Women’s Rugby News for Jan 23-29

Welcome to the top women’s rugby news in under 60 seconds for Jan 23-29. Steve Phillips finally resigned from the WRU and Nigel Walker was appointed acting CEO.

In 7s news, Black Fern claimed gold for the third time this season cementing their place at the top of the World Rugby rankings and they edge ever closer to qualifying for the 2024 Olympics. Australia and USA are tied for second while France and Ireland are tied for third. The series takes a break for the women until the first weekend in March in Vancouver, Canada and the last weekend in March in Hong Kong.

In XVs news, Seville defeated Lisbon 27-5 in the Iberic Cup, a unique cross-border event between the Spanish and Portuguese Champions, Stirling County claimed their first ever Tennent’s Premiership after they defeated Corstorphine 27-8, Gloucester-Hartpury continued their unbeaten streak and leads Allianz Premier, and we also review results from Ireland’s, Energia AIL Cup Series, Kenya Cup, Uganda’s Central League, and a pre-season Super W match.

We close out the week with 15 features and 9 media.

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tl;dr: Women’s Rugby in 60 secs for Jan 23-29 saw Steve Phillips resign from the WRU, Nigel Walker was appointed acting CEO and the Black Ferns won Sydney 7s.

60 Second Video Update

@yscrugby

Your #wrugby News in under 60 seconds for Jan 23-29 saw Steve Phillips resign from the WRU, Nigel Walker was appointed acting CEO and the Black Ferns won Sydney 7s. Watch our video & read the entire update using the link in our bio! #womensrugby #wrugby #rugbyunion #rugbytok

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Top Women’s Rugby Stories

XVs

International

• Nigel Walker appointed new Acting CEO as Steve Phillips resigns from WRU
• Combined Provinces beat Wales Developmental 26-27 in the Celtic Challenge
• In the Iberic Cup, Seville defeated Lisbon 27-5
  • This competition is the only official cross-border tournament in women’s rugby between the Spanish and Portuguese champions

Domestic

• Stirling County claimed their first ever Tennent’s Premiership title after they defeated Corstorphine 27-8
• Gloucester-Hartpury continues their undefeated season and leads Allianz Premier
  • Top four is getting more solid with Gloucester-Hartpury, Exeter, Harlequins and Saracens
• Impala stay top with thrilling victory over Mwamba in the Kenya Cup
• Uganda’s Central League has restarted and the Thunderbirds lead the way
• Blackrock leads the Energia AIL Cup Series after week 1 but is closely followed by Railway, UL Bohemian, and Cooke
• Fijiana Drua defeated the Rebels 24-0 in a pre-season Super W match

7s

• New Zealand won their third stop of the HSBC 7s Series as they defeated France 35-0 in Sydney
  • USA took third after defeating Ireland 12-5
  • Rankings have shifted a bit and Olympic qualification is coming into focus:
    • New Zealand – 78 points
    • Australia – 66 points
    • USA – 66 points
    • France – 52 points
    • Ireland – 52 points
  • Next event isn’t till March with Vancouver the first weekend and Hong Kong is the last weekend

Women’s Rugby Features

• World Rugby CEO tells Telegraph Sport about controversial new laws, plus analysis of how they could change the game forever
• American Raptors coach Sarah Chobot full of confidence as she prepares to become the first female coach in Super Rugby Americas
• Canada announced that Iain Monaghan has been appointed as Head Coach of the Maple Leaf Academy and Assistant Coach of the Women’s Sevens Team
• Tough competition on horizon as USA Rugby Women’s High Performance Pathways Manager Martha Daines examines women’s pathway
• Scotland joins England, Ireland, and Wales in banning transgender female players
  • International Gay Rugby among others have condemned the rule change citing “SRU has chosen to replicate this flawed decision, based on misapplication of inconclusive evidence, showing once again a lack of concern for the wellbeing of the entire LGBTQ+ community”
• Teams are preparing for the Super Rugby Aupiki season and will have several pre-season matchups on February 17:
  • Blues vs Waratahs
    Chiefs Manawa vs Blues
    Chiefs Manawa vs Waratahs
• Trans women athletes have no unfair advantage under current rules, report finds
• Ruggette RFC released their 2022 Players of the Year
• Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams sees the Celtic Challenge as a great opportunity for players and coaches to test themselves ahead of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations
• Ali Donnelly looks at the challenges facing women in rugby, after a depressing week of news
• Whether it be tracking down a football over several yards or connecting a bat against a baseball, many sports require an athlete’s eyes to see a moving object
• Partially blind Alayna Lopez aims to bring awareness to disabilities through sports
• Ruby Tui yet to make decision on playing future and will not feature in Super Rugby Aupiki
• Investing in women’s rugby crucial to Canadian squad’s future, coach Kevin Rouet and captain Sophie de Goede say
• The Liberton women’s team claim they faced racist and homophobic comments and were met by chants of ‘losers’ by their own supporters

Women’s Rugby Media

• Watch the highlights from Uganda’s Central League between Avengers and Black Pearls
• Find out about the role of the World Rugby Coaching Internship Programme plays in providing unique opportunities for coaches
• Watch highlights from the opening fixture of the Celtic Challenge as the WRU Development XV ran out narrow winners against The Thistles at Scotstoun Stadium
• Former Wales rugby international & Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi was on BBC Womans Hour to talk about the ‘toxic’ culture of sexism at the WRU
• From behind the microphone to in front of the camera, Rikki Swannell takes you on tour about her Hamilton 7s experience
• Gary Turner released a video looking at what drove the World Rugby Transgender ban
  • No evidence of consultation
  • No Consultation map
  • No stakeholder engagement map
• Rugby Hive interviewed Sarah Chobot, American Raptors Head Coach as she prepares for the inaugural Super Rugby Americas
• Eshyllen Coimbra’s journey to represent Brazil which took her down a path that few others have taken in sport
• Director of Women’s Rugby Giselle Mather discusses her Q&A last week and her plans ahead of our first Premier 15s game in November