Welcome to the top women’s rugby news in under 60 seconds for April 3-9. Round one of the Women’s Six Nations Festival saw wins for France and England, while New Zealand Rugby launched a 10-year strategy to support the growth and development of women’s rugby in the country.
In XVs news, the Waratahs lead the Super W with Queensland and Fijiana Drua chasing while the Energia AIL Cup Finals are set between Railway Union and UL Bohemian, and the Allianz Premier Semi-finals will be June 10-11 with the Final on June 24 at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester…both weekends will be shown live on BT Sport, the BBC and Premier15s.com.
In 7s news, the qualification for USA’s Collegiate Rugby Championship 7s is almost complete with qualifying tournaments finishing up this coming weekend and then we will know the entire field for the event on April 28-30 in Washington, DC.
We close out the week with 15 features and 9 media.
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tl;dr: Women’s Rugby in 60 secs for Apr 3-9 saw France and England leading after Round 1 of the Women’s Six Nations Festival and New Zealand launched a 10-year strategy to support the growth and development of women’s rugby in the country.
60 Second Video Update
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@yscrugby Your #wrugby News in under 60 seconds for Apr 3-9 saw France and England leading after Round 1 of the Women’s Six Nations Festival and New Zealand launched a 10-year strategy to support the growth and development of women’s rugby in the country. Watch our video & read the entire update using the link in our bio! #womensrugby #wrugby #rugbyunion #rugbytok
♬ original sound - YSCRugby
Top Women’s Rugby Stories
XVs
International
- Round one of the Women’s Six Nations Festival at Wellington College in Berkshire saw France and England win both of their opening fixtures and wins for Wales and Ireland:
- England U18 10-0 Wales U18
- England U18 21-0 Scotland U18
- Wales U18 17-7 Scotland U18
- France U18 24-15 Ireland U18
- Italy U18 0-55 France U18
- Ireland U18 10-0 Italy U18
- We’re all anxious for updates from World Rugby about the new WXV competition and it’s rumored that RAN’s XVs Champion will not be included this year but could be in the future
- New Zealand Rugby has launched a 10-year transformative strategy to support the growth and development of women and girls rugby in the country
Domestic
- The Waratahs lead the Super W with 3 wins and 15 points, Queensland is in second with 14 points and Fijiana Drua follow in third with 9 points
- The final round of the Energia AIL Cup has completed and we now know who will play in the Cup, Plate and Shield Finals on April 23:
- Cup Final: Railway Union v UL Bohemian
- Plate Final: Galwegians v Blackrock College
- Shield Final: Wicklow v Old Belvedere
- The Allianz Premier Final will be June 24 at Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester and will be live on BT Sport, The BBC and Premier15s.com
- Semi-finals will be June 10-11 played at the home ground of the higher placed semi-finalist and these matches will also be broadcast on the above channels
7s
- Qualification for USA’s CRC 7s on April 28-30 in Washington, DC are almost finished:
- 16 Premier Cup teams
- Aquinas College, Brown University, Iowa State University, Iowa State University, Kutztown University, Michigan State University, Montana State University, Southern Nazarene University, U.S. Military Academy, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, University of Northern Iowa, Virginia Tech
- 8 Division I Club teams
- Boise State University, Clemson University, Colgate University, Cornell University, University of Pittsburgh
- 12 Division II teams
- Colorado School of Mines, Coastal Carolina University, Grand Valley State University, Roger Williams University
- 12 Small College teams
- Missouri Science & Technology, St. Bonaventure University, University of South Dakota
- 16 Premier Cup teams
Women’s Rugby Features
- The Rugby Breakdown previews the Twin Cities Amazons ahead of the start of the WPL
- Scotland head coach Bryan Easson insists there is a lot to be positive about despite his side’s difficult start to the 2023 TikTok Women’s Six Nations
- Preliminary data from Worl Rugby instrumented gum shield trials finds women players sustain 55% of higher force impacts (40G+) in training
- We share our top women’s rugby books
- WPL announced their new Board of Directors
- In her BBC Sport Wales column, Wales number eight Sioned Harries talks about the elation of winning in Edinburgh and looks ahead to the challenge of England
- Black Ferns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini is heading to Japan to play professional sevens for the Pearls club
- Fiona Coghlan says she saw more “fight” in the Irish side that fell to a record defeat to France but talk of an improvement on their defeat to Wales is “a bit patronising”
- Wales’ Natalia John is playing for her three-year-old nephew Morgan who is battling a rare form of cancer
- Wales women are using a menstrual-cycle tracking app in an effort to improve the team’s performances at the Women’s Six Nations
- England fly-half Holly Aitchison opens up about her battle with the skin condition
- Zainab Alema quit nursing, and defied cultural expectations, in order to pursue her dream of playing for England
- When Tanya Dearns started as CEO of Mid-Canterbury Rugby Union last year, she asked a simple question: Why were girls who wanted to play rugby being treated like boys?
