PWR Attendance Soars 183% and Bulls Daisies Appoint All-Women Staff | WRR 222

Women’s Rugby 7s News

International

• The top-tier HSBC SVNS 2026 Series launches its season at the Emirates Dubai 7s from November 29–30, 2025. This event features a new global structure with only eight core men’s and eight core women’s teams competing, all aiming for the World Championship finale. Australia will be defending the women’s title at this specific stop, while New Zealand enters the season as the defending overall Series champion. [link]
• The 32nd annual Dubai Invitational 7s runs November 28–30, featuring an enormous festival with 17 divisions across eight fields. Our coverage will focus on the top-tier International Invitational and Open events, plus the exciting new Social Women’s division for pure fun. [link]
• Kenya will host the 2025 Africa Women’s Sevens in Nairobi on November 15–16, which serves as the crucial qualifier for the World Rugby SVNS Division 3. Defending champions South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda have historically dominated the top spots, and with the Lionesses enjoying a massive home-crowd advantage, they are determined to beat South Africa and win their first title since 2018. [link]

Women’s Rugby XVs News

International

• History was made a few weeks ago as the Chile Women’s team, the Las Manques (Condors), debuted in their first-ever international XVs match! The team dominated their away contest against Peru, securing a massive 54-0 victory in Lima. The triumph featured Daniela Rojas scoring the country’s first international points and Catalina Villarroel recording a hat-trick. [link]
• 2026 is set to be a groundbreaking year for women’s rugby! We’ve compiled all the announced dates for international matches, including the highly-anticipated new global calendar, alongside all your favorite club and premier competition start dates and Championships. [link]
• The Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 was a massive digital success, generating 1.1 billion social impressions and becoming the second-biggest Rugby World Cup ever on digital platforms. This huge surge was driven by a bold, personality-focused strategy that created new stars and appealed to a younger, more diverse fanbase. Two-thirds of all new followers were female. [link]
• The World Champion Red Roses are set for a major return to the West Country, playing Wales at Ashton Gate on Saturday, April 25th, 2026, during the Guinness Women’s Six Nations. Interest is massive, with over 14,000 tickets already sold six months out from the match. The team is on track to beat the stadium’s previous home Six Nations crowd record of 19,705, continuing the momentum built by their recent sold-out appearances there during the Women’s Rugby World Cup. [link]
• Alice Soper argues that New Zealand Rugby’s 2026 calendar shift creates a serious problem for aspiring players despite aligning the Black Ferns Sevens and XVs for dual participation and overseas play in the PWR. By moving the Super Rugby Aupiki competition into the mid-year, it now directly clashes with profitable Australian leagues like the NRLW and AFLW. This change is predicted to cause a talent exodus as non-Black Fern players choose better earning potential overseas, ultimately weakening New Zealand’s domestic talent pool [link]
• Scottish Rugby is continuing the centenary celebrations of its home stadium by inducting 13 of the sport’s greatest Scots into its Hall of Fame last night, 30 October 2025. [link]
• Scotland’s Evie Wills is remaining positive after being among the 10 players who lost their Scottish Rugby contracts post-Women’s Rugby World Cup, despite the difficult timing that drew public criticism from veteran Jade Konkel. Wills is using this situation to focus on her nursing career and her club season with Sale Sharks in the PWR. While playing for Scotland remains an honor, she emphasizes it’s not her immediate focus as she aims to impress the incoming national head coach. [link]
• Hosting preparations for the Men’s Rugby World Cup USA 2031 are officially moving full steam ahead, with 27 cities and areas formally entering the Applicant Phase. This milestone is crucial for the first-ever RWC in the U.S., underscoring extraordinary national interest and World Rugby’s strategic plan to grow the sport across iconic and emerging American markets. Following detailed evaluations and collaboration through 2026, the final host cities are expected to be announced after the completion of the Rugby World Cup 2027. [link]

  • Arizona, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles Region, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, St. Louis, Vancouver, and Washington DC.

