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Three talking points from Round 4 of the 2025/26 PWR season
By Joe Harvey
We are already a month into the 2025/26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season.
In that time we have seen teams experience surprise losses, the rise of new top four contenders and women’s top flight rugby in England has never been more exciting.
Over the weekend we saw Saracens register a dominant win over Leicester Tigers, Gloucester Hartpury beat Sale Sharks, Bristol Bears fell short against Trailfinders Women and Exeter Chiefs overcame Harlequins.
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A high-scoring weekend that provided plenty of intrigue, here are three talking points from Round 4…
Gloucester Hartpury are quite good
Four rounds in only one team has gathered all the points available to them.
Shockingly, it is the three-time consecutive champions, Gloucester Hartpury. They have barely skipped a beat. They are in the drivers’ seat again.
There was an element of uncertainty about how the Circus would start the 2025/26 season.
After so many years under guidance of Sean Lynn, who departed the club for Wales at the conclusion of last season, just how the side were going to adjust to Dan Murphy’s leadership was unclear.
Thankfully the former assistant coach’s years of experience in the backroom has paid in dividends. Seemingly not making wholesale changes behind the scenes, Murphy’s tenure to date can be classified as a continuation of excellence in the West Country.
Even the addition of Matt Banahan as an assistant coach marked consistency. A former Gloucester Rugby player with just shy of 50 appearances in Cherry and White, the former England wing knew the club from back to front on his arrival.
Throw in the world class talent littered throughout the squad – Zoe Stratford, Maud Muir, Natasha Hunt and Tatyana Heard – and that cause for concern is nothing more than wasted energy.
Anyone that did preseason predictions may need a long, hard look at themselves in the mirror.
Maisy Allen perfect example of Chiefs resurgence
Last week RugbyPass looked at the numbers surrounding Exeter Chiefs’ renewed confidence at the start of this PWR season.
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But numbers tell just part of the story. One player that personifies this best is Maisy Allen. A five-time Red Roses capped back-row forward, the 23-year-old has been the form player in Steve Salvin’s squad.
Player of the Match in her past two games, the former England 7s international has already scored four tries this term, carried the ball 43 times and made 86 tackles. It is phenomenal all-court start to the campaign.
Coming into this first rest week of the season Exeter are third in the league. With two wins, a draw and a loss to their name it has by no means been a perfect start.
Even so a draw with an almost free-scoring Loughborough Lightning and loss to the defending champions should not be sniffed at.
Canada prop DaLeaka Menin has been a major driving force too with her well-rounded skillset, while World Cup winning back-row Maddie Feaunati has also been in resplendent form.
In Round 5 the club will travel to the North West to take on Sale Sharks in what will surely be another test of their mettle.
That game will be another opportunity for Allen to impress yet again. We are in international recall territory.
Bristol and Harlequins struggling to light the fuse
To date Bristol Bears and Harlequins have tasted victory once each.
It was in both team’s opening game of the season that their sole wins came, as Harlequins beat Loughborough and Bears toppled Leicester on the road.
In the weekends since each team have struggled to really light the fuse on their seasons and spring to life explosively. When you take into account either side’s start to the season it is not hard to see why.
Ross Chisholm’s Harlequins have played Saracens, Gloucester Hartpury and Exeter Chiefs since Round 1.
Against their London rivals and Exeter the game they were behind at the break and never really got back into the contest, but they did see a midway lead slip to the defending champions.
Meanwhile, after their 74-0 victory against Leicester in Round 2, Bristol have lost out to Saracens and Trailfinders Women under new head coach Scott Lawson.
After electric starts to the season Millie David and Reneeqa Bonner have been unable to sizzle in the same way and the to impose themselves on an opposition.
In both cases alarm bells should not be ringing just yet. There is time to right the ship.
With the international talent available to either side – whether that be Ellie Kildunne, Lucy Packer, Claudia Pena, Sarah Bern or Abbie Ward – you cannot imagine these struggles will persist.
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