France, England & Ireland win in Round 2 of W6N, SVNS Heats Up with One Stop Left | WRR 194

Women’s Rugby 7s News

International

• New Zealand claimed their second straight gold in Hong Kong, Australia took silver, and Canada edged France for bronze—with one stop left in Singapore, the fight for the SVNS Grand Final tightens as Great Britain clings to 8th with 37 points, Brazil trails with 32 points, and Ireland, China, and Spain need big results to avoid the relegation playoff [link]
  • The series heads to Singapore for the final stop of the regular season, returning to the four-pool format we last saw in Cape Town—only pool winners advance to the semis, making every match a must-win:
    • Pool A: New Zealand, Brazil, China
    • Pool B: Australia, Japan, Spain
    • Pool C: Canada, USA, Great Britain
    • Pool D: France, Fiji, Ireland
• The World Rugby Challenger Series heads to Krakow April 11–12, where Kenya arrives with back-to-back wins and the top 4 will earn a shot at SVNS promotion in LA—one last chance [link]

Women’s Rugby XVs News

International

• Round 2 of Guinness Women’s Six Nations:
  • France ran in four tries, including three in seven minutes, to defeat Scotland 38-15 and remain unbeaten with a bonus point win [link]
    • Pauline Bourdon-Sansus nailed the first drop goal in the Women’s Six Nations since 2014—only the seventh ever in the comp—with the last coming from Sandrine Agricole against England
  • The Red Roses ran in 11 tries—including a Kildunne hat trick—to rout Wales 67-12 in front of a record crowd at Principality Stadium, earning a bonus-point win [link]
    • The attendance of 21,186 obliterated the previous record for a Welsh women’s sporting event on home soil, 16,845, which was set by the national football team in November [link]
  • Ireland stormed to a 54-12 win over Italy in Parma—securing their first away victory since 2021 and first over Italy since 2022—behind a Player of the Match performance from Aoife Dalton and a hat-trick from Anna McGann [link]
• Spain opened their European Championship title defense with a 19-7 win over Portugal, scoring all three tries in the first half—including a double from Claudia Peña—before holding off a late push from the home side in Cartaxo [link]
  • Next up Portugal will face off against Netherlands this weekend [link]
• USA Women’s Eagles Launch 2025 Campaign with Spring Player Pool Selections [link]
  • Some notable 7s players crossing over:
    • Nicole Heavirland, Ilona Maher, and Cheta Emba
• The WRU has finalized its Women’s Rugby Committee with the appointments of Florence Williams and Vicki Sutton, bringing top-tier experience to help drive growth, visibility, and strategic planning ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cups [link]
• BC Rugby is bringing back the Senior Women’s Blue vs. Gold Series this May and June in collaboration with Rugby Canada to spotlight top talent ahead of the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England [link]

