Three talking points from Round 1 of the 2025/26 PWR season

One month after England’s 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup success the latest season of Premiership Women’s Rugby got underway.

Across the weekend four matches took place as eight teams began their latest league campaign in earnest.

There were a host of Women’s Rugby World Cup stars back on the field after their lighting it up on the biggest stage between August and September.

Before Round 2 starts next Saturday, here are three talking points from last weekend…

Gloucester Hartpury start four-peat charge with dominant win

In recent years Gloucester Hartpury have gotten used to defending titles. But as opening gambits go, the West Country club’s 40-14 drubbing of Saracens was perhaps one of their best.

The three-time champions hardly got out of second gear in the repeat of last season’s final and raced over the whitewash six times to start Dan Murphy’s time as head coach in the best way possible.

“It’s a great way to start the season,” Murphy said at full-time. “We looked at this block as a real big challenge and we had to start fast.

“Bringing the group back together, the Circus has been on tour a long time and bringing them back together was the key thing, and they did an alright job and putting out a performance like that.”

Next up the three-time champions have back-to-back road trips to Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins.

Elsewhere there was a 52-42 win for Harlequins beneath the Friday night lights against Loughborough Lightning. Exeter were 24-12 victors over Trailfinders Women in West London. Sale Sharks began their campaign with a 46-17 win over Leicester Tigers to start Tom Hudson’s reign as head coach on a high.

Red Roses star attraction as domestic action restarts

Wherever you looked Women’s Rugby World Cup winners had lined up for their club sides.

This included returns for Ellie Kildunne, Lucy Packer (both Harlequins), Lilli Ives Campion, Sadia Kabeya (both Loughborough), Meg Jones, Abi Burton (both Trailfinders), Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter), Amy Cokayne, Holly Aitchison (both Sale), Maud Muir, Zoe Stratford (née Aldcroft), Alex Matthews, Natasha Hunt, Tatyana Heard, Jade Shekells, Emma Sing (all Gloucester Hartpury), Kelsey Clifford, Rosie Galligan, Marlie Packer, Zoe Harrison, Jess Breach and May Campbell (all Saracens) were all out on the turf.

Not only a major draw for fans whipped into a fervour by World Cup success, they all lent their talent to an entertaining opening round. England’s captain, Stratford, was Player of the Match in that Gloucester Hartpury win, a game in which Muir and Sing also played starring roles.

Over the weekend Kabeya, Moloney-MacDonald, Cokayne, Muir, Shekells, Campbell and Heard all registered five-pointers on a high-scoring weekend of action.

More world champions are due to find themselves back on the field in the week to come and keep the level of play at a high standard as the season continues.

League attendances see World Cup bounce

Figures released by PWR confirmed that there was a 183 per cent increase in attendances compared to the first round of the 2024/25 season.

At the Twickenham Stoop on Friday night as Harlequins beat Loughborough there was just shy of 3,000 supporters that had flocked to West London. This was a 239 per cent increase on the same fixture 12 months before.

You then look to Trailfinders Women, where there was a 32 per cent increase of attendance compared to the equivalent fixture a year prior.

In the North West, Sale Sharks sold out Morson Stadium (Heywood Road) for the very first time and a real partizan atmosphere was present as the hosts ran out 46-17 winners over Leicester Tigers.

There was a real element of saving the best until last. On Sunday afternoon three-peat champions, Gloucester Hartpury, welcomed 4,200 supporters to Kingsholm Stadium.

“It is incredibly exciting to see the growth in attendances across the league in the opening round,” Genevieve Shore, PWR Executive Chair, told the league’s website.

“Every stadium welcomed new fans into the PWR family this weekend, and we can’t wait to watch them all become regulars at PWR games this season.

“The quality of our rugby in the PWR is beyond question and we’re happy with the increasing recognition that this is the best league in the world. I am so proud when I hear of players from all over the world wanting to play in the PWR. Our job now is to not take our foot off the gas; to continue improving and to make sure we remain the frontrunner in women’s club rugby.”