Loughborough Lightning can today confirm the departures of Lucy Weaver, Katherine Baverstock, Amelie Anstead and Grace Deane ahead of the 2025/26 season. Scrum-half Weaver, pictured above (#111) made 17 Lighting appearances and prop Baverstock (#116) made 11 appearances over three seasons with the African Violets, while also playing prominent roles for the Loughborough University side. Winger
An important addition to the English rugby calendar has been announced, The Rugby Awards, presented by Gallagher. It takes place at the The Brewery, London, hard by the Barbican Centre, on 3 June. It brings together the RPA, Premiership Rugby, the PWR and, last but not least, the RFU. Its arrival can only make us
Some Implications Jo Yapp, head coach of the Wallaroos, has announced that she will end her term in charge at the end of the 2025 RWC. In no way should this surprise us. The closest parallel I can think of in recent times is Lynne Cantwell’s decision to return to ireland after a spell as
New Zealand v USA Pacific Four, Round Three The Eagles made a promising start, winning penalties and territory, to cause the big crowd to delay their celebrations. By the end the scales had tipped wildly the other way, sending the Black Ferns and their fans into raptures. Mackenzie Hawkins’ early touch kicks lacked accuracy, but
Ealing Trailfinders have announced the re-signing of Ella Amory. Amory joined the squad in 2023 and extends her stay ahead of the 25-26 campaign. Known for her quick feet, Amory combines her explosive pace with sharp decision-making, making her a dynamic and versatile playmaker in both the scrum-half and fly-half roles. Amory was part of
Should we be surprised? No. It’s been an uphill struggle since Great Britain first sttempted to pull a squad together for the Rio Olympic Sevens. Players will still come together to compete in SVNS tournaments, but without financial backing their results are bound to take a nose-dive. Where else have we seen three unions merging
Australia v Canada That might be a tiny bit of a hopeful punt, but Canada’s all-round play takes a lot of stopping. The Wallaroos found them too hot to handle. The game could hardly have started worse for the hosts. They let Alex Tessier’s kick-off bounce back into Krissy Scurfield’s hands. Canada were caught holding
The Great Britain men’s and women’s sevens programmes will be remodelled from next season, with the intention for both sides to continue to compete on the HSBC SVNS Series under a new operating model. The programme will run solely as a camp and competition model, with players coming together to train and play on the
Pacific Four, Round Three When the Black Ferns term this a ‘must-win’ game, they don’t mean it’s high time they downed the Eagles’ colours. No, they intend winning the Pac-4 trophy that Canada claimed last year. Black Ferns Allan Bunting is able to experiment again. He has named four uncapped players, including two more switching
Trailfinders have announced that they are excited to confirm that Emma Taylor has re-signed with the club ahead of the new season. An excellent goal-kicker, the Canadian international has been a vital presence in the forward pack since joining from Saracens in 2024. Taylor has also had a standout international career, making her debut in
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