Domestic

• In the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership, Garioch finally secured their first win of the season, beating Cartha Queens Park 50-26 to avoid being cut adrift at the bottom. Meanwhile, the race for a Grand Final spot tightened in the top half: unbeaten Stirling County remains firmly in first after a 55-14 win over Heriot’s, while Watsonians took a huge step toward the December 13th final by edging out Corstorphine Cougars 17-12 in a tough battle, securing second place. [link]
• Round 5 of the Admiral Women’s National Leagues Premiership saw a fierce battle at the top, though Llandaff North retains the lead with a perfect 15 points (3 wins from 3 matches). [link]
• In Round 4 of the BC Premier Women’s league, the top teams continued to dominate with high-scoring results. Undefeated Westshore delivered a huge performance by routing Abbotsford RFC, winning 120-17 to keep their perfect record intact. Elsewhere, Meraloma edged out a strong challenge from Burnaby Lake, 24-19, and Castaway Wanderers took a victory over Vancouver Thunderbirds 1, 32-19. [link]
• Round 3 of the AXA Elite 1 saw a major shakeup near the top of the table. Undefeated ASM Romagnat dominated Blagnac, winning 36-3, and now leads the league with 14 points. Stade Bordelais had the largest victory of the round, crushing Stade Villeneuvois Lille Metropole 61-5. Meanwhile, Toulon earned their first win by narrowly defeating Lyon Ol U, 20-18. [link]
• Round 2 of the PWR delivered more statement wins and high drama. Defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury maintained their perfect start by overcoming Exeter  in a high-scoring thriller, winning 47-31 thanks to a hat-trick from Tatyana Heard. Elsewhere, Bristol dominated Leicester with a massive 74-0 shutout win, while Saracens claimed London bragging rights with a convincing 47-10 victory over rivals Harlequins. Finally, Loughborough secured their first win of the season by edging out Sale 19-12. [link]
  • Canterbury of New Zealand has renewed its commercial partnership with PWR, the brand will once again supply all over 450 players across the nine PWR clubs with high-performance boots tailored to their specific position, ensuring they have the right equipment to perform at their best. [link]
  • The opening round of the 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) season saw a phenomenal spike in attendance, with the league recording a 183% increase compared to the previous opening round, fresh off the success of the Women’s Rugby World Cup [link]
• Round 5 of the Nan Fung Group | AIRSIDE Women’s Premiership reaffirmed Societe Generale Valley’s dominant position, as they crushed Gai Wu Falcons 43-0 to remain undefeated and clear leaders with 25 points. The most critical result was the intense 7-7 draw between Natixis Ice and Kroll, leaving them tied for second place with 17 points apiece. Meanwhile, Causeway Sandy Bay secured a crucial victory over Kowloon, 30-12, earning their first win of the season. [link]
• The third round of the Women’s Serie A Elite saw Valsugana fly to the top of the standings after a dominant 40-7 win over CUS Milano. The close result between previous leaders Villorba and Colorno helped Valsugana’s position; Villorba won a tight 15-8 contest but failed to secure the bonus point, though Colorno did grab a defensive bonus point. Elsewhere, Benetton Treviso defeated Cus Torino 22-7, while Unione Capitolina secured their first points with a 36-20 victory in the Southern Derby against Neapolis. [link]
• In USA Club, the Northern Region of the Midwest has locked in its D1 semifinalists for November 8th, while the D2 brackets are set after Omaha vaulted to 2nd place and CO Springs Pikes Peaks shockingly took down the Slugs for the Rocky Mountain top spot. Meanwhile, the Atlantic Region is officially in win-or-go-home mode, with undefeated NOVA leading D1 as D2 and D3 divisions finalize their high-stakes postseason matchups. Down in the Gulf Coast, the Utah Vipers secured D1 first place, setting up confirmed D2 and D3 standings for the next phase of competition. [link]
• The Bulls Daisies are ushering in a new era for women’s rugby in South Africa, appointing an all-women coaching group led by Zenay Jordaan and Bongiwe Nhleko to succeed the departing Hayden Groepes. The franchise, which has an incredible record of only one loss in the last three seasons, is focused on internal development by integrating junior talent and scouting international players to defend their three consecutive titles. [link]

Women’s Rugby Features

• Georgia Evans on the power of a pink bow: ‘I’d take all the bad days for that one show of humanity’ [link]
• Red card to Black Fern – Rule set for PWR start [link]
• Rugby World Cup final still generates a mix of emotions for Canada coach, captain [link]
• De Goede: Derby against Quins perfect chance to bounce back [link]
• Kaitlin Shave re-signs 15 months on from devastating Olympics injury [link]
• Edel McMahon to miss season after double surgery [link]
• Abi Burton: ‘I have to remind myself of that journey I have been on’ [link]
• Muir on returning ‘home’ to Gloucester-Hartpury [link]
• Australia Sevens lock in Olympic duo ahead of new SVNS Series season [link]
• Trailfinders: The PWR team growing their own Red Roses [link]
• Why England legend Emily Scarratt is one of world’s best [link]
• First Nations rugby player named female recipient of national Tom Longboat Award [link]
• 2025 Africa Women’s Sevens: Zambia Eyes Leap from Sixth to Contender in 2025 [link]
• ‘Why Rugby?’: Meet UAE Women Tackling Stereotypes On The Field [link]
• Maggie Alphonsi has become a patron of the Women’s Sport Trust to help in the charity’s quest to bring parity to women’s sport in the UK [link]
• The Evolution of the Africa Women’s Sevens Cup: A Story of Growth, Equity, and Excellence [link]
• ‘As a player that is what I thrive on’: Evie Gallagher eyeing up PWR return [link]

Women’s Rugby Media