Ireland's Wafer retains Six Nations player award

Ireland's Wafer retains Six Nations player awardImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Wafer scored five tries to help Ireland finish third behind England and FranceByMatt GaultBBC Sport NI senior journalistPublished16 minutes agoCommentsIreland forward Aoife Wafer has been named the Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship for 2026, becoming the first player to win the award in successive years.The back row earned 40% of a fans' vote for the 2026 tournament to beat England's Grand Slam-winning captain Meg Jones, Italy back row Francesca Sgorbini and France scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus.In 2025, Wafer topped the vote ahead of France second row Manae Feleu, England wing Abby Dow and Scotland back row Evie Gallagher.This year, the 23-year-old started all five games at number eight as Ireland finished third behind England and France for the third year in a row.The Harlequins player finished the tournament with five tries, surpassing the four she managed in 2025, and made 78 carries, the most of any forward."I don't even know what to say," said Wafer. "Last year I was the first ever Irish woman and the youngest to do it, and to back it up is pretty special. "The girls back home will agree with me that these sort of things don't happen without them. I'm just grateful that I'm part of an incredible team, and I get to come back to Quins and be a part of an incredible team here too."Related topicsRugby UnionIrish RugbyNorthern Ireland SportWho makes Women's Six Nations team of the championship?Published18 MayMore on this storyListen to the Ireland Rugby Social podcastAttributionSoundsListen: Sport's Strangest Crimes - BloodgateAttributionSoundsListen to the latest Rugby Union Weekly podcastAttributionSounds