 | ||
| Full name | Edinburgh Rugby Women | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Scottish Rugby Union | |
| Founded | 2023 | |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland | |
| Ground(s) | Hive Stadium (Capacity: 7,800) | |
| Coach(es) | Claire Cruikshank | |
| League(s) | Celtic Challenge | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| edinburghrugby | ||
 Current season | ||
Edinburgh Rugby Women are a select provincial rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the Celtic Challenge league.
Edinburgh Rugby Women was formed in December 2023 by Edinburgh Rugby and the Scottish Rugby Union to play in the Celtic Challenge, [1] a cross-border women's rugby union competition that will be held annually. The competition was launched in 2023 and is designed to develop players for the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. [1]
Edinburgh Rugby women's side play their home matches at Hive Stadium.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gwalia Lightning | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 52 | 22 | +30 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 |  Edinburgh Rugby | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 15 | +48 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 |  Wolfhounds | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 38 | +5 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Clovers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 5 | Brython Thunder | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 52 | −30 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Glasgow Warriors | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 63 | −48 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The coaching team was announced on 12 December 2023. [2]
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Claire Cruikshank | Head coach |
| Stuart Corsar | Assistant coach |
| Euan Mochrie | Assistant coach |
| Andrew Whitelaw | Development Coach |
| Ross McCann | Development Coach |
| Drew Scott | Strength and Conditioning Coach |
| 2023/24 Squad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The squad for the 2023–24 season was announced on 18 December 2023. [3] On 29 December 2023 Sarah Denholm was named as captain as part of the first game squad announcement. [4] Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Transitional playersOn 27 December 2023, Scottish Rugby announced 11 transitional players that could play for either Scottish Celtic challenge team. [5] Transitional players were selected through a Scottish qualified programme, a programme to develop and support Scottish qualified players living outside of Scotland, as well as players who have previously been involved with Scotland but currently live outside of Scotland. [5]
International playersInternational players released to play for Edinburgh Rugby in the Celtic Challenge league. [6]
|
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries.
Border Reivers, originally known as "Scottish Borders Rugby", and also known as The Borders, were one of four professional rugby union teams in Scotland, alongside Edinburgh, Caledonia Reds and Glasgow Warriors.
Edinburgh Rugby is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh plays the majority of its home games at Edinburgh Rugby Stadium.
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became the first Scottish team to win a major trophy in rugby union's professional era. In 2023-24 they became the first Scottish side to win the United Rugby Championship in its current form. The side is known for its fast, dynamic and attacking style of play, using offloads and quick rucks. Defensively the club prides itself on its 'Fortress Scotstoun' where the club play at home.
Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Connacht.
Murrayfield Stadium is a rugby union stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. The stadium is owned by the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) who has its headquarters based at the stadium, and is the national stadium of the Scotland national rugby union team. With a seating capacity of 67,144, it is the largest stadium in Scotland, the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, and the twenty–second largest in Europe.
Daniel Arthur Parks is a professional rugby union coach and former player who played as a fly-half.
Rugby union in Scotland is a popular team sport. Scotland's national side today competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and the Rugby World Cup. The first ever international rugby match was played on 27 March 1871, at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh, when Scotland defeated England in front of 4,000 people. Professional clubs compete in the United Rugby Championship, European Rugby Champions Cup and European Rugby Challenge Cup, while the Scottish League Championship exists for over 200 amateur and semi-professional clubs, as does a knock-out competition, the Scottish Cup. The governing body, the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU), is one of the ten first-tier member nations of World Rugby.
Rugby union is a popular team sport on the island of Ireland, organised on an all-Ireland basis, including players and teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), was founded in 1875, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland), which were both founded in 1871.
The 2007–08 Celtic League was the seventh Celtic League season and the second with Magners as title sponsor. The season began on 31 August 2007 and finished on the weekend beginning 10 May 2008. Some disruption to fixtures occurred as a result of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, which took place during September and October 2007.
The 1872 Cup – also known as the 1872 Challenge Cup – is a men's rugby union tournament contested every year between the two Scottish professional clubs, Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby.
The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats.
The Welsh–Scottish League was a rugby union league in Scotland and Wales jointly implemented by the Scottish Rugby Union and the Welsh Rugby Union from the 1999–2000 season onwards. It was a precursor to the Celtic League and lasted three seasons, being disbanded after the Celtic League was set up.
The 2021–22 United Rugby Championship was the twenty-first season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the first season that the competition is referred to as the United Rugby Championship, having previously been known as the Pro14.
The 2022–23 United Rugby Championship was the 22nd season of the professional rugby union competition United Rugby Championship. It began on 16 September 2022 and ended on 27 May 2023. For sponsorship reasons it was known in South Africa as Vodacom United Rugby Championship or Vodacom URC, while in the Northern Hemisphere it was known as the BKT United Rugby Championship or BKT URC.
The 2024 Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes except in France where due to alcohol sponsorship prohibitions the tournament was unsponsored, was the 23rd series of the Women's Six Nations Championship, an annual women's rugby union competition between England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It began on 23 March and ended on 27 April 2024.
The Celtic Challenge is a cross-border women's rugby union competition that will be held annually, launched in 2023. Designed to develop players for the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the inaugural pilot edition featured a double round robin between three teams, one from each participating union. From 2024 the competition will involve six teams, two from each participating union. Beginning with the 2024–25 season, the competition will maintain its six-team setup, transitioning into a full home-and-away round-robin format. The winners will be determined by standings at the end of the season.
The 2023–24 Celtic Challenge was the second season of the Celtic Challenge, a cross-border women's rugby union competition with teams from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. The enlarged six team tournament featured a single round robin fixture series, after which the six team table is split in two. This is followed by three further 'play-off' rounds in a set of three double-header fixtures. Each team will therefore play a seven match season.
Glasgow Warriors Women are a select provincial rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the Celtic Challenge league.
The 2024–25 Celtic Challenge is the third season of the Celtic Challenge, a cross-border women's rugby union competition with teams from Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. The six team tournament features a full double round robin fixture series, with each team playing the others both home and away. Each team will therefore play a ten match season, three more than the previous edition.
