Opinion
Bristol Bears Women
Contributors
Matt Merritt
@MattMerritt Matt is a passionate advocate for women's rugby. While he sees himself as a rugby fan first and foremost, he is also a regular contributor to The Rugby Paper and has written for Rugby World as well as regularly interviewing players and writing about the women's game on his own site. He is also proud to be part of the Girls Rugby Club advisory board.
46 Articles
Latest
49 days ago
New faces in town: Every PWR club’s leavers and joiners 2024/25
147 days ago
The changing face of Premiership Women's Rugby
151 days ago Bristol Bears Women
Gloucester-Hartpury fight back to defend PWR title
221 days ago Six Nations Womens
Red Roses win with eight tries against a scoreless Scotland
Interview
'I'd say I'm a triple threat': Versatile young back Millie Hyett on her career so far
2024 feels like it has only just begun, but already it feels like it might be Millie Hyett’s year. The Gloucester-Hartpury back …
Matt Merritt
29 Feb 2024, 6:56
Interview
'My number one aim is to find Red Roses': James Cooper on developing England’s next generation
Is there anything more exciting as a rugby fan than discovering a new player who has the potential to reach the very highest level…
Matt Merritt
17 Jan 2024, 12:03
Interview
‘The vibe is really cool’ – Abbie Brown on Lightning, GB Sevens, and jumping between the two
When she’s not captaining her nation to Olympic qualification, Abbie Brown is providing Loughborough Lightning with a last line …
Matt Merritt
06 Dec 2023, 5:17
All Change! The leavers and joiners for all PWR clubs ahead of the 2023/24 season
With the Premiership Women’s Rugby season about to kick off, it’s time to review who has moved where. Every team has signed so…
Matt Merritt
14 Nov 2023, 8:38
Analysis
Premiership Women's Rugby preview: Teams, star players, and ones to watch in the new season
Ahead of the exciting new dawn for Premiership Women's Rugby, here's everything you need to know about the teams and players to be…
Matt Merritt
08 Nov 2023, 10:04
Analysis
Key battles won and lost: How The Red Roses secured NZ win
After 38 minutes that all went England’s way, a New Zealand try in the close of the first half signalled we still had a game on …
Matt Merritt
04 Nov 2023, 3:57
Analysis
Key battles won and lost: How The Wallaroos won against Wales
Ten minutes of ill discipline at the opening of the second half could have spelled the end for Australia, but instead it lit a fir…
Matt Merritt
03 Nov 2023, 4:15
Analysis
Key battles won and lost: Eva Karpani leads from the front in Wallaroos win
While France came into this game riding high, and Australia were smarting from a tough loss to England, the Wallaroos gained momen…
Matt Merritt
28 Oct 2023, 4:10
Key Battles: How the Red Roses dominated the Wallaroos
WXV 1 Kicked off with a ferocious encounter between England and Australia that saw the world number one Red Roses dominate almost …
Matt Merritt
20 Oct 2023, 4:12
Allianz Cup preview: Bryony Field and Kim Oliver look ahead to an exciting start to the season
The Allianz Cup, much like its sibling competition the Premiership Cup for the men, has been positioned as a development competiti…
Matt Merritt
20 Sep 2023, 7:01
Interview
'All our energy is going into being the best version of Leicester Tigers'
It’s tough enough to build a new team from scratch at any level, but when that team will be competing in Premiership Women’s R…
Matt Merritt
30 Aug 2023, 9:58
Interview
Tamara Taylor: Growing the game in Scandinavia and life as Sweden head coach
How does a World Cup winner, a former Saracen, and a champion for northern rugby in England end up as head coach of the Swedish na…
Matt Merritt
19 Jul 2023, 6:26
Key battles and how Gloucester-Hartpury won the Premier 15s convincingly
A fresh set of names faced off in the Allianz Premier 15s final, nearly 10,000 fans in the stadium and a beautiful sunny day made …
Matt Merritt
24 Jun 2023, 12:58
Interview
A year of turmoil: Worcester’s Buckland-Hurry on thriving and surviving against the odds
Being pragmatic has been key to Worcester Warriors Women surviving, and players like Amelia Buckland-Hurry who have seen the leagu…
Matt Merritt
10 May 2023, 7:57
Opinion
England v France: Head-to-head player ratings
In front of a record-breaking crowd of 58,498 excited rugby fans England have once again been crowned Grand Slam champions followi…
Matt Merritt
29 Apr 2023, 11:59
Interview
Ealing Trailfinders Women: Building a Premier 15s team from the ground up
Ealing Trailfinders Women have sensibly looked to one of the Premier 15’s most successful coaches to lead and build their set up…
Matt Merritt
21 Feb 2023, 11:21
Analysis
Times for the Premier 15s are A-Changin'
Whether it’s Gloucester-Hartpury Women standing strong atop the league, the traditional team to beat Saracens Women barely insid…
Matt Merritt
25 Jan 2023, 3:32
Opinion
Swimming on a rising tide - Sale Sharks Women's strong start to the season
After two campaigns where the team has been defined by not being last in the league, 2022-23 appears to be the season of the Shark…
Matt Merritt
15 Dec 2022, 8:10
Opinion
2022/23 Premier 15s predictions: Who will be the ruler of England?
RugbyPass gives the rundown for the 2022/23 Premier 15s, sharing some key signings and giving our best estimate of where each team…
Matt Merritt
18 Nov 2022, 3:30
Opinion
Picking the Rugby World Cup 2021 team of the tournament
With the tournament over, we put together our XV of the players who have impressed us throughout the last six weeks.
Matt Merritt
13 Nov 2022, 3:32
