News from around the World
1 November Cube International explain why they backed out of an agreement to support Worcester Warriors
2 November World Rugby announces 4 nominees for World 15s Rugby Player of the Year:
Abby Dow (England), Gabrielle Vernier (France), Marlie Packer (England) and Ruahei Demant (New Zealand)
3 November Barbarians hope to create their first ever U18 Girls team
3 November WXV1, Australia 26 Wales 19
3 November 2-day testing camp for Irish National Talent Squad at the IRFU High Performance Centre completed, 71 athletes attending
4 November Canada 29 France 20; England 33 New Zealand 17; England win WXV1 trophy
4 November Marlie Packer (England) declared World Player of the Year (see 2nd above)
4 November By the end of WXV Abby Dow, Jess Breach, Claudia Macdonald and Ellie Kildunne (England) had scored a combined 108 tries
4 November Rugby Europe Super Cup starts (club level)
4 November Energia All-Ireland League restarts with Round 6
4 November Katelyn Vaha’akolo (New Zealand) named World Breakthrough Player of the Year
5 November USA win 7s gold at PanAm games in Santiago
5 November Université Laval (Quebec) beat Victoria 32-13 to become University champions twice running
6 November First session for Wales U16s and U18s Girls at National Skills Centre
7 November WR reports: in four of WXV1 nine matches (44 per cent) the ball-in-play time was over 40 minutes, far above the average in men’s tests
7 November Draw for Dubai 7s announced (2-3 December)
7 November More unconfirmed reports from NZ that Black Ferns are planning a 2024 European tour, to include a match at Twickenham, where they remain winless
7 November Jessica Hayden’s book ‘The Red Roses’ now available on Amazon
7 November World 15s Team of the Year announced; 7 Red Roses, 6 Black Ferns; 2 Bleues
7 November Sione Fukofuka, Australia’s assistant coach, appointed head coach of USA Eagles
8 November TNT announce their TV coverage of the PWR
8 November Launch of Paula George and Jo Caird’s book ‘Our Game Makers’ at World Rugby Museum Twickenham
8 November UK Armed Forces Rugby (UKAF) 10 Bristol Bears 38 at Kingsholm
9 November Canada’s game-changers 2023 are Sophie De Goede (forwards) and Flo Symonds (backs)
9 November RFU reports 815 clubs have registered girls players so far in current season; 5% increase
10 November Alison Miller inducted into Ireland’s Hall of Fame
10 November Poppy Cleall receives Honorary Doctorate at Bournemouth University
10 November 3 days of international 7s preparation at Marcoussis with France, Czechia and Ireland
10-12 November Oceania Sevens, Ballymore Stadium Brisbane; first diary reference to Niue (Oceania)
11 November UL Bohemian lead All-Ireland League after 7 rounds
12 November 2023-2024 Season of Elite Serie A begins in Italy with 8 teams competing
12 November Australia win Oceania 7s; Fiji qualify for Olympics
13 November Second session for Wales U16s and U18s Girls at National Skills Centre
14 November Siokapesi Palu (Australia) suspended for two matches subject to the successful completion of the Coaching Intervention Programme; she will attend it
14 November WRU apologises for the findings of the Independent Review published today; they are damning
14 November 10 of 12 nations now qualified for 2024 Olympics 7s: France, NZ, Australia, USA, GB, ireland, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, South Africa
15 November USA PR7s announce Talent ID Trials, to start 9 December
15 November New WRU chief executive Abi Tierney admits loss of trust after ‘horrific’ report (see 14th above)
15 November Black Ferns 15s Player of the Year nominations are: Maiakawanakaulani Roos, Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Amy du Plessis; Black Ferns 7s Player of the Year nominations are: Jorja Miller, Stacey Waaka and Risaleaana Pouri-Lane; winners tba 14 December
15 November Four alumnae of Hartpury College Gloucestershire picked for the World 15s Team of 2023: Sarah Bern, Ellie Kildunne, Alex Matthews and Zoe Aldcroft
17 November The Rugby Network (TRN), a USA platform owned by Major League Rugby (MLR) will broadcast PWR matches for USA and Canada, starting with Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks tomorrow
18 November Six women are among 234 players from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland taking action in high court over head injuries
