This week has been an action-packed one for the rugby fans of the world. We saw New Zealand defeat Wales in a hard-fought game in the autumn nations series for the men, and also a brilliant game from England in the game versus the Black Ferns on Sunday.
On Saturday/Sunday we saw the first round of the Allianz Cup, with 8 teams in the opening rounds. Some brilliant games of rugby were played, some teams defied the odds and came out of the other side with some absolutely brilliant scores!
In Pool A we had DMP Durham Sharks against Harlequins, where we saw the quins defeat DMP 73-0. Significant points to work on for Durham, but they had an awesome game. Positively for Quins, they had an excellent game, despite missing a fair amount of their team to the autumn internationals.
Also in Pool A, Gloucester-Hartpury played Bristol Bears, where the home side taking the win with a 31-12 victory.
Over in Pool B, Sale Sharks faced Loughborough Lightning, with the sharks winning 43-15. Holly Bawden was incredible for Sale, coming away from the game with 4 tries to her name.
For the last game of the Allianz Cup this weekend, it was Worcester Warriors vs Saracens Women. The home side once again took away the win, with a 17-0 victory over the Sarries.
On Sunday, we saw the Red Roses face the Black Ferns in NZ's 100th test. Both teams had amazing lineups, with the Kiwis putting out a relatively new squad, a test for their home world cup next year. The atmosphere was incredible and the whole of Sandy Park got behind supporting both teams. Some brilliant solo tries intertwined with some hard-fought team tries led to the 43-12 victory by the Red Roses - their biggest win ever over the Black Ferns.
The players were kind enough to come around the pitch and talk to the fans, I even managed to get my shirt signed by many of the members of the team!
The USA played Canada in their opening game. Several players made their debuts, including Tiktok sensation, Ilona Maher, Olympian.
And now time for the most exciting part of this week's news. Wales have announced that they will offer the first-ever professional contracts to women. This is part of a major investment in their women's performance programme. Although, it shouldn't have taken this long, and we shouldn't be getting excited because this is simply the bare minimum. Players deserve more than this, but it's a huge step in the right direction.
That's it for this week, we have a whole bunch of fixtures coming this weekend, I know I can't wait! For updates, follow me on my socials.
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*WIR=Women In Rugby.
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