Metcalfe: Wales will respond after defeat in U20 Summer Series
But tries from Irish quintet Sophie Barrett, Robyn O'Connor, Hannah Clarke, Jemima Adams-Verling and Ellie O'Sullivan-Sexton ultimately put the game out Wales's reach at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly.
However, Metcalfe insisted her charges won't dwell too much on the defeat and that they will work hard to improve before they next take to the field.
'We're Welsh, we'll be sure to keep going,' said the 18-year-old. 'I'm really proud of the girls for what they did today.
'We left everything out on the field, and I can't doubt anyone's intent. We are a really young side, so there's a few things we need to freshen up on, but I'm really proud of our efforts.'
😎 A recap of the results from yesterday's opening games in the #U6NSummerSeries pic.twitter.com/nB4iMjIsGX — Six Nations Under-20s (@SixNationsU20) July 6, 2025
Both sides matched each other's intensity in the tackle during the opening exchanges, but Ireland were able to withstand Wales' early pressure as the game remained scoreless after 20 minutes.
Barrett and O'Connor gave Ireland a 10-0 lead midway through the first half, but Wales regrouped well, halving the deficit on the half-hour mark when Chiara Pearce, fresh off the bench, offloaded to the charging Picton-Powell to dot down.
Clarke finished a cross-field Irish move seven minutes into the second 40 minutes, but Wales refused to give up the ghost, hitting back five minutes later as Singleton crashed over in the corner following good work to get the ball out wide on the right to reduce the gap back to five points.
Metcalfe explained it was passages of play such as the one Singleton scored from that Wales can take as one of the positive from the clash.
'I think the way we move the ball [was pleasing],' she continued. 'Our intent too and the way we were running on the ball, we're working really hard, but it's just about the little bits to finish things off now. We can definitely do it.'
Amidst the driving rain, Adams-Verling, named Player of the Match, re-established Ireland's two-score buffer on 58 minutes before O'Sullivan-Sexton's late effort rounded off the scoring.
Wales will be back in action on 11 July when they take on Scotland in the second match of the competition.
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
BBC News
36 minutes ago
- BBC News
Forshaw and Allen take on coaching roles at Tigers
Leicester Tigers have appointed Wales defence coach Mike Forshaw as Geoff Parling's assistant coach alongside the returning Anthony 55, leaves his role in international rugby after two-and-a-half years to move back to the Premiership where he spent a decade as a coach at Sale former Great Britain rugby league international, who enjoyed a decorated career with Wigan Warriors, Wakefield Trinity, Leeds Rhinos, Bradford Bulls and Warrington Wolves, has worked in rugby union for 15 years."I think the DNA of the club, around working hard for one another and being physical, really suits me," Forshaw told Leicester's website., external"It is an exciting time for the club, with Geoff taking over, and it is great to be able to be a part of that." As well as adding Forshaw to his coaching team, Parling has turned to former team-mate Allen as the rookie boss prepares to take the helm of the centre Allen, 38, won two Premiership titles with Leicester and earned two England caps before he was forced to retire in 2015 because of a knee took up a role with the club's academy, then went on to work as a Tigers under-18 head coach before stepping up to the senior coaching left for a job in the Championship with Coventry in 2019."It has been good for me to have been away, experience new environments and challenges at different organisations and be able to come back with those valuable lessons to add to the coaching room," Allen and Forshaw are the first two coaching additions made by Parling, who will continue to work with Brett Deacon, Neil Fowkes, and Peter Hewat, who all worked under former head coach Michael Cheika.
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Scotland's Lions fears intensify - Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones deserve Test chance but others now ahead
Sign up to our Rugby Union newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As Andy Farrell noted, there is still time for Lions hopefuls to 'play themselves in and play themselves out' of Test selection, but those not included in the team to face the ACT Brumbies in Canberra on Wednesday are entitled to start fretting. The widely held perception is that the side Farrell named on Monday will be very similar to the one which takes the field against Australia in Brisbane on July 19. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If so, that's bad news for the bulk of the Scots on tour, with only Blair Kinghorn and Finn Russell from the eight-strong tartan contingent picked to play the Brumbies. The team is dominated by Ireland and England players who supply 21 of the match-day 23, 12 Irish and nine English. Huw Jones and Sione Tuipulotus started together for the British & Irish Lions against the NSW Waratahs in Sydney. | Getty Images The most startling omissions from a Scottish perspective are those of Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones, but is there a danger in reading too much into Farrell's latest centre picks? The head coach has gone for the Ireland combination of Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose for the Brumbies game, a duo he knows inside and out to use a centre analogy. Jones is the tour's top try-scorer Tuipulotu and Jones started together in Saturday's laboured win over the Waratahs in what was the most turgid Lions performance since they arrived in Australia. There was a lack of sparkle against opponents who raised their game but Tuipulotu and Jones emerged with some credit, particularly the latter. Jones scored two tries, one of them created adroitly by Tuipulotu, and is now the tour's top try-scorer on three. His double against the Waratahs came in the first half but unlike the previous games against Western Force and the Queensland Reds when they racked up 50-plus