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Let the Allianz Cup begin!
It feels like a long time since we’ve seen any top tier women’s club rugby in England. But never fear, the Allianz Cup is back!
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Starting this weekend, Premier 15s teams will go head-to-head once again giving them plenty of match time ahead of the league season, which is starting later than usual due to the World Cup, and providing opportunities to assess the depth of their squads ahead of the 2022/23 Premier 15s season.
Teams are broken down into two pools, meaning each match week we get four games, and two teams get a bye week, with the pools are seeded based on last season’s finishing positions. This season pool A features Bristol Bears Women, Loughborough Lightning, Sale Sharks Women, Saracens Women and Wasps Women, Pool B will see DMP Sharks, Exeter Chiefs Women, Gloucester-Hartpury Women, Harlequins Women and University of Worcester Warriors Women battling it out.
Each team will play two home and two away fixtures, then the top two teams in each pool will go forward to play semi-finals where the top placed team in pool A will play the second placed team in pool B and vice-versa, and then onward to the final. The rest of the teams will play out classification fixtures – the third placed teams in each pool fighting for fifth place, the fourth placed seeing who comes seventh and the bottom placed teams duelling for a ninth placed finish.
Last season saw Exeter Chiefs Women take home the cup after storming their way to the final with a run of wins, leading to a semi-final against Bristol Bears Women that ended 66-0, guaranteeing the final would take place at Sandy Park and confirming Chiefs as favourites. They then confirmed their status by steamrolling Harlequins 57-12.
A reminder of Saturday's line-up in the Allianz Cup ??#Premier15s pic.twitter.com/nh1khrPwOT
— Allianz Premier 15s (@Premier15s) September 14, 2022
This year’s tournament promises to be just as exciting and potentially even more interesting. With the World Cup on the horizon teams will be without many of their international players. What we will see instead is a mix of seasoned Premier 15s competitors, a smattering of internationals who aren’t on their way to New Zealand – whether because they play for teams like Ireland who haven’t qualified or because they didn’t make one of the 32 places on offer for their country – and a number of young players breaking into this level of rugby.
Add to that the amount of sevens internationals in the league who will likely not be available for the first couple of rounds and Friday’s team announcements will be fascinating!
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What does that mean for people watching the games? They’ll be unpredictable! Some teams will focus heavily on player development, for others this is their best chance of silverware. Some squads are small enough that we won’t see much difference between league and cup line-ups. Whatever the plan, we will likely see new faces in every matchday 23.
More than anything else it’s a great chance to see some games for free or cheap so check out your nearest team for details. One club, Harlequins, are even taking the show on the road as they will play their home fixture at Cobham RFC, where entry will be free. A great example of using these games to build links in the community.
Looking ahead to this weekend and there are some juicy fixtures to start us off, in pool A Bristol host Sale, with the former likely missing a number of starting players and the latter looking to show some improvement after two seasons lurking near the bottom of the table. In what might be the game of the weekend Wasps host Lightning, with the home side recently announcing a spate of new signings, it will be intriguing to see how they line up and Loughborough, always slow to make announcements, are practically an unknown quantity.
Over in pool B DMP Sharks will be hoping a depleted Exeter Chiefs give them opportunity for a rare win at home, while Worcester play host to Harlequins in a replay of last season’s semi-final. Quins took the victory that day with a last second penalty kick from Beth Blacklock so Worcester will look to get their own back. Given their difficult pre-season with the club in the middle of a potential takeover and players not taking contact in training, it may be more of a pre-season outing for them.
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The cup will continue the following week before two weeks off and will return on the weekend of October 15th and for the two weeks afterward. The knockout games will then take place during the 2023 Women’s Six Nations.
Given the nature of the tournament it’s hard to pick out a favourite but I suspect Wasps Women will view this as an opportunity to right the ship after a lot of player turnover and a new head coach on §board after the departure of Giselle Mather to Ealing Trailfinders, so they will be a team to watch, as will the likes of Saracens and Harlequins whose squad depth has been a key reason for their appearance in so many finals.
Exeter Chiefs can’t be overlooked as the reigning champs, they’ll be without influential USA internationals Gabby Cantorna and Kate Zachary, though the likes of Poppy Leitch, Merryn Doidge and new signing Cliodhna Moloney will ensure they are still dangerous.
I am going to call out Bristol Bears as a team to keep an eye on though. They’ve recruited well and a number of their key players will still be available including Simi Pam and Hannah West who were two important cogs in their often-dominant pack and the likes of Lucy Burgess and Ella Lovibond who have become first team regulars at a young age. New signings such as Ireland legend Claire Molloy and Christiana Balogun will be available to bolster the forwards too.
Saracens and Gloucester-Hartpury sit the first weekend out, but the league champions will be itching to return to action with new recruit Grace Moore a player to keep an eye out for. The likes of May Campbell and veteran Rocky Clark will ensure they keep on the front foot in most games.
Over in Hartpury there have been a raft of new recruits, most of whom are likely to be in and around World Cup squads, but with Ellie Underwood and Kelly Smith they have a pair of backs capable of shredding oppositions.
Whatever the results in the first weekend, the Allianz Cup is a competition to keep an eye on, so get along and see if you can spot some future stars of the game taking their first steps towards the top.
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments