Women's Six Nations: Georgia Evans optimistic despite Wales defeat to Scotland - 'What we're doing is pretty special'
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Updated 26/03/2024 at 19:35 GMT
Georgia Evans says Wales' Women's Six Nations defeat to Scotland has only made them more "hungry" as they target a return to winning ways against England. The Welsh had the chance to grab a point against the Scots, only to miss a conversion to level the scores in the 80th minute. Evans believes there were plenty of positive signs from her team-mates though, rebuffing criticism of the performance.
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND - OCTOBER 21: Georgia Evans of Wales during the WXV1 match between Canada and Wales at Sky Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand
Image credit: Getty Images
Georgia Evans insists there is no need for a huge inquest after Wales' losing start to the Women's Six Nations.
Ioan Cunningham's side suffered a disappointing 20-18 defeat to Scotland in their opening match of the tournament at the weekend.
They had the chance to snatch a draw at the death though, only for Lleucu George to miss a conversation in the 80th minute.
Evans believes her team-mates still put in a strong performance, so there is no need for soul-searching.
"We'll always stick together as one," she said. "There are no I's. That's what we're taking from that game; we win and we learn together.
"We've got to take those lessons on the chin and put them right."
Wales are looking to improve on last year's third-placed finish in the championships, the second year in a row they have held such a position.
They have never won the tournament, and last ended as runners-up in 2009.
The narrow margin of the defeat to Scotland, who had not won in Cardiff for 20 years, means they at least picked up a bonus point, because they lost by fewer than seven points.
They were desperate to get off to a winning start though, and the manner of the last result has led to George coming under fire for her missed conversion.
Evans is having none of it though, as she continued: "People can criticise, it's everybody's right to have an opinion, but most of those people haven't stepped foot on an international stage and haven't worn the jersey.
"What we're doing is pretty special, we have earned the right to be here and criticism is part and parcel of playing on the international stage.
"We have to be able to take that to toughen ourselves. We focus on ourselves and we want to make sure we're doing right by each other and not listening to that outside noise."
Things do not get any easier for the Welsh from here though, as they take on England in their second match.
The Red Roses have won 25 matches in a row, are defending Grand Slam champions and have lifted each of the last five Women's Six Nations titles. Indeed, Ugo Monye believes that there is no better team across any gender than England’s women’s rugby side.
"It is always a battle, when we're against them it's exactly the same rivalry as the men," Evans added. "We're just across the border from each other.
"The loss has made us hungrier, we know that we've got a lot of wrongs to right and we know that individually we have to perform better to be able to put a competitive performance in."
- - -
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement