Stirling’s Final Spot Secured, Perth SVNS Locked for Three Years | WRR 223

Women’s Rugby 7s News

International

• Australia just confirmed that Perth is staying as the official SVNS stop for the next three years, kicking off on February 7-8, 2026! This is huge because ever since the event moved from Sydney, it’s been a massive success, especially with the Aussie Women’s team scoring a title win there last year.[link]
• The women’s national sevens teams from Spain, France, and the Czech Republic are currently in Alicante for a joint Training Camp to kick off their new sevens season. France will compete in the top-tier new SVNS Series starting in Dubai, while Spain’s Lionesses and the Czechs are aiming for promotion from the second division to secure a spot in the final three stages of the redesigned 12-team tournament format. The training camp, which includes two Spanish sides, will feature several preparation matches to ensure all teams start their campaigns in peak condition. [link]

Domestic

• The two-stage Super 7s Brazilian Championship has crowned Delta as the overall 2025 champion in the First Division, securing 20 total points after winning the final stage on Sunday. In the Second Division, the Lionesses of Paraisópolis dominated both tournaments to finish first with 10 points, earning them the crucial promotion spot into the 2026 First Division. The top six First Division teams, plus the Lionesses, now have their spots confirmed for the 2026 season. [link]

Women’s Rugby XVs News

International

• Former Wales fly-half Elinor Snowsill is “very frustrated” about England “headhunting” Wales’s most promising young female talent, arguing that players developed in Welsh pathways are being lured across the border by the draw of the world champion Red Roses. Snowsill believes while England offers immediate success, staying in a smaller nation like Wales offers a better path to the senior squad as they’re not “just another number.” The WRU is trying to fight this by boosting funding for the Celtic Challenge, offering dual contracts, and proposing a new four-club league to make staying in Wales more attractive. [link]

Domestic

• Stirling County cemented their place in the Arnold Clark Women’s Premiership Grand Final on December 13th, securing a massive 43-12 bonus-point victory over last year’s champions Corstorphine Cougars for their tenth straight win. Meanwhile, Watsonians took a massive step toward joining them by shutting out Heriot’s 39-0 thanks to a hat-trick from Cieron Bell. In the bottom half, Hillhead Jordanhill and Biggar both picked up five-point wins to consolidate their positions as teams fight to avoid the relegation play-off spot. [link]
• The playoff picture is officially set across the Northern and Atlantic regions of USA Club Rugby, with several championships scheduled for the coming weekend [link]:
  
