Australia Rules 7s World Championships, Mexico Wins Back-to-Back XVs & Quinnipiac Fights Back | WRR 249

We’re is still celebrating 20 years, and the giveaways continue! Next up on our journey is chasing the 8,000-follower mark. To be eligible for the next individual drawing, make sure you are following both @YSCRugby and @BooshiePromo on Instagram AND have commented on the pinned Anniversary post.

Want to hook your team up, too? You can enter yourself into the individual milestone drawings and register your team for the massive Grand Prize giveaway at the end of the celebration by commenting your club’s name on our pinned Anniversary post. It has been an incredible 20 year journey so far and we are not slowing down!

Women’s Rugby 7s News

International

• SVNS Wold Championship
  • Australia capped off a phenomenal season by capturing the Bordeaux tournament title, securing a dominant 26-19 victory over their fierce rivals New Zealand in an action-packed final to leave the Black Ferns in second place. Canada bounced back from a heartbreaking semi-final loss to claim third place by narrowly defeating the USA 21-19 in a thrilling, end-to-end play-off, which ultimately forced the American squad to settle for a hard-fought fourth-place finish. [link]
  • With this tournament victory in Bordeaux, the Australian women also hoisted the ultimate trophy as the overall HSBC SVNS World Champions, confirming their status as the most consistent team of the year. The high-stakes finale also settled the lineup for next season’s main tour, seeing Spain secure the final available spot and earn promotion to the elite division, while Great Britain suffered relegation down to the HSBC SVNS 2 circuit. [link]
  • The battle for core status on next season’s main circuit provided immense drama as Spain sparked early celebrations by booking their place in the quarter-finals. Their decisive 29-10 victory over Great Britain on day two, featuring clinical tries from Maria Garcia, Silvia Morales, Marta Cantabrana, and Abril Camacho Ruiz, officially secured Las Leonas their promotion up from HSBC SVNS 2 to the elite division. Consequently, this high-stakes result dashed the hopes of Great Britain, sending the British squad down to the HSBC SVNS 2 circuit next season despite a fighting effort that included a final tournament touchdown from the retiring Heather Cowell. [link]
  • Building on the team achievements, the individual standouts of the women’s series were officially recognized at the postseason awards ceremony in Bordeaux. New Zealand star Jorja Miller was named the Women’s SVNS Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, holding off tough competition from Australia’s Maddison Levi and America’s Ariana Ramsey. France’s teenage sensation Anaick Konyi took home the Rookie of the Year honors after crossing the tryline 18 times, while Maddison Levi secured the Top Try Scorer award with an incredible 64 touchdowns on the season. Miller and Levi were also named to the elite Dream Team of the Year, alongside fellow world-class standouts Risi Pouri-Lane, Isabella Nasser, Ariana Ramsey, Alycia Christiaens, and Reapi Ulunisau. [link]
• Europe Trophy
  • Ukraine claimed a commanding first-place finish at the opening leg of the Makarska 7s Trophy Series 2026, defeating Italy 24-10 in the cup final to leave the Italians in second place. Moldova captured third place with a 19-5 victory over Hungary, who finished the tournament in fourth, while Norway, Georgia, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Montenegro, Andorra, and hosts Croatia rounded out the rest of the competitive field. The teams will meet again for the decisive second leg in Chisinau, Moldova, from June 26 to 28, where the ultimate stakes of the tournament will be settled. Following that final stop, the two top-ranked teams of the overall series will earn promotion to the elite 2027 Championship Series, while the bottom two teams will suffer relegation to the Conference division. [link]
• Look Ahead
  • The international sevens circuit is gearing up for a busy weekend of action, spearheaded by the Rugby Europe Women’s 7s Conference kicking off on June 12 in Andorra. This highly competitive single-tournament event features an 11-team field, including Lithuania, Bulgaria, Malta, Estonia, Slovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, Israel, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Latvia, vying for crucial vertical movement in the European hierarchy. The stakes are incredibly high, as the top two teams at the conclusion of the tournament will earn promotion to the 2027 Trophy Series, while the single lowest-ranked squad will suffer relegation down to Conference 2. Additionally, the weekend of June 13 will see localized domestic action take off with the UK’s LIT Super Sevens circuit heading to it’s third stop at the Hertford 7s tournament. [link]

Women’s Rugby XVs News

International

• RAN XVs
  • The final match of the RAN XVs tournament delivered an epic contest in Mexico City, showcasing a classic and thrilling rivalry between Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago. Fans were kept on the edge of their seats throughout the game as both teams engaged in a tense, back-and-forth scoring battle. In the end, a historic and momentum-shifting drop goal from Mexican flyhalf Aimée Ramos primed the host nation to finish out in front and secure a memorable victory over the visitors. [link]
    • In addition to the dramatic on-field victory, the result carried massive official weight as Mexico moved up four spots in the World Rugby rankings to occupy a highest-ever position of 29th. The hard-fought win on home soil added valuable rating points to their global tally, allowing Las Serpientes to leapfrog teams like China and Colombia, while a disappointed Trinidad and Tobago squad slipped down two spots to 33rd following the narrow defeat. [link]
  • Bingham and Amanda Cup
    • The historic Trans Match is officially returning as a headline fixture for the upcoming Bingham and Amanda Mark Cups program, scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 23, in Brisbane. Serving as a cornerstone event for international inclusive rugby, the match is designed to celebrate visibility, community, and the ongoing contributions of transgender and gender-diverse athletes on the global stage. Organized as a powerful statement of sport-wide inclusion, the tournament organizers have officially opened registration for interested players, inviting the global rugby community to spread the word and participate in making this year’s showcase the most successful edition yet. [link]
  • Off the Field
    • World Cup winning England legend and prominent television pundit Maggie Alphonsi expressed deep disappointment after a Rugby Football Union council member received what she considered a lenient punishment for making a sexist and misogynistic comment about her on social media. The independent disciplinary panel handed Warwickshire representative Matthew Smith a seven-month suspension of his council privileges, reduced from a year due to mitigating factors, after he questioned her knowledge of men’s rugby on Facebook during a Six Nations match. Since the RFU lacks the constitutional power to outright remove a council member, Smith retains his voting rights and can still attend meetings virtually, a resolution Alphonsi noted feels like a betrayal that highlights how deeply embedded sexism remains within the governing structures of the sport. [link]

