Super Rugby Women’s wrap: Charlotte Caslick shines, Force secure key win

HSBC SVNS Series star Charlotte Caslick shone brightly for the Queensland Reds during a key Super Rugby Women’s clash at Canberra’s Viking Park. In the second-last regular season round, the Reds secured a thrilling 26-22 win over the ACT Brumbies last weekend.

With the Western Force securing their first win of the 2025 campaign with a clinical 47-31 win over the Fijian Drua in Perth, this is shaping up as the most competitive Super Rugby Women’s season ever, which sets the stage perfectly for the Rugby World Cup in England.

The Reds started their quest for finals football with a 19-22 win over the Fijian Drua in Lautoka before going down in a one-sided loss to the NSW Waratahs in Brisbane. With a 1-1 record and only two more matches before finals, the Reds had to win their next game away to the Brums.

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An impressive double cut-out pass from Caslick to send debutant Piper Flynn over for a try with her first ever touch in the competition was a highlight in attack, but the match was ultimately decided on the defensive side of the ball.

After a yellow card to right winger Caitlin Urwin, the Reds defended desperately with just 14 players and the match hanging in the balance. The Brumbies gave it everything, but an error in the 84^th minute brought the match to a close.

“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” Reds coach Andrew Fraser said.

“We showed the potential they we do have and, again, there were plenty of encouraging signs that if we can put it together for 80 minutes, we know we are extremely capable.

“That being said, we made 25 errors and gave away 15 penalties, and we’ve got to significantly reduce that to achieve the results we want to in this competition.”

For the first time since making the full-time move over from rugby sevens, Caslick started for the Reds after being named by coach Fraser at fullback. Wallaroo Lori Cramer shifted to fly-half and it seemed to work well for the Queenslanders.

Caslick will see out the rest of this season’s Super Rugby Women’s campaign in a bid to play at the Rugby World Cup in a matter of months. Teagan Levi, Isabella Nasser and Kahli Henwood also featured for the Reds last week but have since returned to rugby sevens.

“I really enjoyed it again today,” Caslick reflected.

“I am still doing plenty of learning and trying to find the best way to insert myself into the combinations. Getting the full 80 minutes will only help with that.

“Lori Cramer is having such a positive impact on my transition, she has been extremely patient with me and communicates so well with me out there. The errors hurt us today but we hung in there we fought to the end.

“We’re ready to play in front of a big crowd next week and excited to do it for friends and family again in Queensland.”

In the other Super Rugby Women’s match over the weekend, the Force breathed new life into their season with a 16-point win over the Drua. That was the Force’s first win of the season after an opening round draw and a nail-biting loss to the Waratahs in Sydney.

Yet, the Drua still sit in second-place on the standings with a 2-2 record, while the NSW Waratahs occupy pole position as the ladder-leaders. The Reds are third and the Brumbies simply must win next weekend to give themselves a chance of playing finals.

But a win for the Force against the Reds this Sunday will see them secure a spot in the playoffs. They’ll be full of confidence too after running in six tries against one of the competition heavyweights, with the Drua boasting an especially dominant set-piece.

“For a team to be able to work together and problem-solve against the most dominant scrum in the competition really puts us in a good position to take confidence into next week,” coach Dylan Parsons said in a statement.

“We always knew if we held onto the ball and build our phase count, we were going to make them go through a lot of work and tire out.

“We always backed that we would be able to outwork them and build the energy to drop them away.”