Sport

New format for Women’s Six Nations

Published

4 years ago

February 4, 2021

The Women’s Six Nations will take place in April in a new and condensed format, while the Under 20’s Six Nations will take place in June and July in the same format as planned but over a condensed, three week period, Six Nations Rugby Limited announced today.

The Women’s Six Nations will be similar to the Autumn Nations Cup in format, with two pools of three and a Grand Final weekend. Wales Women have been placed in Pool A with France and Ireland, travelling to France on the weekend of April 3 before hosting Ireland on the weekend of April 10. Every nation will play a play-off match on the weekend of April 24 against the opposing ranked team from the other Pool – 1 v 1, 2 v 2 and 3 v 3. The detailed fixture dates, venues and kick off times will be announced in due course. The World Rugby U20 Championship has been cancelled for 2021.

Wales Women head coach Warren Abrahams welcomed the announcement of fixtures. “We’re really grateful to the work everyone has done to get us to this position and have some competitive fixtures to look forward to. We’ve all overcome different challenges to get here and the uncertainty has been the toughest part so this news is pretty exciting. France and Ireland are great fixtures to work towards and will provide an opportunity to measure ourselves with the Rugby World Cup coming up in September. It’s very welcome news for women’s rugby in the northern hemisphere.”

Wales U20 head coach Gareth Williams added, “It’s great to learn the rearranged dates for our Six Nations campaign.

“The disruption over the last 12 months is well documented, therefore having these fixtures to look forward to as a development tool for us is exciting and critical. We are now able to adapt our key work with developing players in partnership with the regions, and the summer will give an invaluable period of competition to test that development.”

Ben Morel, CEO of Six Nations Rugby commented, “We are delighted to make this announcement today and confirm new plans for our Women’s and U20s championships. The promotion and development of rugby at all levels is a key strategic priority for Six Nations. We see huge opportunity for growth in the women’s game in particular and feel it will benefit hugely from having its own specific window and being firmly placed in the limelight.”

“Our priority has always been to deliver two outstanding tournaments but equally ensuring both competitions can be played safely, taking every consideration for player welfare. A significant challenge we faced in rescheduling the Women’s tournament was the limited available window due to World Cup Qualifiers, domestic leagues, rest periods and World Cup preparations for qualified teams. Following consultation with our unions and federations as well as other key stakeholders, it was agreed that April would be the best window in which to stage the championship.

“The U20 Six Nations Championship is also a hugely important competition in terms of player development and for those representing their country at this level it is a major milestone in any career. We look forward to announcing fixture details for the U20’s in due course.”

Education

Pupils’ multi-sports event hits the target

Published

1 hour ago

July 8, 2025

Tom Sinclair

MORE than 60 pupils have enjoyed trying out a range of different sports in a special
Sport Pembrokeshire event held last month

The event was held at Ysgol Glannau Gwaun with 65 pupils
from Years, 4,5 and 6 and the ALN unit taking part.

The sessions were run by local community clubs and Young Ambassadors from
Ysgol Bro Gwaun with pupils getting to enjoy rugby, cricket, hockey, archery and golf.
Sharon Osborne from Ysgol Glannau Gwaun, said: “Thanks to Sport Pembrokeshire
for organising a fantastic morning of activities for our pupils. They all thoroughly
enjoyed themselves.”

Dan Bellis of Sport Pembrokeshire, added: “A big thanks to Fishguard & Goodwick
Hockey Club, Fishguard and Goodwick Rugby Club and the Young Ambassadors
from Ysgol Bro Gwaun for putting on a fabulous morning of activities in glorious
sunshine!

“A big well done to all the pupils from Ysgol Glannau Gwaun for their effort and
enthusiasm throughout the morning.”

Sport

Cresselly stay top as Lawrenny skittle Llangwm for just 39

Published

3 hours ago

July 7, 2025

Herald Sport

Dominant wins across the divisions as league tables begin to take shape

CRESSELLY retained their place at the top of Division 1 of the Thomas Carroll Pembroke County Cricket League with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Burton on Saturday (July 5).

Charlie Arthur led the chase with an unbeaten 65, while Simon Cole ripped through Burton’s batting with 4-8. The reply was brisk, with Cresselly reaching the target in under 18 overs.

Lawrenny produced a bowling masterclass to dismiss Llangwm for just 39. Rob Williams (6-12) and Jamie Lewis (4-23) shared the wickets before Lawrenny cruised to a 10-wicket win.

Herbrandston beat Neyland by 90 runs thanks to a strong showing with bat and ball. Charlie Malloy scored 68 and Jack Nicholas added 51 before Nathan Banner claimed 3-12.

Saundersfoot beat Haverfordwest by 81 runs with Tom Mansbridge taking 4-14 and Nick Cope chipping in with 4-28.

Carew chased down 134 to beat Whitland by three wickets. Brian Hall scored 33, while James Hinchcliffe finished on 28 not out and took 2-36 with the ball.

