Women’s Rugby in 60 secs – Mar 14-20

Welcome to the top women’s rugby news in under 60 seconds for Mar 14-20. We’re previewing the 2022 TikTok Women’s Six Nations Tournament which kicks off this weekend. Scotland hosts England, Ireland faces off against Wales and France will see Italy. England is the heavy favorites going after their 13th overall title but will we see a new champion this year?

In more XVs news, Canada announced a temporary head coaching change where Kevin Rouet will take the reins until after the 2021 Rugby World Cup, Railway clinched the Energia AIL Cup title while Blackrock took home the Plate Final, Chiefs Manawa are the first ever Sky Super Rugby Aupiki Champions, Mwamba are the inaugural Kenya Cup winners and the Black Pearls ended their undefeated season as Uganda League Champions. 

We also take a look at Fijiana Drua’s dominant run in the Super W but note that they will face second place Waratahs on April 1 and Brazil announced a first of its kind XVs tournament for their club sides. 

We close out the week with 11 features and 8 media.

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tl;dr: Women’s Rugby in 60 secs for Mar 14-20 previews the 2022 TikTok Women’s Six Nations Tournament where England is vying for their 13th overall title and we look closer at all the domestic competitions around the world.

60 Second Video Update

Featured Women’s Rugby Stories

We’re less than a week away from the TikTok Women’s Six Nations! Scotland hosts England, Ireland faces off against Wales and France sees Italy on the opening weekend. England is chasing their 13th overall title.

We know all the tournament squads but we’ll be looking out for match day squads as we get closer to the weekend.

Top Women’s Rugby Stories

XVs

International

• Canada announced that Kevin Rouet will replace Sandro Fiorino after four years as head coach
  • Rouet has only signed on to take the squad through the 2021 Rugby World Cup…
• We’re learning more about departures in Spain, Mariola Rus has resigned as she originally believed in the “change project, in two years there has been none.”
  • For this reason and for refusing to be “a mere quota of parity in the federation’s directive”, as he stated, Rus has had no other way “than to resign after each and every one of his proposals for” improvement” and of having been excluded from assemblies and executive committees
• 22 USA based Women’s Eagles pool players will gather in Colorado later this month for a second spring assembly under Head Coach Rob Cain
  • The camp will culminate in a fixture against a WPL Selects squad on March 26th at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO at 12pm MT
• Springbok Women’s coach Stanley Raubenheimer invited two new uncapped players who were part of the girls rugby development pathways, Byrhandre Dolf and Luchell Hanekom, to his training squad of 31 players for their next camp

Domestic

• Railway clinched the double this weekend when they took home the Energia AIL Cup over UL Bohemian 51-12
  • Blackrock took home the Plate Final over Cooke 24-12
• Chiefs Manawa made history as the first Sky Super Rugby Aupiki Champs after they defeated the Blues 35-0
• Mwamba are the inaugural Women’s Kenya Cup winners after defeating Impala Saracens 15-11
  • The match was officiated a crew of four match officials, another first!
• Black Pearls ended their undefeated season as Uganda League Champions
• Fijiana Drua continue their dominate run in Super W as they dispatched Western Force 45-17 and will face second place Waratahs on April 1
• Brazil began their first ever XVs competition called the Regional Teams Championship this past weekend, it will run until June 26 and brings 8 teams together

Other News

• USA Rugby has refocused their hopes of hosting a Rugby World Cup on their soil to Men’s 2031 and Women’s 2033
  • 2025 in England…so who will host in 2029?
• An exhibition celebrating the history of women’s Rugby World Cups launched at the World Rugby Museum based at Twickenham Stadium this past weekend

Women’s Rugby Features

• “Every time I think of rugby, I think of her.” Those were the emotional words of Lowri Norkett after she emulated her sister Elli by playing for Wales against USA Falcons on Saturday
• Lancashire’s president Gill Burns has led quite the rugby life, from being barred – along with the dogs – from the main bar, she helped create women’s rugby’s first northern powerhouse
• New Zealand’s Les Elder and Alice Soper shared their perspectives around a growing gender revolution in NZL rugby
• While Super Rugby Aupiki has got off the ground in trying circumstances, players left out of pocket and the effects of long Covid have rugby columnist Alice Soper concerned
• PR 7s offers big opportunities for USA’s Naya Tapper
• When she’s not bringing the firepower with Harlequins or Scotland Rugby, Jade Konkel is fighting the blaze with the London Fire Brigade – and she wouldn’t change it for the world
• Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap hopeful of making Six Nations opener after Covid
• The Rugby Hive welcomes Maxine O’Leary to the Hive as our social media expert
• Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini has become the third woman to appear on the cover of the New Zealand Rugby Almanack
• Scotland are a team on the rise and the 2022 TikTok Women’s Six Nations is the perfect chance for them to showcase just how far they have come

Women’s Rugby Media

• Japan’s Noriko Taniguchi and Ai Hirayama talk to us about their journey to the 2021 Rugby World Cup
• Chiefs Manawa celebrate their title in Sky Super Rugby Aupiki gatorade style
• From primary school minis to club rugby and now Scottish Rugby’s U18 Futures Pathway, Alex Stewart shares her rugby story so far
• Scotland’s Sarah Ann Bonar speaks about rugby values and the togetherness of the Scotland squad ahead of this year’s Six Nations
• Sue Anstiss MBE interviewed Former England Rugby captain at 15s & 7s Sue Day where she share’s personal learnings from her careers on and off the pitch as we explore professionalism in the women’s game, what needs to change to get more women working in sport and the powerful role of male allies
• World Rugby’s next #YouthUnstoppables, is 19-year-old Johanna
• Wales captain Siwan Lillicrap says Elli Norkett would have been incredibly proud of her sister Lowri being included in the Six Nations squad