would arguably be starting from a stronger base than Scotland. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. If we are being brutally honest, there is currently only enough top-class talent in Wales to service two strong teams. Some may favour a 2+1 model whereby you have two very well-funded sides while keeping alive a third as a development team. There's merit in such an arrangement, but it's anti-competitive and would devalue any competition they play in. A reduction to two would undoubtedly concentrate talent which should in turn create a greater competition for contracts and starting places. WRU chief executive Abi Tierney and newly appointment Dave Reddin (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd) It's a very similar argument to the one put forward in 2003 when former WRU CEO David Moffett reduced the number of professional teams to five and finally four the following season. Competition for places drives standards upwards and favours an elitist approach. A reduction to two teams is also far more likely to lead to playing budgets in the region of £8m-£9m which is needed to consistently compete in the latter stages of competitions and potentially win silverware in the future. That is exactly what this radical new structure needs to achieve; a level of rugby and success which is far greater than the players are currently exposed to. Wales' top talent and rising stars need to be in far stronger environments and become used to winning big games. When Jamie Roberts, Justin Tipuric, Leigh Halfpenny and Sam Warburton came through the ranks they had to compete with the likes of Casey Laulala, Marty Holah, Xavier Rush and Maama Molitika for a place in the side. At the time at least a couple of the Welsh teams were consistently competing in the latter stages of the old Heineken Cup every season, while Cardiff won the Challenge Cup with a famous victory over a star-studded Toulon side in Marseille. This in turn has a positive knock-on effect on the performances of the national side. Join WalesOnline Rugby's WhatsApp Channel here to get the breaking news sent straight to your phone for free But of course there would certainly be a number of unintended consequences if the WRU did want to go down to two sides. The first serious issue is the very real prospect of alienating a large percentage of Welsh rugby fans in a similar way to what happened when the Celtic Warriors ceased to exist back in 2004. If the Scarlets went you'd be hard pressed to persuade people west of the Loughor to support a team based in Swansea - and vice- versa. The WRU are stuck between a rock and a hard place, but because of the abysmal form of the men's national team over the past couple of years and the constant struggles to remain competitive at regional level they have no choice but to make significant changes. 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Article continues below But the dam has finally burst and the WRU faces an insurmountable task in putting a structure in place which can usher in a new prosperous era for rugby in Wales. On the one hand it is a golden opportunity to enact positive change but get it wrong and Welsh rugby will be beyond saving.
The Independent
12 hours ago
- The Independent
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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. 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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. 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The Guardian
16 hours ago
- The Guardian
England's Marlie Packer: ‘This team is No 1 in the world – we're going to be under scrutiny'
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She has built a resilience and is keen to push the message that whatever is right for the team to put them in the best position to win the World Cup when it gets under way on 22 August is the decision she will always agree with. But she also describes decisions out of her control in 2025 as 'tough'. When asked which hurt more, having the captaincy taken from her or being left out of matchday squads Packer lets out a little laugh, looks away out of the window and is a little emotional before saying: 'That's a question isn't it?' She adds: 'When me and Mitch [the coach John Mitchell] sat down and talked about the captaincy, I am an openside flanker and what he sees and wants from his flanker is to cover six and eight; I don't cover six and eight in the role he wants it to be. 'The game has changed and evolved, that is the way he wants to play. I knew if I wasn't starting that I am more likely not to be in that matchday 23. He has told me that in black and white. I know where I stand and where I sit. 'Anything can happen, injuries happen so I always have to make sure I am ready. But with that, all I can keep doing is when we do extras at the end of training sessions I am showing I am upskilling myself in those areas so if I ever was called upon I know I can do what is asked of me. That's all I can do. 'I'm not going to lie to you and sit here and say that being left out of the matchday 23 wasn't hard but what happened is that even though I wasn't in the matchday 23, I still travelled with the squad, I was still a massive part of it. I felt so much value in that.' Nonetheless, being left out for the France game at Twickenham – when England squeaked to a 43-42 victory to seal their grand slam in April – stung. 'It's always tough not to be selected for the France game,' Packer says. 'Playing at Allianz Stadium is everything. Two years ago when I captained my country to a world-record crowd and my son was mascot, that is one moment I bottle up and it means everything. 'But at the start of the game week [in 2025] Mitch says: 'I want you in the coaching box with us.' The value of learning what it's like to be up there, what he is thinking, what he is seeing, the plans. You're in the know, you're trusted. That does mean a lot. 'He'll say it; it's one man's decision and it's tough. But he genuinely cares and I know he does and I genuinely care about him and this squad as well.' Mitchell was full of praise for Packer at the World Cup squad announcement and it is clear she remains a key aspect of the Red Roses machine. She is also one of the most experienced in the squad with only Emily Scarratt – who is poised to feature in her fifth tournament – having played in more. But still doubt remained in her mind over her own selection. 'Oh yeah,' Packer responds when asked if there were any worries around her selection. '100%, of course. Any athlete would tell you that in any sport. If you get comfortable being where you are then it's going to get taken from underneath you. 'You get swamped down with things but you have to keep pushing yourself to be the best of the best. We ain't got time for people to be complacent in their role and in their job. We need to keep elevating each other and being the best of the best because that is the difference between winning and losing a World Cup. 'I put myself in the best possible step to go to this World Cup. I came into pre-season, I felt fit, strong, and good. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion 'I am actually really happy … with Mitch's communication with me about where I am going, what his thinking was and what his decisions were looking like over the warm-up games and pool games. For me I know where I'm at, head down, keep going, keep working hard and keep elevating everyone around me.' The warm-ups have not gone completely to plan, though, with Packer being sent off against Spain on 2 August, risking a suspension that would rule her out of the tournament. A disciplinary panel, however, handed her only a one-game ban, putting her out of the warm-up against France, but leaving her free to play at the World Cup. This may be Packer's fourth World Cup but it is her first at home, something she describes as the 'icing on the cake' with the cherry coming if the team win the trophy. The tournament has already broken records, selling the most tickets of any Women's Rugby World Cup with 350,000 sold so far. The final at Twickenham is expected to be sold out which would set a new milestone for the highest-attended women's rugby game. The Red Roses have the opportunity to do something special by winning the trophy at home but they have fallen at the last hurdle in the previous two tournaments, losing both finals to New Zealand. The talk around that will inevitably grow the further England go in the competition but it is apparently not a focus in the Red Roses camp. Packer says: 'That was three years ago and the one before that was eight years ago, there is no point living in the past. This is a whole new group of players. This is a whole new coaching staff apart from Deacs [the forwards coach Louis Deacon]. You have to be in the here and now. 'The media can say and do whatever they want. Some players are going to read into it, some won't but it's what we know within. That's all that matters. 'We know we are going to be under scrutiny, we are the Red Roses. We have been a professional team for a lot longer than a lot of these other nations. We are the team that is ranked No 1 in the world with the highest-ever ranking that has ever been in rugby – not just women's rugby. We are an outfit that can be scrutinised but what we know is we have got to keep living in the moment and enjoying it.' For Packer, past World Cups are chapters already written. Now, with doubts behind her and selection secured, her eyes are on the story England aim to write in this one.
