October Rugby Diary – WXV, here we come!
24 countries referenced
1 October Giovanni Raineri publishes his Italy WXV squad; several other nations will follow suit
1 October Maggie Alphonsi’s autobiography ‘Winning the Fight’ is published
2 October Alison Miller to be inducted into Ireland Hall of Fame on Nov 10
2 October the 8 captains of Serie A Elite meet for a launch in Milan
3 October All 18 nations have published their WXV squads
3 October Rugby Canada announces its Sevens Team for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago
3 October USA Rugby seeks a Senior Club Rugby Assistant
3 October Sarah Law replaces Holly McIntyre in Scotland’s WXV squad; the first injury withdrawal I’ve registered
5 October WXV announces a long list of TV companies that will ensure coverage of all 27 matches; RugbyPass TV available for all countries not otherwise included
5 October TF1 obtains exclusive rights deal to show RWC 2025 and WXV from 2023 for France
5 October Confirmation that ITVX will show England’s three WXV matches live in the UK
6 October Ireland depart for Dubai
6 October Eti Haungatau (USA) suspended for 5 matches by disciplinary committee for dangerous tackle on Robyn Wilkins (Wales); she misses all three WXV2 matches
7 October South Africa 17 Samoa 17 Boland Stadium, Wellington, SA
7 October GB 7s Squad announced
8 October France squad leaves for New Zealand
8 October Lucy Packer and Sadia Kabeya forced to withdraw from WXV through injury
8 October Manae Feleu is appointed captain of France for the WXV
8 October Three Scots, Lisa Thomson, Rhona Lloyd and Shona Campbell, are selected in Team GB’s core group
9 October World Rugby integrates smart mouthguard technology to the HIA ‘as part of new phase of global player welfare measures’; they will be used for WXV matches
9 October USA Eagles land in Cape Town.
9 October Hong Kong beat Colombia 31-28 in a warm-up in Dubai
9 October World Rugby’s annual awards take place on 29 October in France, slap bang in the middle of WXV, so female awards delayed
9 October France 7s squad complete 5 weeks training and playing in Fiji
10 October Sky Super Rugby Aupiki announces enhanced format for next season
10 October Injury forces Georgie Perris-Redding (USA) to withdraw from WXV2
12 October Emily Scarratt has undergone neck surgery
12 October Jade Konkel (Scotland) appointed captain of Harlequins
12 October Hannah Bowe joins Six Nations Rugby in a new role, Chief of Staff
13 October First WXV2 matches: Italy 28 Japan 15; Scotland 31 South Africa 17
13 October First WXV3 matches: Colombia 13 Fiji 67; Ireland 109 Kazakhstan 0
14 October Samoa 26 USA 36
14 October Spain 29 Kenya 0
14 October Trailfinders play first ever home game v Gloucester-Hartpury in the cup; they lose 24-29; their first 3 games v Quins, G-H and Sarries
14-15 October 2023 Africa Sevens in Tunis
15 October Japan win Asia 7s
16 October Scott Bemand (Ireland) replaces the injured Aoife Doyle with Clara Nielson
17 October The six WXV1 squads are welcomed in Wellington
17 October Worcester Warriors forced to withdraw from PWR owing to loss of funding
17 October Manusina Samoa and Italy train together
17-28 October Japan RFU holds an exhibition celebrating Japan Rugby History and Culture at the Maison de la Culture du Japon in Paris
20 October Scotland 24 USA 14; Italy 36 South Africa 18
20 October Melissa Bettoni (Italy) gives birth to Aura and Charles
20 October First WXV1 match: Australia 7 England 42
20 October Kazakhstan 18 Kenya 12; Fiji 19 Spain 26
21 October Canada 42 Wales 22; France 18 New Zealand 17
21 October Finland 41 Latvia 7 in Helsinki; Latvia’s 1st test match
21 October Japan 32 Samoa 10
21 October Colombia 3 Ireland 64
22 October Aseza Hele (South Africa) suspended for three matches (2 if completing a Coaching Intervention Programme and reduced from max. 6 matches). She misses the final WXV game
22 October Annabelle Codey (Australia) suspended for three matches for two yellow cards, reduced to one; she will miss the game on 28 October
22 October Maya Stewart (Australia) has suffered a grade 1 concussion; out for minimum 12 days
23 October Tayla Kinsey and Luchell Hanekom (South Africa) withdraw from WXV2 through injury
23 October John Mitchell officially announced as arriving in the England midst
24 October England name squad to face Canada
24 October RFU announces squad of 50 U18 players for future development
24 October World Rugby Council has approved reform of the men’s and women’s rugby calendars
24 October The above adds possibility of WXV1 giving way to a B&I Lions tour
25 October RFU and NZR discuss possible England-New Zealand match at Twickenham next year
25 October Kevin Millar calculates 256 permutations for top 2 places in WXV2!
25 October Chryss Viliko (NZ) banned for potential three matches for dangerous tackle; misses rest of WXV1
27 October Canada 12 England 45 (Dunedin); Lark Atkin-Davies sets a new world record 4 tries by a hooker
27 October Scotland 38 Japan 7; Samoa 7 South Africa 33; Scotland take WXV2 trophy.
27 October Fiji 118 Kazakhstan 0; Kenya 21 Colombia 5
28 October New Zealand 70 Wales 7; Australia 29 France 20
28 October Italy 30 USA 8
28 October Ireland 15 Spain 13 Ireland take WXV3 trophy, their first trophy in 9 years
29 October the 2025 RWC will revert to being the WRFC; another gender bender by WR
31 October Axelle Berthoumieu (larynx) and Madoussou Fall (broken leg), both France, ruled out of match v Canada; Annaëlle Deshayes returns to group
Transfers, etc
11 October Kathryn Treder and Hallie Taufoou (both USA) sign on for Loughborough Lightning, Treder from DMP Sharks, Taufoou played for Richmond
12 October Trailfinders sign Sofia Rolfi (Italy, ex-Wasps)
13 October Abby Duguid rejoins Loughborough; they sign Karolina Kacirkova (DMP) too
13 October Alex Ellis (Canada) leaves Saracens
26 October Trailfinders sign Cara Brincat (ex-Worcester); the first Warriors signing I’ve spotted since their dissolution
30 October Maria Magatti (Italy) moves from CUS Milan to Benetton Treviso