Fiji, South Africa & GB 7s Wins and & Kenya Rugby Union Crisis | WRR 205

Women’s Rugby 7s News

International

• At the first stop of the 2025 Rugby Europe Women’s 7s Championship in Makarska, Great Britain took gold, France earned silver, and Poland secured bronze, with the series continuing in Hamburg later in June [link]
  • After winning the title, GB’s team showed raw, proud reactions that highlight their fight and heart, even as their program faces cuts [link]
  • History was made as Georgia competed in the Series for the first time and recorded their first win in the series over Italy, earning two points
• The LTI Super Series Elite picks up against June 21 with Nat’l Pub 7s with Shogun leading the pack [link]

Women’s Rugby XVs News

International

• Fiji’s Vodafone Fijiana defended their Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship title with a gritty 24-20 win over Samoa in a thrilling match at Coral Coast, overcoming a yellow card setback and a late Samoan surge [link]
• South Africa defended their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup title in Madagascar with a perfect 3-0 record, finishing ahead of Kenya, Uganda, and hosts Madagascar in the 2025 tournament [link]
  • Earlier in the week, South Africa edged Kenya 19-12, Madagascar defeated Uganda 24-20, and on the same day Fiji defended their title while Kenya dominated Uganda 47-0
  • Madagascar hosted Kenya on Day 1 of the Africa Cup in front of another huge crowd, with women’s rugby drawing over 15,000 fans before and men’s games topping 45,000, showing rugby is truly a passion there [link]
    • We requested official crowd sizes for all matches but did not hear back from Rugby Africa
• Brazil’s Yaras scored their biggest-ever official win with a commanding 58-7 victory over Colombia in São Paulo as they prepare for their first Rugby World Cup appearance in England this August [link]
• After the Oceania Championship, Africa Cup, and Brazil’s win over Colombia, the World Rugby Rankings saw shifts with Brazil and Uganda climbing four spots each, the Netherlands, Fiji, and Tonga moving up one place, while Madagascar and Colombia dropped four spots [link]
• The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England will feature 16 teams and a global audience, the largest ever, but it all started in 1991 when four women launched the event with no experience; you can support the documentary to find out how they made it happen [link]
• We got really frustrated recently while contributing to a Reddit thread about the Ruck You Match, as multiple commenters kept citing the 40-plus studies World Rugby used to justify their ban like that should end the discussion. So we dug into those so-called “studies” and found major flaws. [link]
  • Further, World Rugby promised a policy review after three years, there’s been no public update [link]
  • In 2021 the IOC adopted a better framework that rejects blanket bans, makes inclusion the default, requires sport-specific, evidence-based policies, and respects athlete privacy and dignity, World Rugby should adopt this as other sporting Unions have done [link]
• Two weeks after World Rugby warned Kenya Rugby Union about serious governance failings and risks to the sport’s future, KRU Chair Sasha Mutai resigned amid allegations of corruption and deep internal conflicts, leaving Kenyan rugby at a critical crossroads [link]
• Australia A Women will face Samoa in a key pre-World Cup match on June 28 in Canberra, giving players a vital chance to push for Wallaroos selection ahead of Tests and the Rugby World Cup later this year [link]
• The 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations will feature a fresh, fan-focused format with back-to-back ‘Super Saturdays’ and a ‘Super Sunday’ finale, hosting matches at major national stadiums to build on the momentum from the 2025 Rugby World Cup and grow women’s rugby globally [link]
  • Scotland Women’s first standalone match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield has already become the fastest selling match in the team’s history, in just four days [link]
• Up next is the conclusion of the 2025 RAN Inter-regional tournament and the WER Legacy Cup [link]

Premier & Club

• Round 13 of the WER saw Boston, New York, and Denver secure wins, with New York clinching the final Legacy Cup spot to face Denver Onyx on June 29 at TCO Stadium in Eagan, MN [link]
  • New York needed five points in their last game to reach 33 total points while hoping Bay got zero to stay at 32.
  • Bay didn’t get any points in their match, and that’s what put New York through.

Women’s Rugby Features

• New Zealand tighthead prop Amy Rule will become the first Black Ferns player to move to Premiership Women’s Rugby when she joins Exeter after this year’s World Cup [link]
• Denver is rapidly emerging as a major hub for women’s sports, with the new NWSL team joining thriving programs in women’s rugby and pro ultimate, backed by strong community support, world-class athletes, and ambitious plans for stadium and training facilities [link]
• Single-day ‘super’ rounds for 2026 Women’s Six Nations [link]
• Asahi invests £2m in Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 campaign [link]
• Emirates World Rugby Match Official appointments confirmed for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 warm-up matches [link]
• Amalia Argudo Llobregat: The Spanish back making her name at Stade Toulousain [link]
• France Télévisions to show Women’s Euro, Rugby World Cup through TF1 deal [link]
• Why Emma Wassell feared her Scotland career was over [link]
• Cristina Blanco Herrera: From PWR despair to finding home at Trailfinders [link]
• Shirley Russell’s delight at being recognised with a gong in the King’s Birthday Honours List goes well beyond personal satisfaction [link]

Women’s Rugby Media

• Mudder Rucker: Pitch Perfect