Nicky Ponsford has been Head of Performance to England women’s rugby for the last nineteen years, so news that she will be seconded to World Rugby in a similar capacity is inevitably a surprise. I once asked her why there wasn’t a woman overall in charge of women’s rugby in England. She replied that the
Harlequins Women can confirm that scrum-half Leanne Riley has joined Bristol Bears Women ahead of the 2021/22 Allianz Premier 15s season. The Red Roses international joins the West Country outfit after appearing 56 times for the Quarters over a four-season period. An integral part of the Club’s title-winning squad, Riley departs South West London after
Harlequins Women can confirm that second row Abbie Ward will leave South West London and join Bristol Bears Women ahead of the 2021/22 Allianz Premier 15s season. The England international has made 48 appearances in the famous Quarters since joining in 2017 from DMP Sharks, playing her last match in the Club’s Premier 15s title
Nicky Ponsford to join World Rugby on a two-year secondment from the RFU starting in July 2021 World Rugby Executive Committee approves an increase of £600,000 to the initial £2 million RWC High Performance Preparation Fund RWC 2021 High Performance Investment Fund will benefit qualified teams and those still within the qualification process World Rugby
The All Blacks Sevens and Black Ferns Sevens depart for the Oceania Sevens in Townsville, Australia next Tuesday, with both sides carrying an extended squad for the last tournament before Olympic selection. Facing their Australian and Fijian counterparts in the Oceania Sevens will be the first time the teams have travelled offshore since the start
England Women head coach Simon Middleton and vice-captain Emily Scarratt have been awarded MBEs for services to rugby football and rugby union respectively. Giles Hilton, chairman and commercial manager at Canterbury Rugby Football Club has also received an MBE for services to rugby union football in Kent. Middleton joined the RFU in 2014 and led
The British Army has long had a significant gender split between serving males and females. Although numbers have increased over the last few years, the UK Government’s last biannual diversity report, published in April 2020, showed that a shade under 10 percent of the total number of full-time soldiers and 14 percent of Army Reserves
GB Sevens can confirm their participation in ‘Quest for Gold Sevens’ in Los Angeles (25-26 June). Both the men’s and women’s GB Sevens squads will travel to Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson for the pre-Olympic tournament and their final preparation event ahead of Tokyo. Hosts USA, Argentina, Kenya and Korea make up the men’s
A new-look Allianz Premier 15s So the most dramatic and worrying season of the Allianz Premier 15s was completed. That is a major triumph. The organisers deserve huge thanks for seeing this mammoth operation through to its final stages. In recent days it’s almost been possible to forget the dark troughs it passed through. Only
The Six Nations Despite all the doubts the famous old championship was completed, in a completely new guise. A temporary format was introduced to reduce the chances of contagion. After four rounds – just three matches for each nation – the final order was much as expected: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales. This was
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