RFU and IRFU Invest as Australia Cuts Funding While Kenya wins Safari 7s | WRR 219

Women’s Rugby 7s News

International

• The Kenya Lionesses secured a major win on home soil at the 2025 Safari 7s, successfully defending their title with a thrilling 14-10 victory over Uganda in the  final. The Costa Blanca Barbarians took home the bronze. [link]

Women’s Rugby XVs News

International

• Springboks
  • The Springbok Women’s recent World Cup run was a massive success, breaking broadcast records and proving the booming interest in the sport. Their historic quarter-final match against New Zealand set a new record with nearly 500,000 live viewers, and total viewership for the team has grown by over 300% since last year. [link]
  • Swys de Bruin is officially staying on as the Springbok coach, leading them to the next World Cup after a successful run to the quarter-finals this year. His contract is being finalized, keeping their most successful coach in charge. [link]
• Australia
  • In a significant setback for Australian women’s rugby, Rugby Australia is reportedly cutting the women’s program budget by up to 25%, which has led to the resignation of Jaime Fernandez, the women’s high-performance manager. This comes as a major blow to the team, especially with Australia set to host the 2029 Rugby World Cup. [link]
    • Rugby columnist Alice Soper argues that despite the success of the women’s game, rugby administrators are still resistant to investing in it. She highlights the prevailing “be so good, they can’t ignore you” narrative and says it’s flawed, pointing to Rugby Australia’s recent 25% cut to its women’s program. Soper says that administrators are still “blinded by their own bias,” and that this underfunding creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where women’s teams are set up to underperform, justifying further cuts. She concludes that women’s teams are stuck in a cycle where they must constantly over-deliver to earn any respect or resources. [link]
  • Despite recent 25% funding cuts, Rugby Australia is trying to project a positive image by announcing a new interim coaching team for the Wallaroos, led by Sam Needs. They claim this is part of their “commitment” to deliver a “fully-resourced program” to prepare the team for the 2029 Rugby World Cup in Australia. [link]
  • Swyftx, a cryptocurrency exchange, has become the new naming partner for both Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby W’s in Australia through 2027. The deal marks the first crypto partnership in Rugby Australia’s history and will see the company’s logo featured on the uniforms of all Australian clubs in both leagues. [link]
• The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has received additional funding from the Irish government, which it will use to accelerate the growth of women’s rugby. The IRFU’s chief executive and head of women’s strategy both praised the investment, stating it will help establish new provincial pathways and improve player development for women and girls across Ireland. This financial boost is seen as a key step in helping Irish rugby build on the momentum of the 2025 Rugby World Cup. [link]
  • €500k of a €750k increase will go towards the building of high-performance pathways for women’s rugby.
• After a massively successful World Cup victory, the RFU is launching a five-year plan called “Every Rose: Our Time” to capitalize on the momentum and cement England as a global leader in women’s rugby. The ambitious goals include winning back-to-back World Cups, doubling the revenue of the women’s game to £60m, and growing the Red Roses’ fanbase to 3 million. The strategy also aims to increase the number of female players from 60,000 to 100,000 by 2030, which the RFU believes will secure the future of the sport as a whole. [link]
• Scottish Rugby has hired Andy Rhys Jones from Harlequins as its first-ever Head of Women’s Performance and Pathways. In his new role, Jones will be responsible for building a strong talent pipeline, from youth to the senior national team, with the goal of helping Scotland succeed on the international stage. [link]
• Toy giant Mattel has unveiled a new “Team Barbie” to celebrate International Day of the Girl, featuring four female rugby players: Ilona Maher (USA), Ellie Kildunne (England), Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (New Zealand), and Nassira Konde (France). The company, which is using these one-of-a-kind dolls to inspire girls to stay in sports, will make a special-edition Ilona Maher doll available for purchase in 2026. This doll will feature an entirely new body sculpt to reflect a more muscular, athletic build [link]

