News

Fixtures announced for Premiership Women's Rugby season 2024-25

Champions start with Leicester Tigers clash live on TNT Sports

GLOUCESTER-HARTPURY will open the defence of the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) title at home to Leicester Tigers on a day when the two clubs will come together to also play for The Slater Cup.

The game on Sunday 6 October will be live on TNT Sports with Gloucester-Hartpury and Leicester Tigers also playing for the trophy named after Ed Slater, the former men’s captain of both clubs who is suffering from Motor Neurone Disease.

“It’s a very meaningful fixture for the whole of Gloucester and it’s something the girls and the lads will really get behind,” said Gloucester-Hartpury coach Andrew Ford. “Ed is a fantastic character and the way that Gloucester gets around something like this it really brings us together.

“We really want to grow our attendances this year and want to help make sure that people come down and watch because we think we play an exciting brand of rugby and everyone who comes to watch us always says how much they have enjoyed it, whether it’s their first time or their 20th time.”

With the men’s team away at Sale Sharks two days before we could be heading for a huge day at Kingsholm to watch the PWR clash.

Saracens get the PWR season underway by entertaining Trailfinders Women at the StoneX on Saturday 5 October with Harlequins taking on Exeter Chiefs and last year’s runners-up Bristol Bears travelling to Loughborough Lightning in round one, when Sale Sharks have a bye.

Premiership Women’s Rugby Round 1

Saturday 5 October

2pm – Saracens v Trailfinders Women – StoneX Stadium
3pm – Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs – Twickenham Stoop
3pm – Loughborough Lightning v Bristol Bears – cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens

Sunday 6 October

TBC – Gloucester-Hartpury v Leicester Tigers – Kingsholm Stadium (Live on TNT Sports)
BYE – Sale Sharks

Gloucester-Hartpury are aiming for a Premiership Women’s Rugby hat-trick of titles and Ford believes the growth of young stars has proven key to their success.

“I think [the pathway] is one of our biggest strengths,” said Ford. “We knew Gloucester was a massive hub of rugby a few years ago.

“When [head coach] Sean Lynn and I came onboard we really looked at what the pathway had to offer. We had the best players in the country in it, we were just losing them.

“So, we strengthened that up over the last couple of years and it is vital.”

Gloucester-Hartpury enter this season with back-to-back titles in their pocket but Ford maintains that the team will not focus on expectations of a third.

“I don’t think we are putting any pressure on ourselves; we are fully aware that the league is getting stronger which is exactly what we want,” said Ford. “We want competitive games every weekend and I think that is exactly what you are going to get this year with the PWR.

“We have had two very good seasons, we understand that we are going to have some tough games this year, we will probably lose a few games this year but ultimately our goal is to finish in that top four and we would love for another home semi-final at Kingsholm.”

Harlequins raise the curtain on Round 2 at home to Gloucester-Hartpury on Saturday 12 October, and we have an evening kick at the CorpAcq Stadium where Saracens travel to take on Sale Sharks. TNT Sports will show Trailfinders Women against Loughborough Lightning on Sunday 13 October with Leicester Tigers travelling to Sandy Park to take on Exeter Chiefs.

Round 3 presents another big day in the PWR calendar with Bristol Bears and Saracens clashing at Ashton Gate in a double-header with the men’s teams and Bears Head Coach Dave Ward can’t wait.

Ward said: “We’d love to be [playing at Ashton Gate more often]. We’re playing a double header with the men which is incredible. The men want to support us, and we want to support them.

“We want to get to Ashton Gate as much as possible, but we want to do it in the right environment. We also love Shaftesbury Park, it's our home, we got 1,000 people there a couple of times last season which is incredible for a ground like that. For us, it’s getting the balance right for when to be at Ashton Gate.”

Ward took his Bears to the PWR Final in 2024 and he predicts the most competitive season on record adding: “It’s going to be the most competitive season, I know everyone says that each year, but you see the signings that teams are making, Harlequins, Loughborough Lightning and others. There’s going to be six or seven teams right up there pushing for that top four and that’s what we want as a league, as head coaches.

“We don’t want to look down the list and predict the results every week. It’s going to be hugely competitive, hugely exciting we just want to make sure we hit the ground running and put our best foot forward come Loughborough away for the first game of the season.”

