Sunderland & Twickenham to Host Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, Spain Eyes Future Hosting and Australia Wins Cape Town Title | WRR 132

Women’s Rugby Rundown News

XVs

International

• Sunderland’s Stadium of Light is set to host the opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, featuring England’s Red Roses, on August 22, 2025, with Twickenham Stadium aiming to set a new attendance record for the final, marking an era-defining tournament expanded to 16 teams [link]
• Hollie Davidson makes history as the first Scottish female referee in the Guinness Six Nations, serving as Assistant Referee 2 at the England v Wales match on February 10, 2024, following her notable officiating roles in international warm-up matches and the 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship [link]
• Spain aims to bid for upcoming Rugby World Cups, expressing interest in hosting both the men’s and women’s tournaments post-2031 [link]
• Former England prop Teresa O’Reilly, one of three women in a class action, joined rugby’s brain injury lawsuit after watching the Steve Thompson documentary, expressing regret for playing in the front row without knowledge of the associated risks [link]
• Canada officially launches its new strategic plan for 2024-2027, focusing on supporting national teams, becoming a leading sports organization, expanding financial capacity, and introducing the philosophy of “One Squad” to foster collaboration and success across the country [link]
• World Rugby’s CEO, Alan Gilpin, and Chief Competitions & Performance Officer, Nigel Cass, discussed with Asia Rugby President, Qais al Dhalai, the future framework of Asia Rugby competitions, including the postponement of the Asia Rugby Grand League launch in 2024 and proposed adjustments to the structure of sevens pathway competitions to foster the growth of rugby across Asia and globally [link]

Premier & Club

• In round 10 of Ireland’s Energia AIL, UL Bohemian maintain their unbeaten streak and top the table with 43 points [link]
• Round 4 of Allianz PWR saw the Chiefs climbing to joint-top of the table, though Saracens maintained their first-place position with an impressive points difference [link]
• Round 3 of France’s Elite 1 showcased dominant performances as Montpellier and Toulouse secured top positions in their respective pools with convincing victories, while Bordeaux and Blagnac maintained their unbeaten records [link]
• In Round 7 of the Nan Fung Group | SEWIT Hong Kong Premiership, HKFC Natixis Ice maintains their lead with six wins out of seven matches, while Societe Generale Valley follows closely behind [link]
• In Round 3 of Spain’s Iberdrola Rugby League, CR Majadahonda maintains its position at the top of the table with three wins out of four matches [link]
• Super Rugby announced the 2024 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki draw [link]

7s

International

• Australia claimed a first-ever Cape Town title, and their second HSBC SVNS 2024 series win in a row, with a gutsy win over France in the showpiece final [link]

  • The next stop in the HSBC SVNS is Perth, Australia on January 26-28
• The pools for the opening round for the HSBC Sevens Challenger have been announced [link]

Women’s Rugby Rundown Features

• RFL’s proactive player welfare changes leave World Rugby floundering [link]
• Loughborough Lightning’s Bo Westcombe-Evans, a Sports Management student and winger, delves into her final-year dissertation focusing on the gender inequalities faced by women in sports coaching, emphasizing the importance of female role models, menstrual cycle awareness in training [link]
• Explore the extensive history of women’s rugby through “Our GameMakers,” an engaging book authored by Jo Caird and Paula George, revealing 52 inspirational stories and conversations that have influenced the worldwide trajectory of women’s rugby [link]
• The 2023 RAN 7s represented a crucial phase in Saint Lucia’s growth, with the team being the only one to score again hosts Canada [link]
• Great Britain captain Abbie Brown, also playing fullback for Loughborough Lightning in the PWR, discusses the exciting atmosphere with new coach Nathan Smith at Lightning, the challenges of balancing 15s and sevens, and the anticipation for the 2024 Olympics in Paris [link]
• Amelia MacDougall, an 18-year-old fly-half and dedicated Saracens supporter, realizes a lifelong ambition by making her debut in Premiership Women’s Rugby [link]
• Claire Molloy, former Ireland captain, highlighted the financial struggles of women’s rugby players, stressing the need to view them as a distinct entity and address the challenges faced by female athletes in making a living within the sport [link]
• Schezelle Fleming, honored ICECP graduate and coach, empowers girls in ‘at-risk’ areas through rugby. Her impactful project, successful in local schools, aims to make rugby mainstream for girls in Trinidad [link]

Women’s Rugby Rundown Media

• Canada’s Emily Tuttosi is the first in the seat for ‘WXV: Deep Meaningful Conversations’ [link]
• Bristol Bear’s Lucy Burgess shares her rugby hourney including her first club, inspiration and earliest rugby memory [link]
• Seattle’s Episode 2 of Unflitered podcast is out featuring Seattle Orcas Noelle Heiser, Leah Ingold, and Tim Viani [link]
• Episode 274 of the Scottish Rugby Podcast puts the spotlight on SCIAF, a Scottish charity using rugby for peace in Colombia through their film “Rugby For Peace,” and also features discussions on the establishment of two new women’s teams linked to Glasgow and Edinburgh, as well as Hollie Davidson’s recent appointment as a Six Nations official [link]
• The Good, The Scaz And The Rugby catches up with teammate/best mate Katy Daley-Mclean and Sale Sharks owner Michelle Orange [link]
• The Rugby Network has launched ‘The Rugby Rundown’ with Will Hooley and Alex Corbisiero which will cover all the news in the USA [link]
• Babalwa Latsha sees her name on a Harlequins shirt for the first time [link]
• Scottish Rugby Chair John McGuigan discusses Siobhan Cattigan, the future of rugby in Scotland for the next decade, national and club teams, and various topics in an exclusive interview with Tom English on the BBC Radio Scotland Rugby Podcast [link]
• Jorja Miller talks about adaptation in the Black Ferns 7s squad when players from from XVs to 7s [link]
• Emily Chancellor continues her deep dive into women’s rugby players lives and that chances they took with ‘Life of Chance Podcast’ [link]
• The origin story of Meg Jones’ iconic WXV cowboy celebration is revealed [link]