Rugby

The rugby news you need to know – from the Premier 15s and Red Roses to the Six Nations and Rugby World Cup,

Women’s Sport Daily has it covered

England Women, Red Roses, Six Nations, England rugby, women's rugby

England name strong side for Scotland Six Nations opener

Head coach Simon Middleton has named his England Women’s team to play Scotland in their Six Nations opener in Doncaster on Saturday. Emily Scarratt captains the side with the game coming too soon for Sarah Hunter who continues to manage her full return to play. Prop Bryony Cleall is set to earn her second cap, taking her place in the front row alongside Vickii Cornborough and Lark Davies...

rugby, women's rugby, women's sport, Women's Six Nations, Red Roses, England Women

England add France fixture as Six Nations details are confirmed

England will play an additional fixture against France following the end of their Six Nations campaign as plans for this year's competition were finally confirmed less than a fortnight before the start of the tournament.

The Red Roses will play the French in Lille on Friday 30 April even if they meet on Six Nations finals day on Saturday 24 April six days previously. All of England's...

Rugby ball on pitch women's sport

Venue confirmed for England v Scotland but still no kick-off times or broadcast details for Six Nations

With less than two weeks until the start of the revised 2021 Women's Six Nations, organisers have been heavily criticised for failing to reveal kick-off times and where matches will be available to watch on television.

England's opening fixture against Scotland will be played at Doncaster's Castle Park, where they sold out last year's fixture against Ireland, on Saturday 3 April....

Rugby team hugged together

World Rugby reveals global calendar for the women's international game

World Rugby has introduced a unified global calendar for international women's rugby as well as two new competitions.

The Women's Six Nations and other existing regional tournaments will still be played each year but must finish by June. New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the USA will also play in a new competition.

The top three sides will then join the top three from the...

Wales, welsh rugby, women's rugby, women's sport

Women's Six Nations included in CVC investment

The Women's Six Nations is set to benefit after being included in a £365m investment in the overall tournament by private equity firm CVC.

The company, which already owns stakes in men's Premiership Rugby and the Pro 14, has taken a 14 per cent share in the competition.

England's Rugby Football Union is already exploring ways to grow the women's game using their share of the...

rugby, women's rugby, British & Irish Lions

British & Irish Lions side a step closer

The British & Irish Lions will officially study the feasibility of launching a women's team after receiving sponsorship to explore the possibility.

The idea was first discussed with the English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish unions in 2019 with Lions managing director Ben Calveley saying it was a case of "when, not if" a women's team would go on tour.

He now describes the...

women's rugby, rugby world cup, england women

Rugby World Cup 2021 set for 12-month delay

World Rugby has recommended postponing the 2021 Rugby World Cup by a year as women's sport continues to struggle with the consequences of the Covid pandemic.

The tournament is due to take place in New Zealand throughout September and October. However, despite the country's apparent success in dealing with the crisis, the recent lockdown of Auckland following the discovery of just a...

women's rugby, Premier 15s

Exeter complete historic double in Premier 15s upset

Exeter Chiefs became the first team to beat both Saracens and Harlequins - the traditional top two since the inception of the Premier 15s - in the same season, managing the feat on consecutive weekends.

The top flight debutants followed up their impressive 22-14 victory against Saracens with a gritty performance against Harlequins, winning 7-6 with all the points scored in the first...

England Women, Red Roses, Six Nations, England rugby, women's rugby

Mixed reaction to new format for the Women's Six Nations

Although confirmation this year's Women's Six Nations will go ahead in April has been widely welcomed, the competition's new shortened conference-style format has been brought into question.

Instead of the usual round-robin fixtures, where everybody plays everybody else in a mirror of the men's tournament, the six countries have been split into two pools: England, Italy and Scotland...

women's rugby, Harlequins Women

Harlequins to appeal after Saracens handed title boost

Harlequins will appeal an RFU decision to award Saracens five points after cancelling the originally postponed fixture between the Allianz Premier 15s contenders.

The match was due to be played on 2 January but was then moved to Saturday 20 February when the Quins squad had to isolate following a positive test in the camp. However, an investigation revealed Harlequins had failed to...