Premiership Women’s Rugby will start the season with two new head coaches – Tom Hudson takes charge at Leicester Tigers and it is the same at Harlequins where Ross Chisholm is now at the head of affairs.

Chisholm is relishing the challenge of injecting the ‘Harlequins DNA’ into the club’s new arrivals as they prepare for a new Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign.

Chisholm is a club legend at the Stoop following his storied career with the men’s side, which saw him make 128 appearances over 14 years with the Quarters before retiring at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.

His transition into coaching has been a smooth one and having spent last season as attack and transition coach with the women’s squad, he has stepped into the head coach role this summer.

“It’s a real privilege and I’m extremely proud to take on the role,” he said.

“There are a lot of new players and it’s really important we build relationships. We are ensuring we are connecting as a team so we can go and perform.

“Quins is a club who have a real clear DNA across the whole club. We are ensuring we are clear on what it looks like and how we want to bring that to life as a playing group in this first couple of weeks so that when the season starts, we are all clear on our vision and how we want to perform.

“We want to be remembered as brave, physical and entertaining. When people watch Quins, it’s high tempo, moving the ball and scoring tries.

“The shirt speaks for itself in some ways and my job is breaking it down and working out what that looks like for us as a group.”

Quins saw five influential players retire at the end of the season, with Shaunagh Brown, Rachel Burford, Emily Scott, Katy Mew and Georgia Gray deciding the time was right to hang up their boots.

A raft of arrivals have been tasked with hitting the ground running, including GB Sevens stars Grace Crompton and Kayleigh Powell, the latter’s Welsh international teammate Alex Callender and Red Roses forwards Lizzie Hanlon and Harriet Millar-Mills.

Spanish pair Claudia Pena Hidalgo and Laura Delgado add continental flair and it’s a mix which excites Quins’ new head coach.

“We had some stalwarts and legends of the game at Quins who departed, so there are some really big shoes to fill,” he said.

“It’s really important that we give time to connect with each other. That might be team building activities, space in team meetings to discuss things like that.

“We spend time getting to learn about each other and find out people’s ‘why’, in terms of why they play the game.

“That enables us to go on the pitch and implement what we are about. That has been a big focus in the last couple of weeks.”

The confirmation of the final kick off times will follow soon along with confirmation of dates and kick off times for further rounds.

The full Premiership Women's Rugby Fixture List 2024-25

Round 1

Saturday 5 October

2pm – Saracens v Trailfinders Women – StoneX Stadium
3pm – Harlequins v Exeter Chiefs – Twickenham Stoop
3pm – Loughborough Lightning v Bristol Bears – cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens

Sunday 6 October

TBC – Gloucester-Hartpury v Leicester Tigers – Kingsholm Stadium (Live on TNT Sports)
BYE – Sale Sharks

Round 2

Saturday 12 October

3pm – Harlequins v Gloucester-Hartpury – Twickenham Stoop
7pm – Sale Sharks v Saracens – CorpAcq Stadium

Sunday 13 October

TBC – Trailfinders Women v Loughborough Lightning – Trailfinders Sports Club (Live on TNT Sports)
3pm – Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers – Sandy Park
BYE – Bristol Bears

Round 3

Saturday 19 October

Noon – Bristol Bears v Saracens – Ashton Gate (Live on TNT Sports)
2pm – Gloucester-Hartpury v Exeter Chiefs – Kingsholm
2pm – Loughborough Lightning v Sale Sharks - cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens

BYE – Trailfinders Women

Sunday 20 October

5.45pm – Leicester Tigers v Harlequins - Mattioli Woods Welford Road

Round 4

Saturday 26 October

3pm – Exeter Chiefs v Trailfinders Women – Sandy Park
3pm – Harlequins v Loughborough Lightning – Twickenham Stoop
7pm – Sale Sharks v Bristol Bears – CorpAcq Stadium

Sunday 27 October

TBC – Saracens v Gloucester-Hartpury – StoneX Stadium (Live on TNT Sports)
BYE – Leicester Tigers

