Under the Posts – Women’s Rugby News for Apr 19-25

Welcome to the top women’s rugby news for April 19-25. The first ever Women’s Six Nations Finals Day was fantastic! England took their third consecutive title after outlasting France 10-6, Ireland took third with their win over Italy 25-5 and Scotland landed fifth place with a strong win over Wales 27-20. We also look at an article from Sara Orchard looking at the future of the W6N.

In 7s news, Japan held a test event ahead of the Olympics complete with COVID protocols, matches, staff…all the things. Glad to see they are testing 95 days ahead of the event, but Japan just entered their third lockdown…

In “other news”, we look at World Rugby’s new strategic plan and USA Rugby is hosting identification camps to try and find their next generation of athletes.

We wrap up the week with 5 player features and 14 media.

tl;dr Under the Posts – Women’s Rugby News Apr 19-25 reviews the first ever Women’s Six Nations Finals Day where England took home their 3rd consecutive title and Japan held a test event ahead of Olympics complete with COVID protocols, matches, staff…all the things.

Video Summary

No video this week as Wendy has been sick (not COVID). 

Weekly Women’s Rugby News

XVs

  • England took home their third consecutive title in the Women’s Six Nations defeating France 10-6
    • Ireland took third beating Italy 25-5
    • Scotland is fifth over Wales with a 27-20 win
    • England and France will play again April 30 but we’re awaiting final details
  • Sara Orchard chats with Ireland’s Fiona Coghlan, England’s Danielle Waterman, Wales’ Gemma Hallett, Scrum Queen writers Ali Donnelly and John Birch about possible futures for the Women’s Six Nations

7s

  • Japan held a test event ahead of the Summer Olympics despite the country entering it’s third lockdown due to the pandemic

Other News

  • World Rugby has released their strategic plan through 2025
  • USA is hosting seven camps to try and unearth a new generation of male and female talent

Women’s Rugby Player Features

  • England’s Emily Scarratt explains how she refines her skills and how kicking is changing the women’s game
  • World Rugby Women’s Executive Leadership Scholarship recipient and leading Fiji lawyer, Ana Tuiketei, wants to see more female involvement at executive board level in the Oceania region
  • England’s Vicky Fleetwood is trying to raise awareness of bowel cancer after her mother’s death from the disease five years ago
  • Italy’s Silvia Gaudino followed in her father’s footsteps but didn’t play rugby until she was 17
  • England’s Danielle Waterman talks with The Guardian about how the game has grown and why it’s seeing so much change

Women’s Rugby Media/Podcasts/Videos

  • Stripped Back Sport talks with England’s Rachael Burford about her beginnings in rugby and how one conversation with Gary Street changed everything for her
  • Sara Orchard shares the behind the scenes preparing for commentating an International match
  • England’s Zainab Alema recently met Maggie Alphonsi and it was amazing
  • Fill Your Boots talked with Ed Marsh, Kim Johnson & Ryan Sabet about starting a women’s rugby team
  • Guinness Six Nations profiled Italy’s Michela Sillari and Scotland’s Lana Skeldon
  • World Rugby featured England’s Emily Scarratt on their series Jersey Tales
  • Rugby Coach Weekly shares episode 3 which shares an extraordinary series of events that occurred before the 2014 RWC team even arrived at their first pre-World Cup training session in France
  • Women’s Six Nations profiled Italy’s Sara Barattin
  • RTE talks with Bernard Jackman on the challenges facing Ireland
  • Rugby Americas North hear from Canada’s Jess Neilson on her journey in rugby
  • Try Hards breaks down the Six Nations with England’s Danielle Waterman
  • Rugby Connections also breaks down the Six Nations
  • The American Rugby Show talks 2020 Tokyo with Abby Gustaitis and Nicole Heavirland

Join Us!

Support starts at $3 a month or for $5 you'll receive exclusive content like post notes, video bloopers & merchandise! Your support means we can continue to bring you the best women's rugby news.

Become a Patron!
Women's Rugby News

XVs

The first Women’s Six Nations Super Saturday didn’t disappoint! It started with Ireland’s Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe scoring two tries and providing tough defense on the way to defeating Italy 25-5. Ireland took third place overall in the tournament.

England secured a third consecutive title as they held off a second-half France fightback to triumph 10-6 at the Twickenham Stoop.

The last match of the day saw Scotland victorious over Wales 27-20. With their win, Scotland takes fifth place while Wales is last overall. 

Sara Orchard asked former Ireland captain Fiona Coghlan, England World Cup winner Danielle Waterman, former Wales forward Gemma Hallett and ScrumQueens.com writers Ali Donnelly and John Birch for their thoughts around how the Women’s Six Nations should evolve.

7s

Organizers of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games held an operational test event for rugby sevens on Thursday, with 95 days to go before the first match of the tournament on 26 July. 

Match-day operations were simulated as they will be during the Olympics, complete with match officials, ground staff, the teams being announced on the stadium speakers and music being played after every try.

“We are massively excited about being back in Japan,” said World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin.

“It is a great opportunity for us. We know that a successful rugby sevens program in the Olympics is a great showcase for our sport, a great driver for future fans and players and is an inspirational pathway.”

“We know Japan will be great hosts, no matter what the circumstances.”

Japan declared “short and powerful” states of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka and two other prefectures on Friday as the country struggles to contain a resurgent coronavirus pandemic three months before the Olympics.

The state of emergency – a third round for Japan that also includes Kyoto and Hyogo – will cover nearly a quarter of the population and last through the looming “Golden Week” holidays, dealing another blow to the tourism and services industries.

Other News

World Rugby has launched ‘A Global Sport for All – True to its Values’, a new strategic plan for the advancement and growth of the sport through to 2025.

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1385639917737451522

USA is set to hold seven camps in May and June, designed to unearth a new generation of male and female talent, with a focus on those from non-traditional backgrounds.

Player Features

https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1384945185776447488

https://twitter.com/Womens6Nations/status/1384920829750910980

Media

https://twitter.com/WorldRugby/status/1384431896554258433

https://twitter.com/Womens6Nations/status/1384554495934451712

https://twitter.com/fyb_rugby/status/1384776078875676673

https://twitter.com/theeamonnhogan/status/1384856241546186753

https://twitter.com/WorldRugby/status/1384823109954461697

https://twitter.com/veroniquelandew/status/1385281467685777411

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.