Top five Premiership Women’s Rugby transfers for 2025/26

There are just over two weeks until the latest Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign gets underway when Harlequins host Loughborough Lightning on Friday 24 October.

Coming straight off the bat of England’s success at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, it is possibly the most hotly anticipated season of the competition to date.

Over the course of the offseason a whole host of players have been confirmed as joining one club from another or are coming from overseas for a first taste of top flight English rugby.

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Here are five signings that RugbyPass’ Joe Harvey is excited about…

Meg Jones | Leicester Tigers to Trailfinders Women

World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year nominee, 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup winner and reigning PWR Player of the Season Meg Jones is an all-star addition to Trailfinders Women.

She joins Trailfinders from Leicester Tigers team with plenty of ambition. This offseason head coach Barney Maddison has seen the likes of Francesca McGhie and Claire Gallagher also move from Leicester to London, as have Scotland internationals Rachel Malcolm and Emma Wassell, and Black Ferns pair Alana Borland and Georgia Ponsonby.

One thing that Jones has consistently done across the past two years of her career is make a backline tick.

That was never more evident than when the 28-year-old was a key figure in the Red Roses’ third ever World Cup title in September.

This season the Londoners will hope to harness her knack of breaking the gainline and link up play to their advantage. Last term Trailfinders finished with a 5-11 record and 17 points off a top four finish.

 

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The addition of Jones and other seasoned internationals to an already experienced side could propel the club to play-off rugby for the first time.

Amy Rule | Matatu to Exeter Chiefs

At just 25 Amy Rule arrives in Devon with a wealth of experience.

A 2021 Rugby World Cup winner and winner of 31 Black Ferns caps, the tighthead prop can provide a steady set of hands at scrum time for the 2022/23 runners-up.

Just the notion of Rule packing down in the same front-row as USA Women’s Eagles stalwart Hope Rogers and Canada hooker Emily Tuttosi is an enthralling one.

That foundation of a rock-solid front-row could well be the key to Exeter Chiefs returning to semi-final rugby after they missed out last term.

Rule is the headline signing of several new faces at Sandy Park. Italy back Francesca Granzotto has committed her future to the Devon Club, as has England qualified hooker Sofia Bekir Fuente and former England U20 international Gabriella Nigrelli.

Holly Aitchison | Bristol Bears to Sale Sharks

A move back to the North West could be a fairytale for Holly Aitchison. Fresh from helping England win their first World Cup title in 11 years, the 28-year-old moves to Sale Sharks after two years in the West Country with Bristol Bears.

Born in Southport, Aitchison started playing rugby at Merseyside club Waterloo Ladies before she attended Hartpury University and began life as a professional rugby player in the England 7s setup.

Since returning to the 15-a-side game in 2020, Aitchison has established herself as an expert director of a team from fly-half and also capable of playing in multiple positions across the backline.

Aitchison is one of a new crop of arrivals in the North West. Along with a new coaching panel of Tom Hudson, Luke Stratford and Charlie Beckett, fellow 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup winner Amy Cokayne.

 

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Senior internationals Courtney Keight (Wales), Evie Wills, Rhona Lloyd, Leah Bartlett (all Scotland) and Carmen Castellucci (Spain) have also signed on in Greater Manchester.

Aoife Wafer | Leinster Rugby to Harlequins

It is no understatement to suggest that Aoife Wafer’s arrival at Harlequins could be one of this season’s top signings.

2025 has already been the flanker’s year. At the end of the most recent edition of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, the Ireland forward was named Player of the Tournament for her tireless work-rate.

Despite seeing her game time at the Women’s Rugby World Cup limited due to injury, Harlequins supporters did get a taste of what Wafer will bring to West London.

In her sole outing at the tournament against France the 22-year-old made a whopping 26 carries, made 46 post-contact metres, won two turnovers and made two dominant tackles. Talk about hustle.

 

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Harlequins also welcomed Bristol centurion Lucy Burgess to the Stoop in the summer and Scottish trio Fiona McIntosh, Coreen Grant and Natasha Logan.

Laetitia Royer | ASM Romagnat to Saracens

Canada lock Laetitia Royer is set to be a key addition to the StoneX Stadium furniture in 2025/26.

In her RugbyPass column ahead of September’s Women’s Rugby World Cup final, the 34-year-old wrote honestly about the tournament not being what she had dreamed of.

An injury sustained ahead of the tournament limited her to a supporting role off the bench as the North Americans battled to a second-place finish.

When fully fit Royer can be a game-changing option in the second row. If she recaptures her 2024 World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year form, then Saracens will be a tricky prospect to contend with.

Saracens’ Director of Rugby, Alex Austerberry, has also recruited Canada’s Julia Omokhuale from Tigers and brought in Red Roses loosehead prop Liz Crake from Trailfinders Women.

There is also a return for wing Deborah Wills who has returned to StoneX Stadium after an eight year absence.