Historic win for Wales U20s at Lacrosse Home Internationals
Wales U20s women won the Lacrosse Home Internationals in an historic victory last weekend. This is the first time in 23 years that a Welsh U20 lacrosse team has won the Home Internationals.
“We are incredibly proud of how hard the team worked throughout training. Everyone put in so much work and it clearly showed in our performance over the tournament this weekend,” said joint captains Maddie Sturt, Ellora Williams and Kaitlin Miller.
“Playing for our country is always such an amazing moment and although we are a very new and young team, we all came together in the matches. It was incredible.”
The tournament took place over three days at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Newport, England, 10 to 12 April, 2026.
Friday saw an exciting opening match against England in which Wales was narrowly defeated 12-13 in the last minutes of the game. Wales went on to beat Scotland on Saturday 12-9. The final match on Sunday against England was a thrilling 60 minutes of outstanding lacrosse in which Wales beat the home opposition with a resounding victory of 15-9.
“Home Internationals were exactly what we needed as a developing squad building toward the European Championships next year,” says Wales U20’s coach Jamie Nicholson. “We learnt a great deal across three competitive games and came away knowing we have real quality in the group, across all areas of the field. Our coaches couldn’t be prouder of how this squad conducted themselves on the pitch and off. They gave everything in every game and showed real character and maturity between games. This is a group of players and staff that genuinely believes in each other and winning the title in their first tournament playing together makes the weekend even more special.”
Lacrosse is experiencing a surge in interest as the sport is set to return to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which will be its first official appearance in 120 years. The Olympics will feature a fast-paced, high scoring version of lacrosse called “Sixes” for both men and women, designed for fast gameplay and increased accessibility.
English