Welcome to the top women’s rugby news in under 60 seconds for Jan 30-Feb 5. Portugal tops the European Trophy standings after defeating Finland 39-0 while Wales and Ireland will look to improve gender representation on their committees by at least 40% by the end of the year. This of course is one of the responses after the recent scandal revelations in both Unions.
In XVs news we are looking at all the standings across USA Club, Allianz Premier, France’s Elite 1, Energia AIL Cup, the Welsh Admiral National League, Nan Fung SEWIT Hong Kong Premiership, and the Kenya Cup. We are also looking ahead to Super Rugby Aupiki which begins February 25 and South Africa’s Premier Division which announced that seven teams will battle it out; we’re still awaiting news on when that league will begin.
In 7s news, the pools for the next HSBC 7s stop in Vancouver, Canada in early March were announced and Premier Rugby Sevens added their eighth franchise in Pittsburgh, PA, the Steeltoes.
We close out the week with 17 features and 3 media.
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tl;dr: Women’s Rugby in 60 secs for Jan 30-Feb 5 saw Portugal defeat Finland in the European Trophy while Wales and Ireland responded to their recent scandals by proposing to boast their female representation by 40% on their Boards.
60 Second Video Update
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@yscrugby Your #wrugby News in under 60 seconds for Jan 30-Feb 5 saw Portugal defeat Finland in the European Trophy while Wales and Ireland responded to their recent scandals by proposing to boast their female representation by 40% on their Boards. 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
- Portugal defeated Finland 39-0 in the European Trophy and move to the top of the table
- The Combined Provinces beat The Thistles 45-12 in the second game of the Celtic Challenge
- World Rugby confirmed the Match Official Appointments for the TikTok Women’s Six Nations
- A total of 10 match officials representing nine nations will take charge of the 15 tests
- Fifteen of the 18-strong RWC 2021 match officials team involved in the 2023 Championship
- Scrum Queens gave a detailed overview of the proposed governance changes in Ireland & Wales
- Wales will improve gender representation on their main committee to 40% by the end of the year
- Ireland is reacting to pressure from government, including a mooted financial penalty, and committed to reaching 40% by the end of the year
Domestic
- We dug through all the Club D1 and D2 competitions for the USA:
- D1
- East
- MAC play began in the fall and won’t restart until March but NOVA currently leads with Raleigh close behind but DC Furies and Philadelphia in the fight
- Midwest
- The Metropolis Valkyries won the Midwest Championship over the Chicago Lions 35-21
- This year there is a new look with a hybrid league. The top two teams out of the eastern and western conferences advanced to the DI semifinals, while the remainder funneled into the DII playoffs along with the DII-only leagues
- Frontier/Red River
- This competition continues to be a cross-over between Frontier and Red River teams; standings aren’t published yet
- Pacific
- Pacific Northwest is competing in a newly created hybrid league where play began in the fall and they are on break until March; Salem Attack Owls lead
- SoCal began in January and the Surfers currently lead but are chased by Santa Monica, Belmont Shore and Tempe
- East
- D2
- East
- Capital began play in the Fall and restarts again in mid-March; Severn River currently leads with James River, NOVA and Norfolk chasing
- Empire play has concluded with New Haven retaining their title and will move on to the Superregional
- Midwest
- Milwaukee Scylla beat Chicago 30-28 in the Midwest Championship
- This year there is a new look with a hybrid league. The top two teams out of the eastern and western conferences advanced to the DI semifinals, while the remainder funneled into the DII playoffs along with the DII-only leagues
- Pacific
- NorCal play began this weekend with a win by Berkeley; the match between Life West and the Sacramento Amazons hasn’t been finalized yet so we don’t know the result…
- Pacific Northwest is competing in a newly created hybrid league where play began in the fall and they are on break until March; Salem Attack Owls lead
- SoCal began play in mid-January and sees the Warriors lead but are pursued by Outlaws and Mermaids
- Southwest began play in late January with Phoenix leading
- Gulf Coast
- True South began in the fall and is on a break until March; Chattanooga leads but is chased by Knoxville and Memphis
- Florida began in early January and Tampa leads
- Red River began in mid-January and Little Rock leads the North while San Antonio leads the South
- East
- D1
- USA Rugby is also searching for a host for their 2023 USA Rugby Club XVs National Championship June 2-4
