Women’s Rugby News in 60 secs – Jul 18-24

Welcome to the top women’s rugby news in under 60 seconds for Jul 18-24. England will hold a vote on a gender policy tomorrow which includes banning transgender athletes. We stand with our trans sisters and maintain that trans women are women. We support the IOC guidelines of inclusion of trans athletes and that rugby truly is for EVERYONE.

In International XVs news, Canada defeated Italy while Japan beat South Africa 15-6. There are 15 more matches to come before the 2021 Rugby World Cup…so buckle up!

In domestic XVs news, Caterbury had back-to-back wins in the Farah Palmer Cup Premiership and leads the league with Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waiktao and Wellington chasing.

In 7s news, the 2022 Commonwealth Games begin tomorrow and World Rugby revealed the matchups for the 2022 Rugby World Cup 7s. The event is a ‘winner-takes-all’ knockout format with winning teams going through to the Championship and losers falling to the Challenge bracket, and England, Scotland and Wales have confirmed that they will re-form the Great Britain 7s team ahead of the 2022/2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

We close out the week with 11 features and 3 media.

We need you! Become a supporter of our site at https://www.patreon.com/yscrugby.

tl;dr: Women’s Rugby in 60 secs for Jul 18-24 includes England voting on whether to ban transgender athletes from the sport that claims to be for all and Canada defeated Italy while Japan beat South Africa.

60 Second Video Update

@yscrugby

Your #wrugby News in under 60 seconds for Jul 18-24 includes England voting on wehrer to ban transgender athletes from the sport that claims to be for all and Canada defeated Italy while Japan beat South Africa. Watch our video & read the entire update using the link in our bio! #womensrugby #wrugby #rugbyunion

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Featured Women’s Rugby Stories

The attack on trans women continues as England will vote on a gender policy to ban trans players from participating in rugby. Originally the RFU stood apart from World Rugby’s ban but is now considering following. 

We still believe that rugby is for all genders, shapes and sizes. This is an assault from groups using limited research, money and persuasion to persecute a vulnerable population. Trans women are women and should be allowed to play sport.

We urge you to speak out loudly and often. Also sign the below petitions urging the RFU and World Rugby to reconsider their recommendations and remain aligned with IOC guidelines on the inclusion of transgender athletes.

Top Women’s Rugby Stories

XVs

International

• Canada (4) defeated Italy (6) 34-24 over the weekend
• Japan (12) held South Africa (13) 15-6 and will rematch on Jul 30
• Internationals continue through the summer with 15 matches (that we are aware of at print) to come before the 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

Domestic

• Canterbury had back-to-back wins in the Farah Palmer Cup Premiership and leads the league with 10 points. They are followed by Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and Wellington.

7s

• The 2022 Commonwealth Games take place this weekend between England, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Canada in Pool A and Australia, South Africa, Fiji, and Scotland in Pool B.
• World Rugby revealed the matchups for the 2022 Rugby World Cup 7s. The event is a ‘winner-takes-all’ knockout format that starts with a Round of 16. Winning teams go through to the Championship and losers move on to the Challenge bracket.
• England, Scotland and Wales confirm they will join together to form men’s and women’s Great Britain Sevens teams ahead of the 2022/23 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series
  • GB replaces England, Russia has been withdrawn and Brazil keeps their status as a core team in 2023

Women’s Rugby Features

• TikTok Women’s Six Nations features England’s Natasha Hunt and why her return was so sweet
• Rugby Journal features the 1991 Rugby World Cup in issue 18
• Linha de Ensaio reviews Portugal’s performance in the Rugby World Cup 7s Qualifiers
• Fijiana 15s Head Coach Senirusi Seruvakula has reiterated that no spot in the team is guaranteed at the moment, and the onus is on players to shape up
• Shaunagh Brown and Sadia Kabeya share their experiences and how they are breaking down barriers in a sport which has traditionally been dominated by white middle-class males
• England international Claudia MacDonald heads up an impressive list of new arrivals heading into the Exeter Chiefs Women’s squad ahead of the 2022/23 season
• Wales Women full-back Kayleigh Powell is literally living her dream having taken up a full-time contract at the start of July
• Eri Kamimura becomes first Asian match official, woman or man, to officiate South Africa vs. Namibia Women’s XV
• Scotland No.8 and fully-trained firefighter Jade Konkel expressed her pride in being part of the London Fire Brigade’s huge effort to extinguish fires in Wennington on the hottest day of the year
• Leeds Beckett Professor Ben Jones and England Rugby Women’s Pathway S&C Coach Omar Heyward share their study around women’s rugby in Part I with Part II to come
• Exiled Cliodhna Moloney on the move as more Ireland stars consider switch to English Premier teams

Women’s Rugby Media

• Canada’s Sophie De Goede shared preparations for Italy and how much it means to play an international test match on Vancouver Island, where she grew up
• Canada’s Olivia Apps and Brianna Miller discuss the rare opportunity of having their programs come together on Vancouver Island
• New Forwards Coach Steve Halsey shares how he is relishing working with Jo Yapp and the Worcester Warriors