Round 5

Friday 1 November

7pm – Bristol Bears v Harlequins – Shaftesbury Park

Saturday 2 November

1pm – Exeter Chiefs v Saracens – Sandy Park
Sunday 3 November
2pm – Gloucester-Hartpury v Sale Sharks – Hartpury University Stadium
TBC – Leicester Tigers v Trailfinders Women - Mattioli Woods Welford Road (Live on TNT Sports)
BYE – Loughborough Lightning

Round 6

Saturday 9 November

Noon – Leicester Tigers v Bristol Bears - Mattioli Woods Welford Road
3pm - Trailfinders Women v Gloucester-Hartpury – Trailfinders Sports Club

Sunday 10 November

2pm – Harlequins v Sale Sharks – Twickenham Stoop
TBC – Exeter Chiefs v Loughborough Lightning – Sandy Park (Live on TNT Sports)
BYE - Saracens

Round 7

Weekend of 23-24 November

Bristol Bears v Trailfinders Women
Loughborough Lightning v Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks v Exeter Chiefs
Saracens v Harlequins
BYE - Gloucester-Hartpury

Round 8

Weekend of 30 November – 1 December

Gloucester-Hartpury v Bristol Bears
Harlequins v Trailfinders Women
Sale Sharks v Leicester Tigers
Saracens v Loughborough Lightning
BYE - Exeter Chiefs

Round 9

Weekend of 7-8 December

Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs
Leicester Tigers v Saracens
Loughborough Lightning v Gloucester-Hartpury
Trailfinders Women v Sale Sharks
BYE - Harlequins

Round 10

Weekend of 14-15 December

Bristol Bears v Sale Sharks
Gloucester-Hartpury v Saracens
Loughborough Lightning v Harlequins
Trailfinders Women v Exeter Chiefs
BYE - Leicester Tigers

Round 11

Weekend of 21-22 December

Exeter Chiefs v Gloucester-Hartpury
Sale Sharks v Loughborough Lightning
Saracens v Bristol Bears
BYE - Trailfinders Women

Saturday 28 December

3pm - Harlequins v Leicester Tigers - Allianz Stadium - Twickenham

Round 12

Weekend of 4-5 January

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
Loughborough Lightning v Saracens
Trailfinders Women v Harlequins
Bristol Bears v Gloucester-Hartpury
BYE - Exeter Chiefs

Round 13

Weekend of 11-12 January

Exeter Chiefs v Bristol Bears
Gloucester-Hartpury v Loughborough Lightning
Sale Sharks v Trailfinders Women
Saracens v Leicester Tigers
BYE - Harlequins

Round 14

Weekend of 18-19 January

Bristol Bears v Leicester Tigers
Gloucester-Hartpury v Trailfinders Women
Loughborough Lightning v Exeter Chiefs
Sale Sharks v Harlequins
BYE - Saracens

Round 15

Weekend of 25-26 January

Exeter Chiefs v Sale Sharks
Harlequins v Saracens
Leicester Tigers v Loughborough Lightning
Trailfinders Women v Bristol Bears
BYE - Gloucester-Hartpury

Round 16

Weekend of 1-2 February

Bristol Bears v Loughborough Lightning
Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Leicester Tigers v Gloucester-Hartpury
Trailfinders Women v Saracens
BYE - Sale Sharks

Round 17

Weekend of 15-16 February

Harlequins v Bristol Bears
Sale Sharks v Gloucester-Hartpury
Saracens v Exeter Chiefs
Trailfinders Women v Leicester Tigers
BYE - Loughborough Lightning

Round 18

Weekend of 22-23 February

Gloucester-Hartpury v Harlequins
Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs
Loughborough Lightning v Trailfinders Women
Saracens v Sale Sharks
BYE - Bristol Bears

Semi-finals

Saturday 1 March

3pm: 2 v 3 – Venue TBC (Live on TNT Sports)

Sunday 2 March

Kick-off TBC: 1 v 4 – Venue TBC (Live on TNT Sports)

Final

Sunday 16 March

2pm: SF winner v SF winner – Venue TBC (Live on TNT Sports)

Additional Info

Click here for an explanation of the 2024-25 season structure
Before the league campaign begins our clubs are in action in the new PWR Up Series. Click here for the fixtures which starts on Saturday 7 September.