WALES CLAIM BONUS POINT

ENGLAND underlined their status as the dominant force in women’s rugby as they ran in 10 tries to beat Wales 62-24 at Ashton Gate.

Meg Jones and Marlie Packer both crossed twice for the Red Roses, who maintained their perfect Women’s Six Nations record and secured another emphatic win in front of a big Bristol crowd.

Maddie Feaunati, Millie David, Amy Cokayne, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, Jess Breach and Maud Muir also scored for England, while Wales replied through Keira Bevan, Kelsey Jones, Bethan Lewis and Seren Lockwood.

England started at pace and were ahead after just six minutes when Feaunati powered over from close range after a break had taken the home side deep into Welsh territory. Helena Rowland added the conversion.

David, making her England debut, then marked the occasion with a try of her own, collecting a wide pass from Holly Aitchison before racing clear. Her afternoon, however, was cut short after she failed a head injury assessment.

Wales responded well and got themselves back into the contest when scrum-half Bevan spotted a gap at the ruck and darted through to score, before converting her own try to reduce the deficit.

But England’s power and pace soon told. Packer was driven over from close range before Jones produced a sharp individual finish to secure the bonus point.

Wales hooker Kelsey Jones hit back from a well-worked line-out move, but England had the final say of the half when Meg Jones started and finished a sweeping attack involving Claudia Moloney-MacDonald and Ellie Kildunne.

The Red Roses led 29-12 at half-time and quickly stretched their advantage after the break when Cokayne peeled away from a rolling maul to score.

Wales’ task became harder when full-back Kayleigh Powell was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, and England immediately made the extra player count as Moloney-MacDonald finished in the corner.

Breach added England’s eighth try, before Packer and Muir crossed late on to take the home side past the 60-point mark.

To their credit, Wales refused to fold. Bethan Lewis forced her way over in the second half and Lockwood’s late score ensured Wales left Bristol with a try bonus point.

It was still a heavy defeat, but Wales showed flashes of attacking quality and finished with four tries against the world champions.

England, however, remain the team to beat, with another ruthless performance strengthening their grip at the top of the Women’s Six Nations table.

Checked details against current match reports from BBC, Sky Sports and The Guardian, which confirm the 62-24 scoreline, England’s 10 tries and Wales’ four-try bonus point.

Second winding-up case linked to Rob Edwards and Morley Sports Management adds to concern after Bluebirds’ High Court drama

SUPPORTERS of Haverfordwest County AFC have fresh reason to be concerned after a new winding-up petition emerged in Scotland involving another football business linked to Haverfordwest Chairman, Rob Edwards, and Morley Sports Management.

The latest case is against 1874 Holdings Limited, the company in the ownership chain above Hamilton Academical.

That matters in Pembrokeshire because Haverfordwest County AFC Ltd was only just taken to the High Court in London by HM Revenue & Customs. That case was dismissed, but only after reaching a live hearing, with costs ordered against the club.

Now another football-linked company in the same orbit is facing winding-up action in Scotland.

For Haverfordwest fans, the question is obvious: was the Bluebirds’ court case a one-off, or part of a bigger pattern around the same people and businesses?

A notice published in The Gazette states that a petition was presented at Hamilton Sheriff Court on April 2 seeking to wind up 1874 Holdings and appoint an interim liquidator. The petitioner is Zenith Legal Services Group Limited.

Hamilton has previously said that Morley Sports Management owns 100 per cent of 1874 Holdings, which in turn owns 97.5 per cent of Hamilton Academical FC.

The Scottish club’s latest statement does not deny the petition exists. Instead, it says the claim is disputed, says lawyers are dealing with it, and argues that a winding-up petition is not the right forum for the dispute.

That line is likely to sound familiar to many in west Wales.

During the Haverfordwest case, Rob Edwards described the HMRC petition as “a non-story”, said it related to “a VAT offset against PAYE that wasn’t recorded”, and insisted no debt was owed to HMRC.

But the Haverfordwest matter still remained live until it came before the High Court on April 15, where it was dismissed only after a hearing, with costs payable by the company.

That is why the latest Scottish petition is relevant here. It suggests the recent High Court case involving Haverfordwest may not have been an isolated scare, but part of a broader picture around the same football ownership circle.

There are also growing links between the two clubs at senior level. Earlier this month, Rebecca Nuttall was credited by Haverfordwest for key work behind the scenes in the club’s successful licensing process, while Hamilton also announced she had been appointed chief executive there in a dual role.

Hours after The Herald first reported the HMRC winding-up petition against Haverfordwest County A.F.C. Ltd, the club published a call for additional members to join its Board of Directors, saying it was entering “an exciting new chapter” and looking for commercially experienced people to help drive transition and growth.

Then, on April 8, Haverfordwest announced it had been awarded both its UEFA licence and FAW Tier 1 licence for the 2026-27 season, even though the HMRC petition was still live in the court system at that point and was not disposed of until a week later.

The Herald contacted the Football Association of Wales for comment last week, asking about the licensing position and the live HMRC petition, but no response had been received by the time of publication.

A petition is not the same as a winding-up order, and liquidation is not inevitable in the Hamilton case. But it is a serious legal step.

And when two football-linked companies in the same ownership network face winding-up petitions in the same month, supporters are entitled to ask hard questions.

St Johns finish runners-up as final catch-up matches bring the 2025/26 short mat bowls season to a close

THE SOUTH PEMBROKESHIRE SHORT MAT BOWLS ASSOCIATION’S Friendly League season has officially concluded following the final catch-up matches played over recent weeks.

East Williamston were confirmed as league champions after finishing top of the final table with 126 points from their 20 matches. St Johns took second place with 118 points, while Hundleton finished third on 107.

The final catch-up results saw Hundleton beat East Williamston 10-0, Kilgetty defeat Carew 10-0, Llanteg overcome St Twynnells 8-2, and Cosheston record an 8-2 win over Llanteg.

Despite that final defeat, East Williamston had already done enough over the course of the campaign to secure the title, with St Johns ending the season as runners-up after another strong year in the competition.

Llanteg finished fourth on 105 points, just ahead of St Twynnells on 101, while Reynalton ended the season on 99. Carew were close behind on 98, followed by Cosheston on 96, Badgers on 89, Kilgetty on 83 and Lamphey on 80.

League Fixtures Secretary Steve Cox congratulated the top two clubs and also confirmed that this was his final report in the role.

In his closing message to clubs, he said he hoped whoever takes over the position would enjoy it as much as he had.