With the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations underway and the Guinness Women’s Six Nations kicking off on Saturday 23rd March, a number of University of Exeter students and alumni are poised to represent their countries in one of the biggest annual rugby events.
Please see below for a full list of selected current students and alumni:
England Six Nations
Alumnae
- Lizzie Hanlon, BSc Biological Sciences, MSc Global Sustainability Solutions
- Merryn Doidge, BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
- Amber Reed, BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
Current
- Maisy Allen, BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
- Katie Buchanan, BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
- Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, BMBS Medicine
Wales Six Nations
Current
- Dafydd Jenkins, BSc Exercise and Sport Sciences
Italy Six Nations
Current
- Ross Vintcent, BSc Business Economics
Scotland Six Nations
Alumni
- Sam Skinner, BA Business Economics
The first weekend of competition in the Men’s tournament brought two firsts for current University of Exeter students Dafydd Jenkins and Immanuel (Manny) Feyi-Waboso. Dafydd led Wales as captain for the first time in what was an incredibly exciting game. Wales had a massive second half to push Scotland all the way just losing out in a nail biting clash with a final scoreline of 26-27. Meanwhile Manny earnt his first England cap against Italy, with England coming out on top 27-24.
Reflecting on his first call up to the England Six Nations training squad Manny commented “This is easily the biggest achievement of my sporting career and at a young age and early on in my senior career I feel very lucky to be in this position. Ultimately I just want to get on the field and go from there. I plan to enjoy camp and learn as much as I can from the great players around me in that environment”.
Now a seasoned senior player, University of Exeter alumni Sam Skinner (former University of Exeter Men’s Rugby captain and BUCS gold medallist) was named as a replacement for Scotland in their first match against Wales. At the other end of the spectrum, Ross Vintcent gets the call up into the Italy senior side for the first time following a successful stint captaining Italy’s U20s side and debuted against Ireland this weekend (10th February 2024).
Although the Guinness Women’s Six Nations starts later in March, the Red Roses have already been in camp making an early start on preparations for their campaign opener against Italy on Sunday 24th March. Having been awarded transitional contracts by England in July 2023, current students Maisy Allen and Katie Buchanan look to make the step up into a Six Nations match day squad for the first time.
Reflecting on her inclusion in the Red Roses Six Nations training squad Katie commented “It’s a really great opportunity to learn and gather more experience alongside some of the greatest players in the world. It’s super fun to be able to work with different coaching styles which I think will help my development. It can be tough to balance a dual student-athlete lifestyle, but the sports mentor system and performance team (at University of Exeter) has been no end of help, and I can’t thank them enough!”
Within the Red Roses Six Nations training squad is also a strong Exeter Alumnae contingent, Lizzie Hanlon, Merryn Doidge and Amber Reed. Lizzie and Merryn are regular starters for Exeter Chiefs women’s side and Merryn balances her rugby with the Sports Scholarships and Recruitment Officer role at University of Exeter. Amber (a former University of Exeter Women’s Rugby captain and BUCS gold medallist) has been a stalwart at Bristol Bears for a number of years. She has unfortunately withdrawn from the squad due to injury so we wish her all the best for a speedy recovery.
From all of us at University of Exeter Sport we extend our best wishes to these athletes as they strive for selection and embark on what promises to be an exciting tournament!