points, the Lions didn't press home their advantage in the second half on a frustrating evening in which the required accuracy was missing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Huw Jones scores the second of his two tries against the Waratahs. | Getty Images And so Farrell has turned to Aki and Ringrose. If you include the Argentina send-off game, it is the fifth different centre pairing selected by the Lions and the one with which Farrell is most familiar and probably most comfortable. It was his go-to combination at the last World Cup and it wouldn't be a surprise if the coach felt this was an area of his team where familiarity could give them an edge. Tuipulotu: only five-and-a-half games since injury If Farrell is swithering between all-Scottish and all-Irish pairings, the smart money would be on the latter - the Brumbies game has long been identified as the dress rehearsal for the first Test at Suncorp. There is one more game after the Brumbies and before the showdown with the Wallabies a week on Saturday and that is against an Invitational AU & NZ side this weekend. The suspicion remains that Farrell will rest his big guns for that one but it does offer a last opportunity for those on the periphery of Test selection to stake a claim. It feels as if Tuipulotu in particular is in need of a big game. The Glasgow Warriors man has played only five-and-a-half matches since returning from the pectoral injury which caused him to miss the Six Nations. Three of those have been for the Lions and he now finds himself in a straight fight with Aki for the No 12 Test jersey. At 35, Aki has the edge in experience and possesses formidable power but Tuipulotu has more guile and is certainly no slouch when it comes to physicality. Much is made of his understanding with Jones and rightly so because it is a pairing capable of opening up the meanest of defences. But when it comes to impressing Farrell, time is short for Test-match hopefuls and the stodgy fare served up by the Lions in Sydney is unlikely to have done the Huwipulotu combo many favours, even if Jones did weigh in with a brace. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The half-back situation is more clear-cut. Jamison Gibson-Park and Finn Russell will start against the Brumbies and it would be a major surprise if they didn't do likewise in the first Test. Russell in particular has been the outstanding candidate in his position and nothing Fin Smith did at the weekend would give Farrell cause to look beyond the Scot. Meanwhile, Marcus Smith, the other fly-half in the squad, has yet to start a game at 10 which is telling. Finn Russell (R) and Jamison Gibson-Park celebrate after the Lions' victory over the Queensland Reds. | Getty Images Sticking with the backline, and Kinghorn may just have timed his run to perfection. The Scotland full-back missed the Lions games against Argentina, Western Force and Queensland Reds due to the late finish to the French season. But having helped Toulouse to another Top 14 title, Kinghorn has arrived in camp brimming with confidence. Winger's chances of facing Wallabies are receding He started on the wing against the Waratahs and although he didn't see a lot of the ball, he showed good awareness and is rewarded with the full-back's jersey against the Brumbies. If he impresses on Wednesday he will surely keep it for the first Test. Duhan van der Merwe's chances of facing the Wallabies appear to be receding, however. The Edinburgh wing started all three Tests against South Africa four years ago but it is Tommy Freeman and James Lowe who now look in pole position, with Mack Hansen as back-up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Van der Merwe started against Argentina and the Reds and came off the bench in the Waratahs game but hasn't quite recaptured his Scotland form thus far. Blair Kinghorn started on the wing for the Lions against the Waratahs but will be at full-back for the Brumbies game. | Getty Images Like Kinghorn, Ben White was late to the party - an injury replacement for the unfortunate Tomos Williams - but the Scotland No 9 is behind Gibson-Park and Alex Mitchell in the scrum-half pecking order. Up front, Scotland are represented by Pierre Schoeman and Scott Cummings but neither is in the 23 for Wednesday's match in Canberra. Schoeman, the Edinburgh loosehead, has a lot to do if he is to be picked ahead of either Ellis Genge or Andrew Porter in Farrell's Test 23. Cummings, meanwhile, struggled with the restarts in the Western Force match but played well against the Waratahs and has an outside chance of making the bench against Australia in Brisbane where Maro Itoje and Joe McCarthy are certain starters in the second row.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Rabbi Matondo Rangers absence explained after loan return
However, he was conspicuous by his absence for the friendly against Club Brugge yesterday, a 2-2 draw after the Belgians opened up a two goal lead in the first half but Gers came back through Mohamed Diomande and Findlay Curtis. Matondo's absence left fans wondering but Rangers Review has now confirmed he had surgery on a knee problem during the break and is expected back in August. The Welsh winger, 24, has had consistent injury troubles during his time at Ibrox and missed four months of the 2024/25 campaign due to a hamstring issue. Another player missing from the squad against Brugge was defender Clinton Nsiala and manager Russell Martin has confirmed he is likely to go out on loan. He said: "Clinton... we signed Emmanuel, and I think Clinton's at a point in his at his age and his career, he needs to play all the time and every week. "He's trained really, really well. But I think it's, rather playing some part of the squad, a bit like last season, he's at a point now where he needs to go and play football and he's the best way to learn. "We've had a really good conversation, honest conversation. And he's trained really well. I think it was an area we wanted to strengthen [centre-back] anyway and we will continue to strengthen. "So, to let [Clinton] know the situation really early is probably the best for him to find the best opportunity to play football."
