The HSBC SVNS series returns for round three this weekend as the party heads to Perth.
Premiership Women’s Rugby enters round 15 as the final four regular season rounds kick into action with eyes on the top four and the Celtic Challenge continues with round five.
Here’s what to watch in women’s rugby this weekend:
HSBC SVNS, Perth
After finishing fourth in Cape Town, hosts Australia will be looking to make their mark on their home leg of the Series, and go into this weekend in second thanks to their opening-round triumph in Dubai.
New Zealand top the table as they make the journey across the Tasman Sea with 38 points after earning gold in Cape Town and taking silver behind fierce rivals Australia in Dubai.
‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
Two bronze medals in the opening stage have bolstered France’s third place overall, but the USA are hot on their heels with a silver medal under their belts from the last time out in Cape Town.
With a swathe of Australian players making the move to Super Rugby Women’s with the hope of securing a place in the Women’s Rugby World Cup squad, they’ll no doubt be looking to impress on home turf before they make the switch to 15s.
Canada vs Great Britain will kick off the women’s competition on Friday 24 January, with Australia taking on China later in the day shortly after New Zealand play Brazil. The hosts will close the action on the opening day against Spain.
Watch HSBC SVNS Perth live on RugbyPass TV or via your local broadcaster where a rights deal is in place.
Friday 24 – Sunday 26 January, HSBC SVNS Perth
Day one – WATCH LIVE HERE
Day two – WATCH LIVE HERE
Day three – WATCH LIVE HERE
Premiership Women’s Rugby – Tigers host Lightning
Mattioli Woods Welford Road will play host to Leicester Tigers and Loughborough Lightning on 25 January.
After felling Saracens in round 12, Loughborough Lightning were close to another top-four upset last weekend against Exeter Chiefs. Currently ranked sixth, Loughborough hosted third-placed Chiefs in round 14 and led until the last minute of the game, when an Emily Tuttosi try shattered African Violet hearts and gave the visitors the 19-15 win.
Ahead of round 15, Head Coach Nathan Smith commented on the complexities of the condensed PWR season to allow for preparation for the RWC. He said: “It’s certainly been tricky. I feel for the players more than anything, especially the international players; they get pulled all over.
“They’ve essentially gone from Test match, WXV, PWR, and are now going to go Six Nations, World Cup, with very limited rest time. First and foremost I actually feel for them the most because they just don’t get any sort of break.
“The condensed season, I feel it’s been a different type of training. Essentially we can’t train at the intensities that we have trained over pre-season and the previous year just to manage the load of the players and especially those international players who have played big minutes. It’s interesting because coming from the men’s game where it is condensed, you do get breaks within that condensed period.
“You’ve got like the Prem Cup or you’ve got Europe to distract you as a new focus, it’s interesting that it’s been condensed with just one competition which does essentially lift the intensity of it and the back-to-back nature of it. You’ve not got that, even if it’s not a week off, you’ve not got that break of playing maybe a different team or in a different competition.
“Then also with the number of players that you need for a competitive PWR team, there aren’t enough to rotate as much as you’d like to freshen up your team as well. It has been challenging, but enjoyable.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s fixture, Smith stressed that the side aren’t getting caught up in the nature of a local derby.
Leicester Tigers Women
Loughborough Lightning
“We try not to get too bogged down with it, there are bits and pieces made about the locality of the game however, every game is tough in the PWR, every game you’ve got to get up for,” he said.
“Every team is strong, so it’s a case of whoever we play, we turn up mentally on the day to put the best performance out for Lightning. We’re really looking forward to the challenge at the weekend. Different from the last couple of weeks but a challenge nonetheless.
“It’s great for the players to get the exposure. We’ve been playing some good rugby, I think we played some really good stuff against Gloucester, but we didn’t quite get the rub of the green, and it’s just good for the girls to be able to showcase their talents on national TV. They should be all really excited to do that.”
The head coach also issued a positive update on the recovery of Emma Wassell following a tumultuous period which has seen her go through a full Sternotomy to remove a tumor after emergency biopsy surgery.
“Because of the severity of her illness, it’s a bit of a strange one, no one really knows a return date for her. What’s been really good this week is Emma’s been back in the environment. It’s been great to see her back in the gym and looking healthy and exercising, all that sort of thing,” he said.
“It’s great to have her back. In terms of when she’ll be back [playing], I have no idea, I’m just happy she’s in a good place mentally but also physically she’s moving around and socially interacting with everyone, it’s good for her. Hopefully, that will progress.”
Leicester Tigers start the round 12 points behind their local rivals, which puts them in eighth place, but still with a 12-point buffer to bottom-of-the-table Sale Sharks.
Last weekend saw Tigers lose 29-43 to Bristol Bears, with Tahlia Brody scoring a brace alongside tries from Charlotte Fray, Meg Jones, and Emily Henrich.
Saturday 25 January
12:45 GMT, Leicester Tigers vs Loughborough Lightning, Mattioli Woods Welford Road – WATCH LIVE HERE*
*this fixture is not available on RugbyPass TV for viewers in the UK, Ireland, Canada, or the USA
Celtic Challenge – Edinburgh vs Gwalia Lightning
Celtic Challenge action also returns this weekend, with Edinburgh vs Gwalia Lightning live on RugbyPass TV.
Hive Stadium will host the matchup between the third and fourth-ranked teams on 26 September, with the visitors having one more win to their name going into their fixture. Edinburgh – who have won two games from the three they have played, do have a game in hand going into round five.
Gwalia Lightning come into the match having won their last match against Glasgow Warriors, and are only a point behind the top two places, currently occupied by Irish sides Wolfhounds (first) and Clovers (second).
Fresh from her first PWR start for Loughborough Lightning, Scotland’s Leia Brebner-Holden, who played for Edinburgh in last year’s Celtic Challenge, spoke of the importance of the competition: “Being involved in the Celtic Challenge for me last year meant I got to know more people who had been in the Scotland set-up or were heading into the Scotland set-up.
“Being up in Scotland and playing rugby was valuable, but also I played a lot of minutes during the Celtic Challenge and I think that set me up really well to go into camp,” she said.
Celtic Challenge provides a platform for players looking to break into the international scene, and Brebner-Holden’s subsequent first cap during WXV has further enhanced her burgeoning career.
The 22-year-old said: “Getting some game time in WXV and getting capped set me up, I’ve been able to get into a Prem club and play some minutes at a Prem club which all in all is what we need to do. I need to play rugby, I need to play minutes to be best prepared to go into the Six Nations and especially in a World Cup year as well.”
Elsewhere in the competition, Clovers travel to Scotstoun Stadium where they’ll face Glasgow Warriors on 25 January.
Sunday 26 January
11:30 GMT, Edinburgh vs Gwalia Lightning – Hive Stadium, Edinburgh. WATCH LIVE HERE
