At the end of the year, with reflection in mind, six rounds (almost) complete, and a whole chocolate reindeer as column-writing fuel - here’s what stands out, upon a gaze around Premiership Women’s Rugby.
Romania are set for a busy November schedule, with the Stejarii welcoming Tonga, Canada and Uruguay in Bucharest. For the first fixture, head coach David Gérard will have 38 players at his disposal, with Adrian Mitu (Soyaux-Angoulême) and ?tefan Buruian? (Castres) being the only French-based players in the squad.
The 2024/25 Pro D2 season gets going next weekend, with Olympique pencilled in for a Friday night home clash versus Valence Romans, and getting organised has been a rush at the second-tier strugglers hoping for an uptick in fortunes.
For a country dominated by the Alps, mountainous challenges are nothing new to Switzerland, who are scaling new heights
Bernard Laporte's Montpellier are taking a growing trend in French rugby to the extreme by loaning out nearly one-fifth of their side to other clubs next season.
The 26-year-old was due to be under contract to the Sharks until 2026, but he was in advanced talks over a move to Montpellier until they dramatically pulled the plug at the end of March.
Antoine Frisch will sign a four-year deal with Top 14 giants Toulon after they agreed a €300,000 (£257,524) transfer fee with Munster to buy him out of the final year of his deal and secure his services from the start of next season.
Bristol Bears, who have taken every other scalp in the league, have never got the job done against Sarries - regardless of location. Saracens are also sat at the top of the PWR (Yule) log - with a perfect 20 points from four outings - whilst Bears sit in third. Who can take the glory this Saturday?
Money talks in professional rugby, sadly. It talks. Even Leinster, they have got one of the best academies and have a good player budget and they still can’t win it.