      • Update: Matthew Smith has resigned. The RFU claimed it could not remove him under its current rules. But after a finding of sexist and misogynistic conduct, he was still allowed to keep his seat and voting rights. His resignation came after public pressure, not decisive action from the RFU. We’ll be covering this in more detail next week on WRR 250.

Domestic

• Americas
  • WER
    • Round 5 of the Women’s Elite Rugby season showcased physical defensive battles and explosive attacking displays across the league. TC Gemini locked into a gritty tactical duel against the visiting New York Exiles at TCO Stadium, relying heavily on their signature defensive pressure to secure a 41-19 victory. Out east, the high-octane Bay Breakers set the tempo at Veterans Memorial Stadium, powering through the Boston Banshees to claim a dominant 40-25 away win. The weekend concluded in Glendale, where the reigning champion Denver Onyx utilized their potent offense on home turf to withstand a fierce, physical challenge from the hungry Chicago Tempest, walking away with a 45-21 victory to close out the round. [link]
  • College
    • Over twenty current and incoming Quinnipiac University women’s rugby athletes have filed a class-action lawsuit against the institution following the sudden decision to demote their national championship-winning program to club status. The federal complaint alleges systemic sex discrimination in violation of Title IX, highlighting significant budget disparities that favor male athletes, while additionally claiming the move was direct retaliation against head coach Becky Carlson for her fierce public and private advocacy regarding the unequal treatment of female sports. This high-stakes legal battle marks a repeating cycle for the university, which previously lost a landmark 2009 Title IX suit and heavily relied on the elevation of varsity women’s rugby to prove its compliance posture back then. The abrupt administrative decision has left players facing extreme personal and financial strain, as many chose Quinnipiac specifically for elite Division I competition and are now seeking an emergency court order to immediately reinstate their varsity status. [link]
• Europe
  • AXA Elite 1
    • The final round of the AXA Elite 1 league season delivered a thrilling, locked in by a dramatic 27-27 draw between the division’s top two powerhouses, ASM Romagnat and Stade Toulousain, which allowed Romagnat to narrowly clinch the regular-season crown by a single point over Toulouse. Third-place Stade Bordelais kept momentum high ahead of the postseason with a commanding 47-19 road victory over Rugby Club Toulon Provence Mediterranee, while the middle of the table saw FC Grenoble Amazones upend Blagnac 26-17, Lyon Ol U edge past Montpellier 15-13, and AC Bobigny 93 defeat bottom-seeded Stade Villeneuvois Lille Metropole 21-5. These results officially cemented the top four, establishing the highly anticipated playoff matchups where regular-season leaders Romagnat will host Blagnac, and Stade Toulousain will face off against Stade Bordelais on June 20 and June 21, 2026. [link]
  • PWR
    • The final round of the PWR regular season delivered plenty of try-scoring drama, highlighted by Bristol Bears pulling off a shocking 26-21 upset over league leaders Gloucester-Hartpury courtesy of a late driving-maul try from Holly Phillips. Meanwhile, Saracens sent a terrifying message to the rest of the competition by obliterating a heavily rotated Ealing Trailfinders squad 80-14, while Exeter Chiefs tuned up for the postseason with an efficient 50-24 win over Sale Sharks fueled by a four-try masterclass from Claudia Moloney-MacDonald. In the weekend’s final matchup, Loughborough Lightning managed to hold off a spirited Leicester Tigers team 50-36 in a frantic, high-scoring East Midlands derby. These final-day results locked in the official semi-final matchups for June 14, where regular-season champions Gloucester Hartpury will host Trailfinders, and second-place Saracens will square off against Exeter Chiefs. [link]
• Oceania
  • Super W
    • The opening round of the Super W’s season delivered two high-scoring and dramatic clashes to kick off the new campaign. The defending champion NSW Waratahs began their title defense on a high note, putting on a dominant display at Leichhardt Oval to secure a 42-29 victory over the Fijiana Drua. Meanwhile, the ACT Brumbies snapped a seven-match winless streak dating back to 2024 by stunning the Queensland Reds 15-12 at Ballymore Stadium. With the scores locked as the clock turned red, an 80th-minute penalty allowed fullback Faitala Moleka to step up and slot the game-winning kick straight through the posts right after the final siren sounded. [link 1] | [link 2]
• Africa
• Asia

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• ‘I’m living the dream’: Washington Boro native wraps up stint playing for USA women’s rugby national team [link]

Women’s Rugby Media

• Rugby Rodeo and The Rugby Pod: Ellie Kildunne: Why I’m Leaving Quins, ADHD & The Truth Behind Game Changer
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• LTW Fancast: Loughborough Lightning Post-match Reaction with players and coaches interviews
• Women’s Rugby Podcast: Record Crowds and New Directions