Wales Women's head coach Ioan Cunningham was left in tears at full-time during his team's 22-20 final victory over Italy in the Six Nations.
Wales had a winless season, losing their opening four games, losing to Scotland (18-20), England (46-10), Ireland (36-5) and France (0-40).
peace of mind
Cunningham's side eventually recovered the dreaded wooden spoon to liven up the table, but managed to secure a morale-boosting victory over Italy in the final game. This result spared the head coach from resigning, which had been widely criticized. tears.
This is what we mean ❤️🏴 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·: · ·
Please fill in Ioan Cunningham 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PaRC13qrlH
— TheWelshDragon 🏴 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · (@TheWelshDragon9) April 27, 2024
This was a memorable match for Wales. A record crowd in the history of the women's national team packed into Principality Stadium to watch their country's star player win, and Cunningham was moved to tears by the emotion of the match.
During the post-game interview, the head coach was mobbed by his players and even drenched with an ice bucket, much to the relief of those around him.
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Wales head coach Ioan Cunningham was recently ambushed by his players 😅
Wales beat Italy 22-20 in front of a record home crowd at the Principality Stadium 🏟️#BBCRrugby #SixNations pic.twitter.com/mBCjrXAfc3
— BBC Scrum V (@BBCScrumV) April 27, 2024
“The players obviously wanted to get me,” Cunningham joked in an interview with the BBC after changing.
“We’ve been through a lot together as a group, it’s been a tough campaign and we’ve had some tough meetings to get better.
“It's a challenge, but one thing this Wales team will do is never give up.”
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With two minutes remaining, Sicilia Tuipulotu scored a try and Luc George converted to give Wales a 22-20 win.
The hosts took the lead in the 16th minute with a try from hooker Caris Phillips, but a minute later they lost the ball and Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi ran in and Beatriz Rigoni's conversion put Italy ahead.
Rigoni's penalty made it 10-5 at half-time, but Wales were back in front within four minutes of the restart, with prop Gwenllian Pils diving in and Keira Bevan converting.
Bevan's penalty increased their lead to five points, but Italy hit back with two tries from Francesca Granzotto and Emma Stevanin before Tuipulotu's last-minute intervention.
Although the result was not enough for Wales to avoid the wooden spoon, the crowd of 10,592 went away satisfied.
read more: Edinburgh beat Cardiff 7-24 in United Rugby.