Premier & Club

• The Bulls Daisies made it three straight Women’s Premier Division titles, outlasting DHL Western Province 46-31 in a 12-try thriller at Loftus Versfeld to close out the 2025 season [link]
• ​Round 2 of WER saw Denver Onyx make a statement with a 63-7 win over the Bay Breakers, Boston Banshees stayed perfect at 2-0 with a 36-10 victory over TC Gemini, and New York wrapped the weekend with a 48-17 win over Chicago [link]
• USA Club, Mar 26: Playoff pictures are coming into focus across all divisions. In D1, NOVA stays perfect, SHARCs and Quins clinch Red River, and Seattle, Life West, and the Vipers are in the mix. D2 sees Phoenixville advance, Little Rock and Fort Miami hold leads, and the WC Marines stay unbeaten. In D3, DC Revolution tops Capital, Brandywine leads EPRU, and Dallas RFC is Red River final-bound. The Atlantic D3 Championship is set for May 2–4 in Newport, RI. [link]
  • The 2025 USA Club Rugby XVs National Championships are set for May 16–18 at Kuntz Stadium in Indianapolis, with 20 teams across five divisions battling for national titles—hosted by the Indianapolis Impalas and streamed live on The Rugby Network [link]
• Only one BC Premier match this week as Castaway Wanderers rolled past Burnaby Lake 54-7, and with one round left before semifinals are locked in, the Vancouver Thunderbirds have already secured the top seed [link]
• Railway Union capped an unbeaten regular season with a win over Old Belvedere, while Ballincollig, Wicklow, Cooke, and UL Bohemian also closed strong—semifinals are set for April 20, leading to a historic double-header final at Aviva Stadium on April 28, live on TG4 [link]
• Round 15 of Elite 1 all but locks in the top four for the semifinals with three rounds left—Bordeaux still unbeaten [link]
• The Kenya Cup semifinals were supposed to be this weekend but one of them was cancelled and no info can be found on the other… [link]
• The Super W semifinals are locked in for April 6: Queensland Reds will host Fijiana Drua after a dominant 47-10 win over the Force, while the ladder-topping Waratahs, fresh off a 36-23 victory over the Brumbies, will face Western Force at Leichhardt Oval as they look to defend their title and chase a sixth championship [link]
• Matatū stunned the previously unbeaten Blues 37-29 to book their spot in the Super Rugby Aupiki Final, while Chiefs Manawa beat Poua 27-7 but missed out on the decider, set for two weeks’ time [link]

Women’s Rugby Features

• Sadia Kabeya’s Six Nations column: It’s good to have a challenge [link]
• 20/20 vision as 20-year-old duo Poolman and Boyd could debut off the bench in La Rochelle [link]
• Women’s Elite Rugby, the first professional women’s league in the United States, kicked off this month, offering a new opportunity for athletes hoping to compete in the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles [link]
• Maddie Feaunati: ‘I’m always pinching myself that this is what I’m doing right now – I never take it for granted’ [link]
• Denver Onyx’s inaugural match another milestone in sport’s American ascent [link]
• Quins star Konkel returns to Scotland team for France trip [link]
• Lilli Ives Campion: ‘I want women and young girls to have a go at rugby’ [link]From the pitch to the scrum, women’s pro sports are in high demand [link]
• Remembering a twin-credible day for Wales Women [link]
• After 10 months of rehab, Kelsey Jones made her return to the pitch and said, “It felt so good to be back.” [link]
• Chinese women’s rugby team returns to Hong Kong Sevens after six-year hiatus [link]
• Italy, Seye: “Positive signs with England. Ireland very strong, but we can contain it” [link]
• USA make decision on Ilona Maher as they name player pool [link]
• Claudia MacDonald: ‘For a while I didn’t trust my body’ [link]
• Heather Cowell on GB Sevens’ progress after SVNS season breakthrough [link]
• Player Focus: Sara Moreira, Portugal [link]
• Hannah Jones’ message ahead of England: ‘We have nothing to lose, so let’s go for it’ [link]
• USA Women rugby star Kathryn Treder chats to York Vision on her excitement for the Rugby World Cup in York this summer [link]
• Player Focus: Cristina Blanco Herrera, Spain [link]
• Leia Brebner-Holden enjoyed her first ever action in the tournament and now wants to kick on [link]
• Evie Gallagher to miss France clash through suspension [link]
• Wafer: We’ve Got To Learn Fast For Italy And Right Those Wrongs [link]
• Sluggish TMOs blight opening weekend of Women’s Six Nations [link]
• Inspirational Rachel Malcolm is a hero of Scottish rugby [link]
• From childhood on a farm to playing for England, Emily Scarratt on her journey to rugby [link]

Women’s Rugby Media

• Squidge Rugby: With a World Cup on the horizon, two new coaches and six evolving teams, this year’s Six Nations promises to be one of the most intriguing ever and the first round did not disappoint. We review in detail England v Italy, Scotland v Wales and Ireland v France [link]
• England Rugby Podcast: O2 Inside Line: Two-time Olympian Abi Burton, who battled back from weeks in a coma to earn a place in the Red Roses squad, tells her remarkable tale [link]