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What to watch in women’s rugby: Chiefs and Quins hope for redemption
This weekend in the Celtic Challenge, Gwalia Lightning host Edinburgh this Saturday, fresh from their 29-27 round-five victory over the same opponents at the Hive Stadium.
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Tries from Lily Terry and Molly Wakely gave the visitors the 14-12 lead at the break, before crucial involvements from Gwennan Hopkins and Alaw Pyrs, in addition to the winning conversion from Carys Hughes, sealed the deal for the Welsh side.
Edinburgh’s tries came from Hannah Walker (twice), Shona Campbell, Hannah Walker, Aila Ronald, and Cieron Bell, but they weren’t enough to see off Gwalia’s final surge.
The result saw Gwalia Lightning move up to second in the table, now just a point behind Wolfhounds but nothing having only lost one of the five games they’ve played.
Edinburgh travel to Ystrad Mynach in fourth with two fewer victories to their name thus far, but are 10 points clear from Glasgow Warriors, who have only played three games so far, and Brython Thunder.
With Wolfhounds, Gwalia Lightning, and Brython Thunder the only teams to have played five games so far, this weekend will likely see a shift in the table as the final three rounds approach.
Top-of-the-table Wolfhounds will travel to Scotstoun Stadium to face Glasgow as they look to bolster their lead, while Clovers are also in action against Brython Thunder at Kingspan Stadium, with both games also taking place on Saturday 1 February.
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Saturday 1 February
14:00 GMT, Gwalia Lightning vs Edinburgh – Ystrad Mynach. WATCH LIVE HERE
PWR – Exeter Chiefs vs Harlequins, Sandy Park
After their round 15 loss to Sale Sharks, Exeter are at home again this weekend as they host second-place Harlequins at Sandy Park.
Despite Exeter’s strong start to the season until their first loss in round 11, they have since slipped to fourth, only one point ahead of fifth-placed Bristol Bears, with losses coming against Gloucester-Hartpury, Bristol, and Sale.
With only three rounds remaining, the battle for a place in the top four is well and truly on.
Defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury lead the charge at the top of the table with 53 points, but with only 10 points separating them and Bristol in fifth and three rounds still left to play, pressure is mounting.
Exeter head coach Susie Appleby stressed that the team’s ambitions remain on not just the top four, but the top two as well.
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She said in a press conference in the lead-up to round 16: “The facts remain that top two is achievable so that’s what we’re going after because you have to. On the back of that, we’ll see what happens every week, but it’s all within our control. It’s obviously tough, but there’s a lot of tough games coming up.
“Quins have got a tough run in [to the end of the regular season] and we’ve got an extra game, albeit that game being away at Bristol, which is tough, so it is what it is, you put yourself where you put yourself and then then you get on and deal with it.
“All our focus has been on Quins who are a really good side. They’ve suffered a couple of injuries. some of it is a war of attrition at the moment, and some of it is survival of the fittest, so but again, we all kind of knew that this was coming. It is what it is. It’s an incredibly competitive league, and the jeopardy I think is exciting for the neutrals.”
Both Exeter and Harlequins go into their round 16 clash at Sandy Park having lost in the weekend prior, with Harlequins losing to Saracens at home. Reflecting on what she saw from Harlequins in round 15, Appleby added: “They’ll be disappointed naturally with their performance. I think some of it was around their kick game accuracy to put them in the right area to the field, so I’m sure they’ll have had a little look at that.
“Also around their ability to control key areas of the field, which I think Sarries really dominated, especially the middle part of the field, and how to get key players on the ball. Sometimes you have limitations in that, depending on how much ball you have. So they’ll be working out obviously, accuracy around the set piece, which again was a little bit lacking compared to what we’ve seen.
“There are a few things that I’m sure they’re looking at to tidy up the same as the rest of us when you come off the back of a disappointing result. We’re expecting a much-improved version of Quins, which have been very much in force all season.”
Saracens were commanding in their 33-10 victory over their London rivals Harlequins in round 15, which Appleby discussed as her team look to make a similar impact this coming weekend.
“I was really impressed by their backs and the way they controlled the field” she stated.
“I probably haven’t seen it from them, especially at 10, when they haven’t got Zoe [Harrison] on the field, you think they might struggle a bit, but Amelia MacDougall was absolutely fantastic. So fair play, that’s the sign of a good side, putting in young players who have had some reasonable game time this season, for whatever reason Zoe being off, or someone else being injured, and seizing that opportunity. It was bang on a blueprint.
“They went after them physically, they went after the right areas of the field, and they made Quins look really average, but and the big but is, Quins are not average. This is a big game incoming. They’re a good side and I’m hoping that we can show everybody that we are a good side. We certainly haven’t lost faith in ourselves, hopefully, Sunday will be fun.”
The last time the two sides met was in round one back in October 2025, where Exeter, then the away side at Twickenham Stoop, saw out a narrow 8-7 victory.
Appleby also announced the return of USA Eagle Hope Rogers for round 16, as well as playmaker Liv McGoverne. The head coach cited the impact of McGoverne’s absence: “We’ve missed Liv. She’s a class player and she’s a really calm player. I think that’s what we’ve missed for the last couple of weeks, so yeah, she’s really pleased to be back and we’re really pleased to have her, especially since Taylor [Perry] picked up an injury last weekend.”
Sunday 2 February
12:45 GMT, Exeter Chiefs vs Harlequins – Sandy Park. WATCH LIVE HERE*
*this match is not available to viewers in the UK, Ireland, the USA, and Canada
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