Canada wins first weekend of Emirates Invitational 7s Tournament

Under the Posts – Women’s Rugby News for Mar 29 – Apr 4

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Welcome to the top women’s rugby news for Mar 29-Apr 4! We start with Canada winning the opening weekend of the Emirates Invitational 7s, while England and France ran riot over Scotland and Wales in the first matches of the postponed Six Nations.

In more XVs news, Scrum Queens reports that New Zealand has proposed that the postponed 2021 Rugby World Cup take place in October and November to avoid conflicts with the 2022 Rugby World Cup 7s tournament in Cape Town. We also took a look at RTP in the USA where almost half the country is back on the pitch in some form.

In domestic competitions, Allianz Premier 15s is almost ready to announce a broadcast partner for their semi-finals and Championship!

In 7s news, World Rugby confirmed that 7s will take place in Los Angeles June 25-27 and they’ve postponed the planned event in Marcoussis. The 2022 Commonwealth Games have announced their qualification process.

We close out the week with a few tidbits in our “Other News” section as well as twelve player features and ten media.

tl;dr: Under the Posts – Women’s Rugby News for Mar 29-Apr 4 sees Canada win the opening round of the Emirates Invitational 7s while England and France recorded wins in the first matches of the postponed Six Nations

Video Summary

Weekly Women’s Rugby
News

XVs

  • England defeated Scotland 52-10 while France blanked Wales 53-0
  • New Zealand has proposed to World Rugby that the postponed 2021 Rugby World Cup be played in October and November to avoid conflicts with the 2022 Rugby World Cup 7s
  • We update return to play status for USA WPL, club and college rugby
  • Hong Kong Premiership season has been cancelled but they’re still planning on holding the Asia Rugby Championships and working towards the sevens repechage qualifiers for the Olympics
  • Allianz Premier 15s will announce a broadcast partner for their semi-finals and Championship soon
  • Scrum Queens catches us up on France Elite 1 league which is halfway through but on a pause until the Six Nations complete
  • Blues and Chiefs will stage the first-ever women’s rugby clash between two New Zealand Super Clubs

7s

  • Canada beat USA 31-14 to claim the opening weekend of Emirates Invitational 7s
  • World Rugby confirms Los Angeles 7s from June 25-27 and announces that the planned event in Marcoussis is postponed due to COVID concerns
  • The qualification process for the 2022 Commonwealth games has been announced
  • Malaysia is in camp preparing for the Asia Rugby Women’s 7s Series
  • New Zealand continues to prepare for the Olympics with Takiwhitu Tuturu April 9-10

Other News

  • WRCRA compares the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship inequities with the current state of women’s rugby
  • Sporting History highlights Emily Valentine as one of it’s 20 female sporting heroes
  • Maggie Alphonsi is the ambassador for the women’s Six Nations Championship
  • Rugby Africa announces their Women’s Rugby Advisory Committee (WRAC) including representatives and their areas of focus

Women’s Rugby Player Features

  • Former Ireland Fiona Coghlan will be commentating and she shares her thoughts with Scrum Queens ahead of the first kick-off
  • World Rugby talks to the Italy Rugby board member Erika Morri about her relationship with the game and how rugby can be used as a tool to combat bullying
  • Brown University’s Tara Mack shares her path to public office
  • Wales’ Gemma Rowland chats with Scrum Queens about new beginnings
  • Rugby Africa Women’s Rugby Advisory Committee (WRAC) Chairperson Paula Lanco “believes in the power of action”
  • Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) vice-president Cathy Wong has been celebrated as part of International Women’s Day for her decades of contribution to women’s rugby
  • Wasps’ Andrea Stock is hoping to catch the eye of the Irish selectors
  • Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) board member, Peris Mukoko is among 12 women to receive World Rugby Executive Leadership Scholarships
  • South Africa’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus reveals his priority list for the women Springboks
  • England’s Abi Burton shares how after years of suffering from body-dysmorphia and crippling self-doubt she is ready to demonstrate to the world how proud she is of her body

Women’s Rugby Media/Podcasts/Videos

  • Ireland’s Anna Caplice talks with The Six O’Clock Show about why she decided to change the language she uses when discussing women’s sport
  • Try Hards runs through all of the changes for the postponed Six Nations and the players their most excited about
  • Talking Rugby Union has England’s Jess Breach to chat about the Six Nations
  • Allianz Premier 15s shares Bristol’s Simi Pam life on & off the pitch
  • Fill your Boots talks University Rugby
  • England features Hannah Botterman and Poppy Cleal where they discuss their early caps
  • Goff Rugby chats with USA Rugby players about WXV and why it matters
  • The Women’s Rugby Pod also talks everything Six Nations
  • Greaux Rugby Show talks with Jess Neilson, Head Coach of York University Rugby and Canada Rugby National Team

 

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XVs

The first round of the women’s Six Nations saw England dismantle Scotland 52-10 and France blank Wales 53-0. It was nice to see international rugby live but it really highlighted the widening gap of semi-professionals and amateurs. 