Domestic

• Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing a comprehensive look at all the major domestic women’s rugby competitions around the world. These are the leagues where your favorite World Cup stars are heading back to play. [link]
• PWR has signed a four-year broadcast deal with Limitless to air all of its matches, greatly boosting the sport’s visibility. Under the new agreement, one featured match per week will be shown on TNT Sports, another on BBC iPlayer, and the rest on PWR’s YouTube channel. The partnership also includes a strong commitment to developing female talent in commentary, analysis, and production roles, aiming to build a lasting legacy for women’s sport. [link]
• In the latest USA Club league shake-ups, several teams are on top of their divisions. Grand Rapids is making moves in the Midwest, while the SLC Slugs and St. Louis Sabres lead in Rocky Mountain and Mid-America. On the East Coast, NOVA and James River hold their top spots, with new leaders in D2 Capital (James River), EPRU (Phoenixville), and several D3 divisions including NERFU (North Shore) and Capital (Frederick). In the South, Black Ice and Atlanta 2.0 continue their dominance, while Chattanooga and Battleship now lead their respective D3 conferences. [link]
• The final round of stage one in the Arnold Clark Premiership has set the stage for the top four teams competing for the title. Stirling County remains the team to beat after a decisive 88-11 win over Cartha Queens Park. Watsonians also secured their spot with a big 63-5 victory over Garioch. The most thrilling match was between Corstorphine Cougars and Hillhead Jordanhill, where the Cougars’ narrow 25-24 win secured them the third spot, while the nail-biting win for Heriot’s over Biggar by a score of 40-12 earned them the last spot in the top four. The bottom four teams will now face off to avoid relegation. [link]
• In Round 4 of the Welsh Premiership, the league standings got a shake-up after some big wins. Bonymaen dominated Caernarfon with a 53-14 victory, while Ynysddu beat Cymry Caerdydd 32-10. Seven Sisters and Llandaff North also secured decisive victories. With all four winning teams now tied with 10 points each, the top of the table is a tight race. [link]
• In Round 2 of the BC Premier league, two teams got off to a hot start. Meraloma delivered a powerful performance, defeating the Castaway Wanderers 41-7. Meanwhile, Burnaby Lake also secured a decisive win, beating Seattle Rugby 36-10. With both Meraloma and Burnaby Lake earning bonus points, they now sit tied at the top of the table. [link]
• The French AXA Elite 1 league kicked off its new season with an eventful opening weekend. ASM Romagnat had a monster performance, defeating Villeneuvois 49-7, while Blagnac edged out Rugby Club Toulon 27-20 in a close contest. In other results, Toulouse beat Bordeaux 29-19, and Lyon Ol U and AC Bobigny played to a 12-12 draw. This leaves ASM Romagnat in first place, with Blagnac and Toulouse tied for second. [link]
• In a dramatic Round 2 of the Nan Fung Group | AIRSIDE Premiership, Societe Generale Valley RFC had a historic 100-0 victory over Kowloon Rugby Club, keeping their perfect record intact. Meanwhile, HKFC Natixis Ice also remained undefeated after a 22-7 win against the Clement Shield/VetiVa Gai Wu Falcons. With these results, both Societe Generale Valley RFC and HKFC Natixis Ice are now tied at the top of the table. [link]

Women’s Rugby Features

• Referees who join the new R360 rebel league face the same fate as players: a ban from international Test matches and World Cups. [link]
• PWR executive chair Genevieve Shore is concerned that the R360 rebel league’s proposed four-team, exhibition-style format would leave female rugby players in limbo. She argues that the limited number of games would not provide the necessary form and fitness for international competition, despite the potential for higher paydays. [link]
• USA 7s Warms Up in Australia [link]
• Lewanayaqona’s love for rugby fuels her rise with Macuata [link]
• The enormous gap between South Africa’s two rugby worlds [link]
• How Women in Leadership Are Shaping the Future of Rugby Across Africa [link]
• Sophie de Goede: ‘The momentum we’ve built is worth celebrating’ [link]
• The first muscular Barbie is modeled after Ilona Maher – here she explains why it’s such a big deal [link]
• Portia Woodman-Wickliffe on how women’s rugby has ‘changed completely’ [link]
• Black Fern Portia Woodman-Wickliffe featured as a Barbie doll [link]
• England rugby star Ellie Kildunne honoured with Barbie doll [link]
• Rocky Clark: ‘I was purple at halftime. It went by so fast.’ [link]
• Clinique unveils new iteration of campaign empowering women to play rugby [link]
• A federal court has dismissed 2 of the 3 major lawsuits against USA Rugby, citing the Ted Stevens Act. The lawsuit from National Collegiate Rugby & Christopher Micheletti’s case have been dismissed. However, Justin Hale’s case remains active. [link]
• Ellie Kildunne called the World Cup win a moment of pride and purpose and hopes it sparks investment, inspires girls and brings the sport into schools nationwide. [link]

Women’s Rugby Media

• Challenging the Game: Create psychological safety in girls rugby
• Banana and Bear’s RugbyPod: I MADE THE BBC!
• The Rugby Rant: Episode 222
• Rugby Rodeo: Reflecting on the 2025 RWC
• Women’s Rugby Treehouse: The Yap City Rugby World Cup Awards