Under the Posts – Sep 21-27

Under the Posts – Sep 21-27 begins with rescheduled Six Nation dates, France struggles to play during the pandemic, HSBC World Rugby 7s Series Awards, USA Rugby comes out against proposed trans ban, 7 player features and 10 medias.

Quick Video Summary

Featured Women’s Rugby

So exciting that the remaining Six Nations matches have been rescheduled! Matches begin again in October with Scotland vs France and Ireland vs Italy. Defending champions England are currently top of the standings on 19 points with four wins from four, with France their nearest rivals on 11 points with two wins from three.

Weekly Women’s Rugby News

Lots of women’s rugby news this week with over 12 “top news” stories and many more that didn’t make the cut this week. Make sure you’re following us on social media to get everything!
  • Scrum Queens features with two articles this week, first how is France coping with COVID-19 and then they also give an update on the top 10 women’s rugby teams and their status of returning to play
  • France and Ireland have revealed their player squads as they prepare for the rescheduled Six Nations matches
  • Aiden McLaughlin chimes in re the Black Ferns and no tests in 2020
  • Round 4 of the Dr Farrah Palmer Cup shook out with Auckland and Canterbury still on top, but only by 3 points each
  • Ireland is about to start their Energia Community Series
  • England will have Premier 15s but no community rugby this year
  • Hong Kong is looking to start their KPMG Women’s Premiership in November
  • World Rugby announced the winners of the Sevens Series
  • USA Rugby comes out agains the proposed World Rugby transgender ban
  • Megan Watts and Dr Sheree Bekker update on the research they are doing on the impact of the menstrual cycle on sport participation & performance

Women’s Rugby Player Features

  • Ireland’s Ciara Griffin speak swith Rugby World about her packed World Cup schedule
  • South Africa’s Babalwa Latsha talks with Her Sport about the stigmas of rugby in her country and against women
  • England’s Megan Jones is featured by Rugby Journal
  • Ireland’s Louise Galvin retires from International Sevens
  • University of East London’s Eloise Bloomfield talks of her time as a rugby scholar
  • Ireland’s Claire Molloy returns from sabbatical and rejoins her teammates
  • Wale’s Caryl Thomas is working towards her fourth World Cup

Women’s Rugby Media/Podcasts/Videos

  • Rugby Hive speaks with USA 7s coach Chris Brown
  • Chasing Eagles podcast talks with USA’s XVs coach Rob Cain and Captain Kate Zachary
  • Wales talks with Alecs Donovan about the rescheduled Six Nations matches and more
  • Women’s Rugby Pod debuted Series 2 with England’s Sarah Hunter and followed up with another episode with Amy Turner
  • Scottish Rugby talks with Interim Head Coach, Bryan Easson about the season ahead
  • Rugby Wrap Up hosted USA”s Phaidra Knight, Naya Tapper and Alycia Washignton on their series focusing on Racism & Rugby
  • World Rugby Referee Joy Neville will become the first woman to perform TMO duties in a major international competition
  • D1 Elite President Rosalind Chou and Penn State Women’s Rugby Head Coach Kate Daley join to talk about the new partnership between CRAA and D1 Elite Women’s Rugby

Join Us

Can’t wait a week? Join us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram as we will be posting daily. We have a bit more dialogue on Twitter if you’d like to join in.
Featured News

https://twitter.com/Womens6Nations/status/1308053368711999495

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309281595182981122

The remaining Six Nation matches have been rescheduled and will begin October 25. The next round will take place November 1 and the series will complete on December 6.  

Defending champions England are currently top of the standings on 19 points with four wins from four, with France their nearest rivals on 11 points with two wins from three.

October 25 – Round 4

  • Scotland v France, 14:05, Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
  • Ireland v Italy, 13:00, Energia Park, Donnybrook

November 1 – Round 5

  • Wales v Scotland, 16:15, TBC
  • Italy v England, 18:00 (17:00 GMT), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
  • France v Ireland, 14:30 KO (13:30 GMT), Le Stadium, Villeneuve d’Ascq

December 6 – Round 3

  • Italy v Scotland, 19:00 (18:00 GMT), Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
Women's Rugby News

International Tests

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1307726356835381255

Scrum Queens takes an in-depth look at France’s top competition and playing during a pandemic.

