Opinion
Contributors
Claire Thomas
@Claire_GThomas
Claire Thomas has lived and breathed sport all her life, covering it as a student whilst competing at international level. Now a full time broadcaster, she's never happier than when commentating on the Allianz Premier 15s, tearfully belting out Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, or painstakingly pausing Squidge Rugby videos so she can cackle at all the tiny in-jokes.
59 Articles
Latest
35 days ago
Amelia MacDougall: The perfect ten and playing for her childhood club
47 days ago gloucester-hartpury-women
How Gloucester's tyros are at the heart of their three-peat quest
64 days ago
Demure is dead: Long live this season’s bold and beautiful aesthetic
123 days ago canada-women-sevens
Peaking to perfection: how Canada plan to conquer Paris
Interview
Aaron Grandidier Nkanang: 'Sevens doesn’t get the respect it deserves. It’s the Formula One of rugby – pure entertainment.'
As France 7s prepare for a home Olympics challenge, Aaron Grandidier Nkanang discusses life, basketball, golf, DJing, dance classe…
Claire Thomas
20 Jul 2024, 2:49
Opinion
It all comes down to this: An opening number for Saturday’s big PWR dance
There, separated by just a crease and pair of staples, are the best two teams in all the land. Soon, the curtain will rise as the …
Claire Thomas
19 Jun 2024, 6:53
Exclusive
Ball in paw: How Bristol Bears think they’ve cracked it
As we emerge from the Six Nations, having hit ‘pause’ on the Premiership, Bears sit atop the entertainment metrics. 2,904 pass…
Claire Thomas
29 Apr 2024, 7:18
Opinion
The good and the bad: Reflecting on yet another Red Roses procession
That’s when covering the world number ones gets less fun, because people ask you how work was, and there are gasps, winces, and …
Claire Thomas
23 Apr 2024, 8:28
Opinion
‘And so? I’ll have to play': How Sophie Ellis-Bextor unwittingly previewed Red Roses vs Ireland
The question is: will the afternoon’s real murder have already taken place? Will there be any life left in this fixture by the f…
Claire Thomas
19 Apr 2024, 4:46
Analysis
Defence, discipline, and accuracy: France's Six Nations campaign so far in numbers
53 points scored - seven tries, six conversions, and a pair of penalty kicks - which is a tally only the Red Roses have surpassed.…
Claire Thomas
10 Apr 2024, 7:13
Opinion
There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team', but here are five individuals who encapsulate the Women’s Six Nations so far
So - in a bid to put a slight (read: dubious) twist on that tried-and-tested classic of a listicle, here’s a player from each na…
Claire Thomas
03 Apr 2024, 4:50
Exclusive
A wet Wednesday at base camp: A morning with the Red Roses
Put simply, spending a few hours at Pennyhill Park on a cold and blustery Wednesday - in between rounds one and two of the Six Nat…
Claire Thomas
29 Mar 2024, 5:40
Opinion
Wales vs Scotland Six Nations preview: 'You’d be mad to miss this particular Celtic kerfuffle'
If the senior men’s and u20s championships were anything to go by, we’re in for a scintillating ride - so clear your weekends,…
Claire Thomas
20 Mar 2024, 11:02
Analysis
Going Global with the Glow Ups: Resolutions for the International Women’s Game
Just as is the case with the PWR - test match women’s rugby has never been in ruder health, but it’s certainly not perfect yet…
Claire Thomas
15 Jan 2024, 7:34
Opinion
‘In the gap’, something special is building: A first encounter with Trailfinders
In their fledging PWR existence, they had played five and won two. 11 table points from 400 minutes of competition - 397 of which …
Claire Thomas
09 Jan 2024, 11:04
Opinion
New Year’s resolutions for Premiership Women’s Rugby
In 2024, the PWR needs to ‘do lots the same, but fight to make things even better - whilst also changing other bits.’ It’s c…
Claire Thomas
05 Jan 2024, 7:02
Opinion
A Twixmassy look around the PWR: New Kids, Mercurial Meg and Big Game
At the end of the year, with reflection in mind, six rounds (almost) complete, and a whole chocolate reindeer as column-writing fu…
Claire Thomas
28 Dec 2023, 9:56
Opinion
‘Someone’s going to have a good Christmas, and someone isn’t’: Saracens v Bristol Bears
Bristol Bears, who have taken every other scalp in the league, have never got the job done against Sarries - regardless of locatio…
Claire Thomas
21 Dec 2023, 8:56
Opinion
Down Under, Women’s Rugby’s on the up: 7s Supremos and a New Head Coach
The Australian women's sevens team are currently flying the flag for Australian rugby - easily the best team Down Under - but ther…
Claire Thomas
14 Dec 2023, 10:50
Two rounds down, and plenty to go: Some early season lukewarm takes on PWR
We’ve scarcely got going with this new Premiership Women’s Rugby campaign - if the season were a sprinter, it’d only just ha…
Claire Thomas
28 Nov 2023, 11:13
Analysis
The Circus is Back in Town: Let the Gloucester-Hartpury Title Defence Commence
The jubilant scenes at the Premier 15s final on June 24th are the ones which make the early season montages now, but this was a si…
Claire Thomas
24 Nov 2023, 5:40
Premiership Women’s Rugby - out with the crisps, in with the wacky clothes and new broadcast deal
They might not be dishing out the giant bags of crisps anymore, but this thing never fails to entertain - so grab yourselves some …
Claire Thomas
15 Nov 2023, 10:01
Analysis
Ferns strewn and history made: A re-watch of the Red Roses WXV 1 triumph
So they huffed, and they puffed, and they blew the house in - storming the land of the long white cloud, and leaving ferns strewn …
Claire Thomas
08 Nov 2023, 5:58
Analysis
What we’ve loved, and what’s at stake: The state of play as WXV reaches grand finale
Fiji and Spain were involved in some proper tussles - competition their set-ups have been craving - whilst Kazakstan battling past…
Claire Thomas
01 Nov 2023, 10:19
