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What to watch in women’s rugby: Title rivals go head to head

BRISTOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 1: Bristol Bears' Ilona Maher during the Allianz Premier 15s match between Bristol Bears Women and Loughborough Lightning at Shaftesbury Park on February 1, 2025 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Bob Bradford - CameraSport via Getty Images)

The hunt for honours in both Premiership Women’s Rugby and the Celtic Challenge will become clearer by the end of this weekend.

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Bristol Bears know they must beat fourth-placed Exeter Chiefs in their rearranged PWR fixture at Ashton Gate to maintain their hopes of reaching the end of season play-offs.

Meanwhile, Celtic Challenge leaders Wolfhounds put their title defence on the line against second placed Gwalia Lightning in Cork.

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‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

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    ‘This Energy Never Stops’ – Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

    You can watch all the action live and for free via RugbyPass TV, except where there is a local broadcast deal in place.

    Bears, Chiefs vie for top four

    Bristol head coach Dave Ward has labelled his side’s West Country Derby against Exeter their most important match of the season.

    With only two regular season matches left for last season’s runners-up, Bears find themselves outside the top four and the all-important semi-final spots.

    Back-to-back defeats to Trailfinders Women and Loughborough Lightning have left Bristol trailing fourth-placed Exeter, who have a game in hand, by two points ahead of the Chiefs’ visit to Ashton Gate on Sunday.

    Fixture
    PWR
    Bristol Bears Women
    45 - 17
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    Exeter Chiefs Women
    All Stats and Data

    A third successive defeat would leave the hosts’ title hopes in tatters, but they will be buoyed by the Chiefs’ own stuttering form and the fact they beat them in Exeter only four weeks ago.

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    “This is it now for us,” Ward said this week. “[For] Bristol fans, this is the last time they’ll get a chance to see us at home for a long, long time because of the way the season is structured.

    “We want as many people as we can down there. We want them to go away happy as well and like I said, the next time they’re at Ashton Gate watching a game of women’s rugby will hopefully be one of the World Cup quarter-finals or semi-finals.

    “So, that’s exciting in itself but we want to make sure that those memories last through the summer and we’ve got a huge opportunity in the biggest game of the season so far in terms of where people are going to end up.

    “And we’re going to give it our absolute all.”

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    Sunday’s rescheduled match was originally planned for round nine, but the fixture was postponed due to the impact of Storm Darragh at the beginning of December.

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    Round nine fell at the end of the week in which Ilona Maher signed her short-term deal with the Bears and this weekend’s derby now represents her final home assignment in Bristol blue.

    “She’s a model professional in terms of rugby comes first. She’s here before most of the other pros in terms of her timings and what she gets done, I couldn’t have really asked for anything more rugby wise,” Ward said.

    Find out if the Olympian can help keep Bristol’s semi-final hopes on track live and for free via RugbyPass TV this Saturday, except in Canada, USA, the UK and Ireland.

    Saturday, February 8
    12:15 GMT – Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs, Ashton Gate – WATCH LIVE HERE

    Celtic Challenge title rivals meet in Cork

    As the race for the Celtic Challenge heats up, the top two meet in Cork on Sunday in a match that could go some way to deciding the destination of the title.

    Defending champions Wolfhounds lead the standings by a point from Gwalia Lightning ahead of the Welsh side’s visit to Virgin Media Park.

    Wolfhounds suffered their first ever Celtic Challenge defeat in round two, losing 31-10 to compatriots Clovers, but have rebounded well to lead the pack with four games to play.

    Glasgow Warriors and Brython Thunder have each been beaten home and away since that loss, but Gwalia Lightning will represent a step up.

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    Lightning have also lost only one of their six matches so far and head into this weekend on a run of three successive victories, including back-to-back wins against last season’s runners-up, Edinburgh Rugby.

    Sian Jones, Bryonie King, Caitlan Lewis and Courtney Greenway all scored tries in Lightning’s 26-5 defeat of Edinburgh last weekend, but they will be playing a side packed full of internationals in Cork.

    Eve Higgins scored a hat-trick as Wolfhounds beat Glasgow 64-21 in round six and she is supported by the likes of Aoife Wafer, Erin King and Stacey Flood in a star-studded squad.

    Find out if Wolfhounds can edge closer to a second successive title or whether Lightning spring a surprise in Cork live and for free on RugbyPass TV.

    Sunday, February 9
    12:30 GMT – Wolfhounds v Gwalia Lightning, Virgin Media Park – WATCH LIVE NOW

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    H
    Hellhound 1 hour ago
    Bok rule-benders are changing the game. They deserve respect

    You want a lot of things that will never happen. You describe rugby League. You should go and watch that then. Rugby is supposed to be competitive. It's the opposition team that should figure out how to defend and turn it into an attack on the fly. The Boks play within the rules. Everyone says that kick off should have been a penalty. The law state that from a kick off it's a scrum. It's confusing as with mauls and rucks, the player has to be behind the kicker. The same does not hold true for kick offs. That law they can change, because the same rule should apply across the board for players to be behind the kicker. It's not the first time that the infield lineout has been used, only the first time in an international match. If I remember correctly, the Barbarians used it against England in 2021 or 2022 (under correction). It's also been used in SR during the 2000’s. There is just this big hoo haw because the Boks did it. If it was another team like the Irish or England or the French or someone, it would be innovative, genius and brilliant. The dummy the AB's did where a player broke to the right, acting like he had the ball, meanwhile the scrumhalfs ran down the sideline and scored. I don't hear you cry about that. That can be seen as cynical play and there is even a case for unsportsmanlike behaviour and at a minimum a yellow card. Yet there is silence from you about that. I on the other hand thought that was a great tactic. It's also not a new invention, but an old one. You only love rugby when it suits you. I don't care what new tactics teams use, or whoever the team is that is doing it. Every new invention or tactic or play that the coaches comes up with is great for rugby. It keeps it interesting. There is no law that prevents other coaches using the same tactics or create their own. It's up to coaches to come up with defense strategies to cut that down, and even retaliate against it. The game is never boring. It keeps evolving. People keep talking about rugby and all these things is what draw new fans. They don't want boring. They want innovative and fun. They want to hear the crash of bodies. They want to see the strength of the scrums. They want to see the speed, agility and flair of the players. The amazing passes and jukes or side steps. The only reason you are so up in arms is because the Boks did it and now you want it banned. The same rhyme over and over. Matt Williams wannabe. Nah, you don't love rugby or else you would enjoy the most exciting era yet in this lovely sport. Stars in so many national teams has never been more abundant nor was there so many teams that could beat each other on any given day. Not to even mention watching an era of the most controversial but most innovative and clever coach ever. A dynasty that's to last for a very long time even after he retires. Like him or hate him, his genius is undeniable and he is recognised world wide as the best coach in most countries by fans and pundits alike, even if they don't like him. Stop the hate and rather enjoy what's to come.

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