Training and more training
1 June Cornwall beat Devon 31-27 in the first-ever Tamar Cup (part of Gill Burns Cup); Cornwalians call this the most important result of the year; (“you need read no further”); I hope you disagree
2 June More than 1,100 former players have joined a lawsuit concerning concussion; 784 from rugby union and 319 from rugby league
2 June Francesca McGhie (Scotland and Leicester Tigers) joins Trailfinders Women; Natasha Jones (Tigers’ captain) announces her retirement
3 June Claire Gallagher (Canada) signs for Trailfinders Women from Leicester Tigers
3 June The first ever Rugby Awards Evening in London: England Player of the Season: Zoe Aldcroft; PWR Director of Rugby of the Season: Sean Lynn; PWR Top Try Scorers: May Campbell & Millie David (16 each); PWR Player of the Season: Meg Jones; PWR Breakthrough Player of the Season: Millie David
3 June Japan to play Italy in Calvisano for a third one-off test against the Azzurre in three years; date 9 August
4 June Scotland to play England at Murrayfield in the 2026 Six Nations
4 June Holly Aitchison (England and Bristol) makes shock move (back) north to Sale Sharks
4 June The PWR presents its Team of the Season
5 June Note to PWR: the winners of Elite 2 in France are promoted to Elite 1
6 June End of RWC 2025 trophy tour of England
6 June Amy Turner, (ex-England and Quins) formerly head coach of Quins, then i/c Pathway, leaves the club
6 June Oceania Championship: Fiji 59 Tonga 5
6 June Francesca Granzotto (Italy) signs for Exeter Chiefs
6 June “Behind The Fern” Episode 3 posted, including a non-BF, Ilona Maher.
7 June Abi Burton (lead), Kate Zackary, Meg Jones and Ella Amory will all coach Brunel Uni. XV to help them match the top university teams, Edinburgh, Exeter and Hartpury
9 June NZR announces that Mark Robinson, the Chief Executive Officer, will leave the organisation at the end of 2025
9 June Niamh Swailes (England U20s and Sale Sharks) signs for Trailfinders as a hooker, a position that needed reinforcing after Elisa Riffonneau’s return to France
9 June In the King’s honours list Shirley Russell is awarded the AM (Order of Australia) for services to Australian rugby
10 June Oceania Championship: Samoa 64 Tonga 14
10 June An Australia ‘A’ XV will meet Samoa in Canberra on 28 June
10 June Tahlia Brody (USA) switches 14 miles from Leicester Tigers to Loughborough Lightning 10 June Trailfinders sign an Australian, Haidee Head, of Queensland Reds.
10 June The Red Roses have set up a Crochet Club; darn me!
11 June A film entitled The Founding Four, concerning the four women who made the 1991 World Cup possible, needs crowdfunding. The target is £20k to complete post-production
11 June South Africa 19 Kenya 12; Madagascar 20 Uganda 24 (Antananarivo)
11 June Denver Onyx have qualified for the final of the WER Legacy Cup final
11 June Edel McMahon, Ireland captain, outlines the tough weekly schedule her squad goes through
12 June Amy Rule becomes the first Black Fern to join a PWR club by signing for Exeter Chiefs post-RWC 2025
12 June England will host Ireland at Twickenham on 11 April 2026
12 June Each of the five rounds of the 2026 Six Nations will be played on a single day
12 June Mae Sagapolu Sanele (USA) has signed for Loughborough Lightning, yet another grievous loss for Leicester Tigers
12 June New-look GB 7s squad announced for Makarska 7s (Croatia)
12 June Eva Donaldson (Scotland) moves from Leicester t`igers to Sale Sharks
13 June Sri Lanka v South Korea13 June BBC reports fears that many of the Scotland squad will be left without a contract post- RWC 2025
13 June Scott Lawson (ex-Scotland) appointed as head coach of Bristol Bears; that leaves the PWR coaching score at 9-0 in favour of men
14 June Brazil 58 Colombia 7, São Paulo
15 June Uganda 0 Kenya 49
16 June Africa Cup: South Africa 61 Madagascar 17
16 June Maddy Grant (Canada) moves from Quins to Exeter Chiefs
16 June Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow, once home to the Scotland team, is being repurposed for the Commonwealth Games
16 June 16 players leaving Trailfinders include Abby Dow, Liz Crake and Tyson Beukeboom; Dow speaks of a “difference of philosophy”
17 June Dates announced for the 2025-26 PWR Cup (23 August-12 October); not held since 2023 17 June Kévin Rouet names 38 Canadians to train for the tour to South Africa; 32 will fly out
17 June Ben Flower appointed as a Wales coach i/c “collision”/“contact skills”; in Rugby League he was sentenced to a 6-month ban for striking an opponent
18 June Alana Borland, née Bremner (congratulations), becomes the second Black Fern to join a PWR club, in her case Trailfinders (see 12th above)
18 June Rhona Lloyd, Scotland and Stade Bordelais, joins Sale Sharks
18 June Hannah Jones is removed as Wales captain, but no replacement announced
18 June The Scottish Rugby Union claims it will sort out its players’ contracts before the RWC
18 June 300,000 tickets now sold for RWC 2025
18 June NZR appoint Willie Walker head coach of the Black Ferns XV, to play the BFs then South Africa on tour; assistamts Charmaine McMenamin, Carlos Spencer and Simon Kneebone
20 June After announcing in February that she was leaving Loughborough Lightning, Scotland’s captain Rachel Malcolm joins Trailfinders; Emma Wassell (also Scotland and Loughborough, moves the same way after recovering from serious illness
20 June Julia Schell and Tyson Beukeboom (Canada) appear on @breakfasttv in Toronto to discuss the World Cup
21 June South Korea v UAE
23-27 June First RWC training sessions for France (Marcoussis)
24 June It’s week four of pre-World Cup training for Scotland in Edinburgh
26 June Welsh Rugby Union has postponed the proposed revamp of the two Celtic Challenge sides, “due to the ongoing transformation in the men’s game” – the connection?
26 June England’s U20 squad confirmed for the 6N Summer Series
26 June The French Union claims 52,689 licensed female players as against 311,681 male. The target is 100,000
26 June A 2-match suspension for Pauline Bourdon-Sansus (comments about reffing standards in Elite 1) means she misses the England friendly and the first round of RWC 2025
27 June 32 Canada players to tour S. Africa announced
27 June Canada’s head Coach, Kévin Rouet, has contract extended to 2027
27 June Irish training squad announced
28 June Australia ‘A’ 50 Samoa 22 (Canberra)
29 June WER Legacy Cup final, TCO Stadium, Eagan, Minnesota
30 June-9 July Second set of training sessions for Les Bleues (Marcoussis)
30 June 33 Black Ferns listed for their two forthcoming matches
30 June Just as well the RWC isn’t starting today: temperature in London 31°C