18 November Elite 1 gets under way in France; two pools of 6
18 November Scottish Rugby apologises to the family of former international Siobhan Cattigan; ‘they let them down’; but it needed a new chairman for the admission to be made
18-19 November First round of new PWR league in England
20 November Niall Williams-Guthrie (NZ 7s) switches from 7s in Australia to 15s for Aupiki
20 November Celtic Challenge to expand next year to six teams with introduction of two development teams each
20 November Canada announce their 7s squad of 13 players for Dubai; 4 took part in WXV1
21 November Brazil 10 Portugal 7; Brazil’s 1st ever win, first of two tests; Sao Paulo
21 November France announce their 7s squad for Dubai
22 November Tunisia beat Uganda 26-17 in Tunis; second game to come on 27th
22 November Australia name their 7s squad for Dubai
22 November Brandon Sparks has been appointed USA head of women’s high performance (see 7th above)
22 November The Olympic flame will pass through Marcoussis, now officially ‘le Centre National de Rugby-Bernard Lapasset’
23 November Details of 2024 Challenger 7s Series published; three venues: Dubai (January), Montevideo (March) and Krakov (May); twelve nations
25 November Brazil 5 Portugal 13, second of two tests; Sao Paulo; series ends 1-1
25-26 November PWR 2nd round
27 November GB 7s squad announced for Dubai
27 November Tunisia 53 Uganda 13 in Tunis; 2-0 series win for Tunisia
27 November The Prince of Wales awards Sarah Hunter the CBE at Buckingham Palace
27 November University of Ottawa seeks a full-time head coach, salary $86,000-$104,700
28 November After lobbying NZR for better maternity leave conditions, Chelsea Semple became the first full-time contracted Black Ferns player to have a child, a daughter Cameron
28 November Ayesha Leti-I’iga will miss the entire 2024 Super Aupiki; knee injury still a worry
28 November Ella Wyrwas and Mo Hunt (re)awarded England contracts
28 November John Mitchell will take his first Red Roses training camp in the new year
28 November Scientists at two Welsh universities, Cardiff Met. and Swansea, are leading research into concussion affecting female players
28-30 November at Meliá Castilla, Madrid: 3-day conference to discuss broadcasting and live-streaming women’s sport. Most major media companies represented
30 November Early bird tickets for England v Ireland at HQ available till 17.00 today
30 November Women’s Rugby Association announces its 2023-24 Player Board (PWR only)
30 November Demi Swann (Exeter) and Zoe Harrison (Saracens) both receive 1-match ban for hair-pulling
30 November FER (Spain) announces plans – together with FIR (Italy) and WR – to add two new franchises, aimed at improving pathways to test-level
30 November Irish 7s and 15s managements still discussing squad memberships pre-Olympics and 6 Nations
Transfers, etc
1 November Cara Brincat signs for Trailfinders Women from Worcester Warriors
2 November Danelle Lochner (South Africa) signs on for Harlequins
8 November Amelia Buckland-Hurry joins Trailfinders Women from Worcester Warriors
10 November Vicky Laflin joins Trailfinders Women from Worcester Warriors
14 November Charlotte Wright-Haley joins Trailfinders Women from Worcester Warriors
15 November Lana Skeldon and Evie Gallagher (Scotland) sign for Bristol Bears from Worcester Warriors
15 November Cassandra Tuffnail (Canada) signs for Trailfinders women
15 November Michaela Leonard, Ashley Marsters and Grace Hamilton (Australia) sign for Montpellier HR
15 November Rachael Burford has signed on for Quins again; she represented England in the 2006 World Cup
16 November Demi Swann signs for Exeter Chiefs from Worcester Warriors
16 November Carys Cox (Wales) joins Trailfinders Women from Worcester Warriors
21 November Saracens sign Akina Gondwe from Worcester Warriors after loan spell
21 November Tori Sellors (ex-Worcester) signs for Saracens
22 November Paige Farries (Canada, ex-Worcester) signs for Saracens
22 November Caity Mattinson (Scotland) signs for Gloucester-Hartpury from Worcester
23 November Kat Evans (Wales) announces her retirement
23 November Carmen Tremelling signs for Saracens from Worcester
30 November Carys Phillips (Wales) Harlequins from Worcester