- The 2023 MA Sorensen Award Nominees have been named
- In her second installment of her TikTik Women’s Six Nations column, Amy Cokayne reflects on a memorable weekend in Northampton
Women’s Rugby Media
- Wales’ Kerin Lake opens up on the devastation of getting injured weeks before the RWC
- Get to know Marlie Packer from O2 Inside Line
- Happiness is Egg Shaped talks with Ireland’s Anna Caplice
- Rugby Hive features Ireland’s Alan Gattinger and her Canadian roots
- Recharged looks back at Round 2 of the Six Nations
- International Rugby Players talks with Dr. Deirdre Lyons about the importance of players to prepare for life after sport
- Allianz Premier caught up with the Robinson sisters from the Quins and Exeter
- Zainab Alema is a trained neonatal nurse and mother of three hoping to become the first Black Muslim woman to play rugby for England
- Premier Rugby Sevens introduced a new series where they are hoping to Find America’s Next Great Rugby Stard
XVs
International
https://twitter.com/SixNationsU20/status/1644382698679484427
Announcement about WXV from @WorldRugby is "imminent" with dates and venues.@RugbyAmericasN's XVs champions will not be included in WXV now. WR to review the "high performance level" of the championship before offering the region a third place (USA & Canada already have places)
— Scrumqueens - Women’s Rugby (@ScrumQueens) April 6, 2023
Representatives from New Zealand’s rugby community have launched a 10-year women and girls’ rugby strategy at a special event in Auckland today.
— New Zealand Rugby (@NZRugby) April 5, 2023
To learn more about the strategy, visit: https://t.co/OOfmF31y54 pic.twitter.com/uOzoMHpaty
Domestic
Everyone focusing on the Tahs and Fijiana, meanwhile the Reds quietly going about their business.
— Brittany Mitchell (@BrittMitchell11) April 8, 2023
3 from 3, top of the table, and playing some good rugby. Centre Briana Dascombe especially good last night.
Final few rounds will be big! #SuperW https://t.co/geHGNd7Gsf
https://twitter.com/FinalWhistleIE/status/1645056741497765888
https://twitter.com/Premier15s/status/1643252561237925891
7s
https://twitter.com/ncrrugby/status/1644372974273802243
https://twitter.com/ncrrugby/status/1644439175658127360
https://twitter.com/Womens6Nations/status/1644626139074232320
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1644339521083801606
https://twitter.com/Womens6Nations/status/1643886264800940032
Preliminary data from @WorldRugby instrumented gum shield trials finds women players sustain 55% of higher force impacts (40G+) in training.
— Progressive Rugby (@ProgressiveRug) April 6, 2023
This compares with just 14% for men.