  • Northern:
    • Midwest
      • D1 final will feature Pittsburgh Forge vs. Chicago NS
      • D2 final is set between South Buffalo and Milwaukee Scylla
  • Atlantic:
    • NERFU
      • D2 championship will be Providence vs. Worcester Shamrocks
      • D3 final sees Portland vs. North Shore
    • Empire
      • D2 final pits New Haven against Danbury
      • D3 final is Morris Lions vs. Union
• Round 5 of the Energia AIL Division brought some ridiculously high scores, with UL Bohemian winning an absolute blowout 98-0 over Cooke and Old Belvedere smashing Tullow 79-0 to vault back into the top four. The title race remains tight at the top, as UL Bohemian and Galwegians stayed undefeated, with Blackrock College close behind them in third after beating Wicklow, while Railway Union also secured a solid win over Ballincollig. [link]
• Round 4 of the AXA Elite 1 Féminine saw massive wins and a significant upset! ASM Romagnat delivered the shock of the round, dominating Montpellier Herault with a huge 29-7 away victory. Meanwhile, several teams secured emphatic wins: Stade Toulousain overpowered Lyon 38-6, Blagnac crushed Stade Villeneuvois 41-3, and Stade Bordelais routed AC Bobigny 40-8. Rounding out the action, FC Grenoble Amazones earned a solid 36-12 win over Toulon. [link]
• The Liga Iberdrola action confirmed Colina Clínic El Salvador as the undisputed league leader, continuing their perfect season with a dominant 43-17 win over CRAT Coruña. Elsewhere, both Getxo Rugby and CR Sant Cugat showcased their comeback skills to secure big wins, with Sant Cugat overcoming an early deficit to defeat Verdes Cocos 29-22, while Complutense Cisneros quietly defeated Silicius Majadahonda 20-5. The results confirm El Salvador’s top spot, while putting pressure on the struggling teams like Majadahonda [link]
• Round 3 of the Premiership Women’s Rugby delivered some serious results, highlighted by Gloucester Hartpury staging an epic second-half comeback from a 12-point deficit to beat Harlequins 33-26, maintaining their perfect record. Trailfinders secured their first win of the season in dominant fashion, crushing Sale Sharks 64-22 on the road, while Saracens also had a comfortable 33-12 away victory over Bristol Bears. The most dramatic result was the 66-point thriller between Loughborough Lightning and Exeter Chiefs, which ended in an exciting 33-33 draw after a last-minute conversion leveled the score. [link]
• New Zealand Rugby is shaking up the 2026 Farah Palmer Cup (FPC), reducing it to a 12-team structure with two balanced pools of six. The Central Roofing Taranaki Whio who had a rough run with no wins this past season in the Championship have been relegated from the FPC and will move to a development competition to build up their grassroots strength. [link]
  • Crucially, the NZR will also not be using the normal promotion/relegation system for 2026, which means Otago, the undefeated Championship winner, may be denied the Premiership spot they earned on the field, though the pools will be “reset” for competitive balance.
  • Alice Soper is surprisingly okay with the news. She believes this restructuring will actually work if it promotes consistent, high-quality play in the lower-tier Development Leagues, which is where the Whio are being sent. Her main concern is that the new system must set a minimum operating standard across all provinces for resources like S&C and physio. [link]

Women’s Rugby Features

• Lightning hope added ‘grit’ can take them back to the top four [link]
• Zintle Mpupha was a rising cricket star with provincial and national honours. She reveals to KickOff Rugby the hilarious, life-changing moment, when a teacher bribed her to play rugby. [link]
• I want to inspire like Finn Russell – Aitchison [link]
• Eve Higgins: ‘It was tough. I still haven’t been able to watch the game back’ [link]
• PWR: Chisholm faces questions on Quins’ inconsistencies as round 3 approaches [link]
• Sophie Hopkins aims to bring ‘why not’ attitude back from year in France [link]
• Ireland women to make return to Aviva for first time in over a decade next year [link]
• Period-friendly training: what does it look like? [link]
• There are six 2025 World Cup heroes amongst the group of 18 players invited to a South Africa Women’s Sevens training camp in Pretoria in preparation for the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens championship [link]
• Inside World Rugby’s six-year runway to America’s first Rugby World Cup [link]
• Ghana Eagles Women Prepare for RAW7s in Nairobi After 7th-Place Ranking [link]
• Taranaki Whio axed from Farah Palmer Cup rugby comp [link]
• Wallaroos add Waratahs title-winning coach in interim role [link]
• Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is making a “special” difference, but as Nadine Roos tells KickOff Rugby, it’s time for more male players to recognise the sacrifices and shared goals of the women’s game [link]
• England hero Kabeya inspired by new rugby fans [link]
• Record-breaking Wallaroo calls time on international career [link]
• Kenya Lionesses head coach Simon Odongo says his squad is looking sharp, motivated, and ready to rise to the challenge as the countdown to the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens (RAW7s2025) gathers pace [link]
• Jess speaks to PhD reseacher Bex Attwell. Bex’s work looks menstrual and hormonal health in female rugby players [link]

Women’s Rugby Media

• Challenging the Game: Hormonal research in practice
• The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby: Nick’s PWR Picks & the Black & White Broses
• Rugby Rodeo: Derby Day Fallout, Jess’s Birthday & Becoming Doctors?!
• LTW Fancast: The 50 States of the LWT Fancast
• Her Side of the Ruck: Red card contreversery, Scotland Murrayfield record and wins for Japan and South Africa