Unconfirmed but a proposal has been shared with World Rugby of moving the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup to October and November in 2022. This would help avoid conflicts with the 2022 Rugby World Cup 7s tournament in Cape Town. 

We’ve updated our RTP post and more and more states in the USA are playing rugby! Great news as we all look to returning to the game we love.

Hong Kong men’s and women’s Premiership seasons have been cancelled over Covid-19 concerns. 

Hong Kong’s national teams have several upcoming dates on the international rugby calendar, including the women’s Asia Rugby Championship campaign – which acts as qualifiers for the postponed 2021 Rugby World Cup – scheduled for May, and men’s and women’s sevens repechage qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Monaco on June 19-20.

“The RFU is expected to name the broadcaster that will show this season’s Premier 15s semi-finals and final in May within weeks!

While BT Sport is being tipped by some inside the game as the frontrunner to show the Premier 15s showpiece matches, other broadcasters are believed to still be in talks with the RFU.

Even if the rights do go to BT Sport or another pay-TV channel, the matches are expected to be shown free as part of the deal in order to maximise viewers.

All matches in the Premier 15s, which has completed only two seasons since launching in 2017 due to last season’s league being cancelled during the first Covid-19 lockdown, have been available online in recent months with record figures watching.”

France’s Elite 1 league is now midway through the play-off phase and working towards a Championship in June. Montpellier and Toulouse have already qualified for the Playoffs.

The league is on pause until the Six Nations finishes.

Blues and Chiefs will create history when they stage the first-ever women’s rugby clash in New Zealand between the two Super clubs. The historic encounter will be played as a double header before the Blues host the Gallagher Chiefs in Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa at Eden Park on Saturday, May 1.

7s

Canada conquered weekend one of the Emirates Invitational 7s tournament. They defeated the USA 31-14 in the final and went 5-1 on the weekend. Teams take the week to recover and get back at it starting on Thursday. 

They were able to announce a live stream the day of, so stay turned to their social media for viewing opportunities.

The road to Tokyo is taking shape! World Rugby highlights the fourteen teams competing in Dubai and confirms that the Los Angeles event will take place June 25-27.

They did confirm that the event in Marcoussis is postponed due to the increased COVID-19 risks and restrictions implemented in France.

World Rugby have published details about the qualification process for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

8 teams will take part:

  • * England (Hosts)
  • * Two best placed Commonwealth teams from the 2020 and 2021 World Series
  • * The best-placed North American team. If a North American team is already in the top two, the side from that region with the next best record in World Series or regional tournaments will qualify.
  • * Four regional qualification winners from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Malaysia is in camp preparing for the Asia Rugby Women’s 7s Series.

Rugby fans in Wellington will be treated to a fast-paced weekend of sevens action as the All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens take their Olympic preparation to the Capital.
 
Takiwhitu Tūturu will feature eight teams playing across 9-10 April at Hataitai Park in Wellington. The men’s division sees two All Blacks Sevens teams, Tonga Invitational and Samoa Invitational while two Black Ferns Sevens teams will go up against a Black Ferns (15s) selection and the Moana Pasifika women.

Other News

WRCRA looks at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship and the inequities it highlighted.

Emily Valentine is one of 20 female sporting heroes brought to life by Sporting History and Jessica Hartshorn.

Six Nations is proud to announce that seven-time Women’s Six Nations champion, six-time Grand Slam winner, World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee and now respected rugby pundit Maggie Alphonsi will be part of the Women’s Six Nations team as an ambassador for this year’s Championship.    

Rugby Africa has strengthened their ongoing support for gender equality by paving the way in women’s sport with the launch of the Women’s Rugby Advisory Committee (WRAC) and sub-committees.

As part of Rugby Africa’s broader strategy, the role of WRAC and its sub committees is to define key performance indicators that demonstrate progress of the development of women in rugby across Africa to promote gender inclusion practices that foster growth and development within the sport.

The committee will provide a platform for females in all spheres of in rugby to be recognised for the crucial value their contribution and participation provides towards shaping the future of the global game.

The four sub-committees will focus on key areas of advancing governance and leadership, competitions, player welfare, development, and retention to meet strategic goals for women’s rugby across Africa.

Player Features

Media

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