Believed discrepancy is women coming to the game later and doing more contact technique in training. pic.twitter.com/xK48uDEjud
https://twitter.com/Claire_GThomas/status/1643625538957836293
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1643644956626636801
Great to have an open and honest chat with @HannahJones_12 (Wales captain), Ioan Cunningham (Wales head coach) and Jo Perkins (Wales head physio) about the menstrual cycle and how Wales are supporting the women.https://t.co/XQ4WZutrzL
— Jessica Hayden (@_JessHayden) April 8, 2023
https://twitter.com/BBCSportWales/status/1644038974095126531
Fiona Coghlan says she saw more "fight" in the Irish side that fell to a record defeat to France but talk of an improvement on their defeat to Wales is "a bit patronising" #RTERugby https://t.co/fLdLN9jj8k
— RTÉ Rugby (@RTErugby) April 6, 2023
Breaking News: @BlackFerns Sevens captain Sarah Hirini is heading to Japan to play professional sevens for the Pearls club – something she wants to make more permanent once her international career is over, she tells LockerRoom in an exclusive interview. https://t.co/kQmQF01Xdf
— Suzanne McFadden (@suzemcfadden) April 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/BBCSportWales/status/1643537223243923458
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1643307634819231747
Had planned to chat all things kicking with this woman but the convo took a different turn. As someone who struggled with acne for years I could relate to every word she said. Thank you, @hollyaitchison_ for your honesty. I'm so glad you're shining now ✨https://t.co/57nGb1A5Ga
— Fi Tomas (@fi_tomas_) April 7, 2023
Super W: Waratahs gun Maya Stewart’s stunning form on comeback to rugby plus team list for round three https://t.co/0E5uWkzA0x
— amanda lulham (@amandalulham) April 6, 2023
Zainab Alema: "I quit nursing… I made the decision to embark on a journey to become the first Black Muslim woman to play for England."
— Tell MAMA UK (@TellMamaUK) April 6, 2023
Great to see Zainab interviewed by the Olympics websitehttps://t.co/aHX7LPQOhS
Kicking old school attitudes, bias and 'boofheads' into touch is at the heart of @NZRugby's new women and girls strategy. But in Mid-Canterbury, Silver Fern Tanya Dearns is beating them to it. @BlackFerns @SilverFernsNZhttps://t.co/S5etWRbL4X
— Suzanne McFadden (@suzemcfadden) April 5, 2023
https://twitter.com/yscrugby/status/1643690248344330242
https://twitter.com/EnglandRugby/status/1643601331603529730
https://twitter.com/GoodScazRugby/status/1644324150629236742
https://twitter.com/EnglandRugby/status/1643915877157306370
https://twitter.com/happyeggshaped/status/1643562468038389760
‘The last thing you want to be stressing & worrying about is potentially bleeding through your kit’ @fi_tomas_, sports journalist & No 11 on @bbcwomanshour Power List 2023 shares her reaction to the Lionesses no longer playing in white shorts ⚽
— BBC Woman's Hour (@BBCWomansHour) April 4, 2023
Listen now on @bbcsounds
https://twitter.com/Premier15s/status/1644252340306812928
https://twitter.com/IntRugbyPlayers/status/1643704159449890816
Our show looking back on R2 of the @Womens6Nations is out!
— Nick Heath (@nickheathsport) April 5, 2023
Massive thanks to host @zoeharrison123 who has a career awaiting with those stone cold vox pops. So good.
Huge thanks to all the contributors and our ace @teamlevelco production team. https://t.co/FnXfjLY2w5
If you're a North American rugby fan and you don't know the name Alana Gattinger, you probably need to read this. Alana's out in the world doing great things, right now at the IRFU of all unions.
— Rugby Hive Podcast (@rugbyhive) April 4, 2023
Read more here ➡️ https://t.co/hf3FAKELGh#RugbyHive pic.twitter.com/98orUefKMF
"I'm smashing these stereotypes as a bulldozer would smash buildings."
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) April 6, 2023
Meet @AlemaZainab - a trained neonatal nurse and mother of three hoping to become the first Black Muslim woman to play rugby for England.@Richmond_FC | @EnglandRugby | @WorldRugby
https://twitter.com/WelshRugbyUnion/status/1643675115874582528
https://twitter.com/prsevens/status/1643324648967348224