Division 1 Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Cresselly	11	10	1	37	47	192
2	Carew	11	9	2	42	52	186
3	Saundersfoot	11	7	4	40	47	164
4	Herbrandston	11	7	4	36	45	155
5	Neyland	11	6	5	35	44	141
6	Lawrenny	11	6	5	31	45	138
7	Whitland	11	4	7	37	32	113
8	Burton	11	3	8	35	38	103
9	Haverfordwest	11	3	8	32	34	98
10	Llangwm	11	0	11	21	20	41

Division 2 Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	St Ishmaels	11	9	2	46	51	187
2	Pembroke	11	8	3	53	47	180
3	Narberth	11	8	3	50	50	180
4	Hook	11	8	3	48	41	172
5	Llechryd	11	6	5	42	41	146
6	Cresselly II	11	6	5	43	29	136
7	Johnston	11	5	6	39	42	131
8	Carew II	11	3	8	39	38	110
9	Llanrhian	11	1	10	45	18	73
10	Burton II	11	1	10	29	22	61

Division 3 Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Fishguard	11	10	1	37	41	186
2	Pembroke Dock	11	9	2	37	50	184
3	Lamphey	11	6	5	38	38	138
4	Hundleton	11	6	5	36	38	138
5	Stackpole	11	5	6	42	35	130
6	Haverfordwest II	11	4	6	44	37	126
7	Laugharne	11	4	6	39	30	114
8	Kilgetty	11	4	6	42	26	108
9	Hook II	11	3	7	34	19	83
10	Neyland II	11	2	9	31	23	74

Division 4 Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Pembroke II	11	10	1	47	47	198
2	Saundersfoot II	11	9	1	44	45	179
3	St Ishmaels II	11	7	4	48	42	160
4	Crymych	11	6	4	44	34	138
5	Haverfordwest III	10	4	5	40	33	133
6	Lawrenny II	11	5	5	37	38	125
7	Carew III	9	4	4	38	26	104
8	Llangwm II	11	2	9	47	25	92
9	Llanrhian II	10	1	8	36	22	88
10	Narberth II	11	2	9	36	22	79

Division 5 Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Llechryd II	11	9	1	43	46	192
2	Herbrandston II	11	9	2	43	50	190
3	Pembroke Dock II	11	7	3	44	39	157
4	Whitland II	9	4	4	32	19	113
5	Haverfordwest IV	10	3	6	38	26	104
6	Hundleton II	10	4	5	33	23	100
7	Cresselly III	10	2	7	41	28	89
8	Neyland III	10	0	10	33	8	40

Division 6 Table

Pos	Team	P	W	L	Bat	Bowl	Pts
1	Pembroke III	10	7	1	27	36	141
2	Llechryd III	8	6	1	27	30	137
3	Lamphey II	10	4	3	27	22	92
4	Haverfordwest/Cresselly	10	3	6	21	31	88
5	Whitland III*	10	3	4	17	24	65
6	Kilgetty II	10	0	8	14	14	28

*Whitland III: 8-point deduction for use of permit players

Sport

Ceredigion praised for hosting memorable Welsh and British Cycling Championships

Published

4 hours ago

July 7, 2025

Herald Sport

CEREDIGION has been praised for hosting a memorable National Cycling Championships in the county in collaboration with British Cycling, Welsh Government and Beicio Cymru.

Competitors were warmly welcomed by supporters from Ceredigion and further afield whilst they competed in the various races in Aberaeron and Aberystwyth.

Ceredigion County Council thanked the organisers, sponsors, volunteers and emergency services for their hard work in pulling off this major event successfully and safely.

Council leader, Councillor Bryan Davies said: “It was a pleasure to host the British Cycling Championships in Ceredigion. It places our county on the big stage as a special location to host prestigious first class events like this.

***Millie Couzens, gold medallist in the Under-23 Women’s Time Trial in Aberaeron and gold medallist in the Elite and Under-23 women’s Lloyds National Road Race in Aberystwyth*** ***(Image: SWpix)***

“Professional cyclists came from near and far to brave the roads of Ceredigion which offered the perfect balance between being challenging but also extremely enjoyable. It was great to see so many people visiting our county enjoying all the things our local businesses have to offer. Congratulations to everyone who was part of the event.”

The Beicio Cymru Championship, held on Saturday, included races for Ceredigion school pupils of various ages, organised by Beicio Cymru, Ystwyth Cycling and Ceredigion Actif.

Jonathan Day, British Cycling Events managing director, said: “It has been a phenomenal Lloyds National Road Championships with three days of incredible racing in Ceredigion.

“Aberaeron and Aberystwyth have been great hosts of this prestigious event, laying on fantastic courses for our riders which has led to some entertaining races.

“More than anything, events like this really show the legacy and impact of hosting championships in these areas. We have seen lots of young people out on the courses cheering on the riders, seeing the country’s best riders up close.

***The Road Race Open looking down on Aberystwyth (Image: SWpix)***

“The support has been brilliant, so we would like to extend out thanks to the Welsh Government, Ceredigion Council and all our stakeholders who assisted in successfully delivering the Championships.”

Welsh Government Minister with responsibility for sport, Jack Sargeant, said: “It was a real pleasure to welcome the Lloyds National Road Championships to Wales. Congratulations to Ceredigion on hosting such a prestigious event so well.

“The Welsh success in the elite women’s time trial with Zoe Backstedt’s magnificent victory, combined with the participation of over 200 youngsters in associated community events, will have helped inspire a new audience to enjoy cycling.

“This championship has delivered an exciting opportunity to see the next generation of British and Welsh talent in action, as we continue in our preparations to host a stage of the Tour de France in 2027.

“Events like this showcase Wales as a world-class destination for cycling and demonstrate the positive impact that sport can have on our communities.”

Cover image: Circuit Race Open on Aberystwyth Promenade (Image credit: SWpix)