Last weekend was unique in the women’s senior club rugby world. The Women’s Premier League (WPL) is ending its 2024 season, and last Saturday saw the Legacy Cup semifinalists do battle in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, several domestic leagues held their season openers for the 2024-25 season. The following covers that spectrum and also highlights the Americans playing overseas as well. These recaps generally don’t include friendlies, especially early in the season, but there are exceptions. See the scores page for the full list of games, high school through U.S. [lead photo: Gray Wolves’ McKenzie Hawkins]
Moving forward, these senior club updates will feature behind the paywall, but Week 1 is a sample of the coverage to come this year.
RELATED: Women’s Rugby Scores: Sept. 6-8, 2024
WPL PLAYOFFS
The Legacy Cup semifinals topped the news. One can watch the semifinal replays for free on RugbyPass TV. The Colorado Gray Wolves beat New York 33-5, and Berkeley beat Life West 43-21. Read more. The 2024 final is a rematch of 2023 and occurs Sept. 14 in Greensboro, N.C. Visit Women’s Elite Rugby for all things Legacy Cup, and also read president Jessica Hammond-Graf’s preview of the first-ever event.
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INTERNATIONAL
Several USA Eagles were active last weekend. Jojo Kitlinski, Alycia Washington and Cheta Emba were named to the Barbarians squad that traveled to South Africa. The Boks won an impressive 59-17 decision at home.
The U.K.-based Premier Women’s Rugby Up Series kicked off last weekend. Gabby Cantorna played inside center for Exeter, and the Chiefs beat Gloucester-Hartpury 47-14. Bulou Mataitoga (below, tackler) started at fullback and Hallie Taufoou came on as a reserve in Loughborough’s 45-31 win against Sale. The Sharks had Catie Benson and Olivia Ortiz at prop and scrumhalf, respectively.
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U.S. SENIOR CLUB
A reminder: There were many more games played last weekend than what is listed below, but for the most part, only regular-season 15s games are mentioned below. (To see the full lineup, view the weekend games page.) With that said, a couple of friendlies drew attention and spoke to some competition shifts.
CAPITAL … The only league game occurred in DIII, and the Maryland-based Stingers shut out the Baltimore Flamingos, which is new to the competition this year, 77-0. Katelynn Brennan (back) and Chloe Beatty (forward) were named the Stingers’ players of the match.
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA … There were several friendlies in the EPRU, and one round robin highlighted the inclusion of a new member, Monmouth. The New Jersey team had been a longtime member of the Empire GU (NY, NJ, CT) but has now switched to DII EPRU. Monmouth inaugurated its new era with scrimmages against the DIII Thorns and DIII Philly.
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EMPIRE … Two games in Division II, which has shrunk to four teams this year. As previously mentioned, Monmouth left for the EPRU, and several teams realigned with Empire DIII. Reigning DII champ New Haven bested New York 37-5. Margaret Aydlett kicked 12 points on three conversions and two penalties, while No. 8 Matja Saarenheimo-VanderHorst led with two tries. • Danbury put up 59 points against Brooklyn. Flanker Jasmin Quinones and the No. 8 (listed as “Name Withheld” in Xplorer) scored three tries apiece, and captain Allysa O’Neill kicked seven conversions for 14 points.
There were 2.5 games in Division IIII. Reigning champ Union County beat Fairfield/Hudson Valley 88-5 per Xplorer (Union reported 92 points), and saw Alex Martins (4), Allison Bronander (3) and Mercedez Roper (3) lead in tries scored. The Mudturtles are celebrating their 10th season and celebrated with a pre-season 15s tour to the U.K. • Long Island topped DIII newcomer Princeton 87-12. • Both Morris and the Village Lions dropped from DII, and the former traveled with enough players for a 15s match. The Lions also absorbed players from the now-folded White Plains team but did not have 15s numbers on Saturday. A game was played, though.
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MIDWEST … This region will have the most consistent action this fall, as it will name its DI and DII champions by November. Read about the league format, number of teams, playoff structure, etc.