“France is well ahead of most of the rest of the world with its return to rugby, but nonetheless half of last weekend’s French Elite games were COVID-19 related-postponements, added to one in the first week.”

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1308043370514784258

France is in camp preparing for the return of the Six Nations. Check out their list of 41 players.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1308556824522764288

Ireland is also in camp and is preparing for the Six Nations as well as the Rugby World Cup 2021 European Qualifiers in December.

Last week we reported that the Black Ferns won’t have any tests in 2020. Aiden McLaughlin has written a scathing piece pointing out the disparity of that announcement. If New Zealand had announced no matches for the All Blacks, there would have been unrest and rioting. But announce it for the women and it’s just accepted…

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309598567733043200

Scrum Queens also takes a look at the top 10 nations and their return to play status. We found this statement to be most chilling: “Six of the nine teams already qualified for the World Cup currently have no test matches in their calendars at all.”

This is very concerning ahead of the 2021 Rugby World Cup who’s organizers have made it very clear they don’t intend to move the event. Can we really expect teams to be at the top of their game with little to no tests under their belt? Who wants to win with an asterisk next to their name?

Top Competitions

https://twitter.com/BlackFerns/status/1310067942415974400

Round 4 of the Dr. Farrah Palmer Cup has some pretty big ups and downs this week. Score lines are spreading and table toppers are making space at the top.

Auckland continues to lead in the North while being chased by Waikato and Bay of Plenty. South sees Canterbury at the top with Wellington and Manawatu in pursuit.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309130739905171456

Ireland is counting down to the start of the 2020 Energia Community Series. The women’s series starts on October 3 and the men begin on September 26.

During the first few weeks matches may not have spectators and that may loosen as the season progresses.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309493075711066113

England will only see the return of Premiership, Championship and Premier 15s rugby in 2020. That means that all community rugby will look to begin again in 2021.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1308405714365419525

Hong Kong is targeting a return in November if their COVID-19 situation remains stable. This would include the ​KPMG Women’s Premiership.

Other

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1308194312040189953

World Rugby has announce twenty-four winners across six men’s and women’s award categories. 

Women’s HSBC Dream Team:

  • Brittany Benn (Canada)
  • Sharni Williams (Australia)
  • Ruby Tui (New Zealand)
  • Stacey Fluhler (New Zealand)
  • Ghislaine Landry (Canada)
  • Tyla Nathan-Wong (New Zealand)
  • Kristi Kirshe (USA)

UL Mark of Excellence – Tyla Nathan-Wong (New Zealand):Tyla Nathan-Wong for becoming the first Black Ferns Sevens player – and second overall – to reach 1,000 series points at the HSBC Sydney Sevens

Cigna Pressure Play Award – Lina Guerin (France): HSBC Sydney Sevens – Semi-final try against New Zealand

Capgemini Momentum Tracker – Fiji

Gilbert Top Try Scorer – Stacey Fluhler (New Zealand)

DHL Impact Player – Stacey Fluhler (New Zealand)

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309538327289364482

USA Rugby submits transgender feedback to USA Rugby. The USAR Board of Directors elect to uphold current policy and do not support the recently proposed World Rugby policy recommendations.

The USA Rugby Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (DEI) and International Athlete Council surveyed community stakeholders across the Youth & High School, College, Senior Club and Referee sectors to gain valuable feedback. 

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1310368762705698817

Megan Watts and Dr Sheree Bekker are researching doing important research on the impact of the menstrual cycle on sport participation & performance.

Player Features

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309643983736446977

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1310006375972589568

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1310323340549197825

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1310262941074284544

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309855266117160961

Media

https://twitter.com/rugbyhive/status/1308052827420479488

https://twitter.com/USARugby/status/1308099246772584454

https://twitter.com/WelshRugbyUnion/status/1309504814380969990

https://twitter.com/podwomensrugby/status/1307217426514354177

https://twitter.com/Scotlandteam/status/1309424185148661760

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1308149129894342656

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1309236206430040070

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