- Gloucester-Hartpury continues to lead Allianz Premier with Exeter, Harlequins and Saracens in pursuit
- Montpellier defeated Stade 54-5 and moved up from fourth to second in France’s Elite 1; Bordeaux still continues to lead
- UL Bohemian leads the Energia AIL Cup but Blackrock, Railway and Cooke are close behind
- The Thunderbirds continue to lead Uganda’s Central League
- Pontyclun leads the Welsh Admiral National League with Llandaff North and Nelson chasing
- The Nan Fung | SEWIT Hong Kong Premiership has resumed and Natixis Ice leads with Kroll Tigers, Gaui Wu and Valley RFC chasing
- Impala leads the Kenya Cup but is followed by Mwamba, Nakuru and W. Spears
- Valsugana leads Italy’s Excellence and is followed by Color, Villorba and Capitol
- Sky Super Rugby Aupiki begins play February 25 with Hurricanes Poua taking on Chiefs Manawa and Matatū verses the Blues
- South Africa announced that seven teams will battle it out in the Premier Division with eight teams in the First Division; dates and final structure will be revealed soon
7s
- The next HSBC stop is the first weekend of March in Vancouver, Canada; pools are:
- Pool A: New Zealand, Fiji, Great Britain, Invitational TBC
- Pool B: France, Australia, Japan, Spain
- Pool C: USA, Ireland, Canada, Brazil
- PR 7s added their eight franchise in Pittsburgh, the Steeltoes
- ID Camp for this team is March 19 in Pittsburgh, PA
Women’s Rugby Features
- Montpellier is improving and their most recent win has propelled them to second in the Elite 1
- The Irish Independent calls out Warren Gatland for not calling out gross behaviour instead of sidestepping it
- Sir Rod Eddington appointed independent chairman of Rugby World Cup 2027 and 2029
- Sale Sharks Women and Worcester Warriors Women have been issued with a conditional offer to join the Allianz Premier 15s league for the 2023/24 season
- Carleton Newsroom profiled Lauryn Walker for Black History Month and her fast rise in rugby.
- Alecs Donovan is open about her experiences with the Welsh Rugby Union and wants to change things for the better
- USA’s Sylvia Braaten shares six exercises to help avoid slipping and falling down
- World champion Black Fern Hazel Tubic wary of Super Rugby Aupiki young guns
- Reported problems with the proposed Netflix documentary around the Six Nations is prompting some to just give it to the women
- TikTok unveils Six Nations Rugby content plans
- ‘Nobody was listening’: Wales kick off Six Nations under a cloud of scandal
- The Blue Bulls company have affirmed their commitment to championing the development and professionalism of women’s rugby at the franchise level in South Africa
- Meg Jones decided to play for England to become the best player possible
- The TikTok Six Nations is highlighting a player per nation who has scored more than 50 points in the Championship
- Rugby saved transgender player Julie Curtiss, so she’s fighting the RFU ban against her
- Milly Mackey has Super Rugby Aupiki Hurricanes Poua pride
- Gill Whitehead appointed independent Chair of Rugby World Cup 2025 Board
Women’s Rugby Media
- Stella Mills spoke with Shaunagh Brown at a recent 2025 Rugby World Cup Impact event
- Australia’s Emilee Cherry is working with the next generation of Aussie 7s talent
- Scottish Rugby Podcast talked to Sam Abdulla about Scotland’s decision to ban transgender women from participating in rugby & place restrictions on transgender men’s ability to freely take part
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XVs
International
https://twitter.com/rugby_europe/status/1621912835188989953
https://twitter.com/Inphosports/status/1621941898133790720
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1621524097757855744
Recap of major changes to governance in Ireland and Wales which will give women a stronger voice than ever before https://t.co/mk7FGfHHZm pic.twitter.com/K82u3NrgSr
— Scrumqueens - Women’s Rugby (@ScrumQueens) February 2, 2023
XVs
Domestic
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1621629692397735936
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1621191884969213954
https://twitter.com/Premier15s/status/1622548413014331394
✨VICTOIRE✨#TeamMHR #MHRSRR pic.twitter.com/Mfjmrnkt1n
— Montpellier Rugby Féminin (@MHR_Feminin) February 5, 2023
Round 2 of the Energia All Ireland Cup and wins for @BallincolligRFC and @ulbohemianrfc at home. Ballincollig try scorers Heather Kennedy X2 Tiara Siguenza. UL Bohemian try scorers Fiona Reidy, Niamh Kavanagh, Rachel Allen, Eilis Cahill, Lily Brady. Well done all. pic.twitter.com/uSBQ2cPhMz
— Munster Womens Rugby (@MunsterWomen) February 4, 2023
Mwamba left it late to defeat Northern Suburbs 10-0 in Women's Kenya Cup action on Saturday.#KenyaCup #WomensKenyaCup pic.twitter.com/o9K7l2OKCh
— Kenya Cup (@TheKenyaCup) February 5, 2023
Top of the table @Thunderbirdsrug continue their winning streak after the 00-12 victory in Entebbe.
