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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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Final

Sunday 16 March

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

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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.