Ireland captain Jane Neill is raring to go at this year’s Six Nations Women’s Summer Series as she returns for her second tilt at success in the competition.
Neill’s side begin against Wales in the opening round of fixtures at the Centre for Sporting Excellence in Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, South Wales.
It is the second edition of the U20 tournament, which debuted in Italy 12 months ago when Ireland won one of their three games.
Neill, who also skippered the side on that occasion, is looking forward to another go.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” the 21-year-old said. “We’re really excited as a team and we’re obviously playing the host nation Wales so that’ll be tough, they’ll probably have a really big crowd
“We’ve trained well over the last couple of days so we’re ready to get going.”
The Arklow native has enjoyed the good feeling around the camp ahead of their opening clash after a strong build-up which saw them face Canada U20 twice, splitting the two-game series 1-1.
“We’ve been lucky enough to have got going in April, that’s when we had our first camp, so we’ve been building since then,” Neill continued.
“We were lucky enough to play Canada twice in May, which was really interesting for us to get a game out there as a team.”
Following on from the 2024 Women’s Summer Series, 14 players across the six countries have since gone on to win full international caps, including Ireland’s Ruth Campbell, who made her senior bow in September 2024 against Australia.
And Neill highlighted the importance of the competition for giving players the opportunity to standout and to use it as a springboard to break into the senior team.
“It’s amazing to see the growth,” she added.
“I was fortunate enough to captain last year’s squad, and I think six or seven of the girls have since been involved with the senior camp. I know Ruth Campbell is now consistently with that team, and she was playing with us last year.
“It’s really inspiring to see the senior team is achievable through this.”
With women’s rugby on an upward trajectory, the 2025 Six Nations Women’s Summer Series is a big chance for stars of the future to gain vital international experience, graduate along the development pathway, while also inspiring a new generation of rugby fans.
Spread across three dates during July, Ireland will also face France on 11 July before rounding off their campaign against Scotland six days later.
Julie Paterson, Chief of Rugby at Six Nations Rugby, added: “The Women’s Summer Series is an essential part of the strategy and commitment of Six Nations Rugby, and the six unions and federations, to proactively support the creation and growth of opportunities in the women’s game.”
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.