— Uganda Rugby Union (@UgandaRugby) February 6, 2023
They host defending champions @BlackPearlsRFC at @KyadondoClub this Saturday at 2:00pm. #URUCentralWomensXV #UgandaRugby pic.twitter.com/Xn4OqLVxuQ
https://twitter.com/Springboks/status/1619976210078916608
7s
https://twitter.com/WorldRugby7s/status/1620406733482119170
https://twitter.com/prsevens/status/1620478692916076547
https://twitter.com/prsevens/status/1621583065947557888
Le MHR reçoit Rennes, ce dimanche 5 février, à 12h dans un choc face aux quatrièmes lors de la 6e journée du championnat Elite féminine https://t.co/VGInkkuLMv
— Midi Libre Montpellier (@MLMontpellier) February 5, 2023
"Stand up for what is right first, then you can "focus on the rugby”
— Lindsay Peat (she/her) (@lilypeat11) February 4, 2023
Warren Gatland missed a huge opportunity to be a true hero for Welsh Rugby after the truly shocking BBC documentary. Somethings are much bigger than winning or losing a game of rugby.
https://t.co/oGixSSwtlf
Delighted to welcome Sir Rod Eddington as independent chair of the Rugby World Cup 2027/2029 board. An impressive man with an impressive record, perfectly suited for optimising Australia’s hosting.https://t.co/xG649XAMb5 #rugby via @worldrugby
— Sir Bill Beaumont (@BillBeaumont) February 1, 2023
https://twitter.com/Premier15s/status/1620784559284490244
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1620467179022946304
'Disrespected' Wales international walked away and now wants to help put WRU right
— WalesOnline Rugby (@WalesRugby) January 30, 2023
By @KESandshttps://t.co/bKHtu0TQyX pic.twitter.com/cKH9Dr0pgL
Bulls set out to lead women's rugby revolution in South Africa https://t.co/H5JKEcmgde
— TheSouthAfrican.com (@TheSAnews) February 2, 2023
Lynn’s bid for being the most featured woman in Wales continues. This time featuring in @guardian. What next? Surely headlining the 10pm news! https://t.co/cdTUJpplAq
— CF10 Rugby Trust (@CF10RugbyTrust) February 3, 2023
‘Nobody was listening’: Wales kick off Six Nations under a cloud of scandal https://t.co/9HIMCvVXOF
— Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) February 3, 2023
Six Nations #Rugby sponsor @tiktok_uk has outlined its content plans for the @SixNationsRugby Championships. TikTok will host off-pitch #highlights and matchday rituals, fan/pundit #reactions and other Six Nations-focused #videos. Find out more below. https://t.co/4oO4YfeaIT
— Broadcast Sport (@broadcast_sport) February 2, 2023
"If Netflix can make a Korean-language TV show the world’s most popular hit, what can it do for rugby?" https://t.co/eB9GCMJGSv
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 1, 2023
The second season of Super Rugby Aupiki will open doors for some women and keep the likes of Chiefs Manawa and Black Ferns back Hazel Tubic on her toes.https://t.co/NCqIuIycMQ
— RNZ (@radionz) January 31, 2023
https://twitter.com/megan_feringa/status/1621806368058482688
https://twitter.com/Womens6Nations/status/1621539015307722753
Rugby helped save transgender player Julie Curtiss' life. Now, she is fighting to keep playing the sport she loves.
— Becky Thompson (@becksthompson16) February 2, 2023
This is a story about mental health and love of the sport. Thank you to Julie, and everyone involved, for being open with me.https://t.co/U5aP5mRph3
From the Pride to the Poua, Milly Mackey is on a mission for #Aupiki23 https://t.co/HqY1NfeMN1
— Super Rugby NZ (@SuperRugbyNZ) January 31, 2023
Gill Whitehead appointed independent Chair of Rugby World Cup 2025 Board | World Rugby https://t.co/TfLfvfgD7w #rugby via @worldrugby
— World Rugby Media (@worldrugbymedia) January 31, 2023
USA Women’s Eagles S&C Coach, @sylvia_braaten featured with the @wsj this week, providing an exercise tutorial on pace and control. https://t.co/QEcNezw0cC
— USA Rugby (@USARugby) January 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/RFU/status/1621539014095372289
https://twitter.com/WorldRugby7s/status/1620371436706594818
https://twitter.com/ScotRugbyPod/status/1621416974579384322
https://twitter.com/SportsGazette/status/1620404781528522753
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