There are eight teams in Division I, four in each conference. In the DI East, Pittsburgh beat Detroit 47-7. Madison Gilbert and Ciare Blye led with two tries apiece, and Riley Saunders added seven points on two conversions and a penalty. • Columbus topped Cincinnati 51-7. Marcaya Bailous (2) and Nykeisia Post (3) led on tries scored. (Related: Read Stephanie “Parma” Bowers Baby Birds interview) • It’s also worth nothing that both the Pittsburgh Forge and Columbus Squirrels have entered second sides into the Midwest DII. Their mentions are below.
In the DI West, Metropolis scored 119 unanswered points against Chicago. Christina Licari (5C, T) and Shaena Sparrow (4C, T) scored tries and kicked conversions. • The Chicago Lions opened up their season on Aug. 31 and beat Milwaukee 80-0.
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Division II has grown from 16 teams in 2023 to 19 in 2024 (one addition is a relegation from DI). There are six teams each in the eastern and central leagues, and seven teams in the western league. The schedule/results are not yet uploaded into Xplorer, but good ole internet scraping provided.
The DII East has gained Buffalo, which dropped from DI, and Pittsburgh Forge’s first DII side. Buffalo beat reigning Midwest champion South Buffalo 49-7. Erica Steele and Jolene John were named players of the match. • North Buffalo bested Uticuse 45-24. Ninja of the Match was inside Linda Hatch, who has showed well in the role since leaving the pack. • And Rochester was 76 points better than DII Pitt Forge DII. Wing Rai Parr finished eight tries.
In DII Central, Grand Rapids opened with a 50-5 win against Akron (post below). • Cleveland topped Fort Wayne 63-14. • And Columbus’ DII side celebrated its debut with an 80-0 win against Dayton.
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In the DII West, Palmer College, which is back and eligible for playoffs, celebrated its return with a 64-0 win against the Chicago Sirens. • The Twin Cities Amazons picked up their first win of the season with a 52-19 decision against Oconomowoc. Ten new players participated in the Amazons’ opener. • And the closest game of the weekend occurred between Minneapolis and County Will, with the Menagerie winning 20-17.
There’s also a robust festival circuit that involves DIII, new and developing teams. The Red River Roughriders and Chippewa Valley hosted festival stops on the weekend. Separately, Louisville beat Lexington 25-0.
NEW ENGLAND … The important change here is that Providence is back in DII where it belongs. The Rhode Island team had won the 2022 DII national championship and was bumped up to DI, but there was no one to play in New England other than Boston* and sometimes Beantown’s second side. Division II is robust and competitive. Providence also has Kerri Heffernan as head coach. (*Boston is still DI and has joined the Atlantic, which includes four Mid-Atlantic teams. They start up this weekend.)
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In DII, Providence celebrated with a 35-10 win against Burlington. The scoring was spread around the roster, and Naz Cardoso dotted down twice. • Albany beat Charles River 55-38 Charles River. Albany’s Renee Clarke (3) led on tries while Amy Weils kicked 15 points on six conversions and a penalty. But 38 points is nothing to sniff at. Nicole Goodwin accounted for 18 points (2T, 4C). • Worcester banked its first win of the fall with a 52-7 decision against Hartford. Laura Hetherman led all point scorers with 22 points (2T, 6C).
Division III gained Portland, which was relegated with the addition of Providence to DII. The Maine team beat Seacoast 49-0 and saw outside center Alexandria Banks-Mitchell (2T, 2C) and No. 8 Kass Towne (2T) lead on points. Flanker Kierstin Stritch and fullback Mo Goss were named forward and back of the match, respectively. • South Shore battled North Shore to a 19-12 win. Outside center Mary Mullen (2T) and flyhalf Mikyla Hamblin (T, 2C) handled the scoring for the Sirens. • Amoskeag outscored Upper Valley 59-7. No. 8 Morgan Daley scored four tries, while lock MaryAlyssa O’Connor made 7/9 conversions.
NOTABLE NON-LEAGUE
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Denver Black Ice took its DI and DII teams on the road to face the KC Jazz and St. Louis Sabres. The DI side beat St. Louis 32-12, and the Jazz beat the DII side 24-19. • Definitely not a league game, but so impressed by how many players (see above) attended the True South camp in Birmingham, Ala.! That is some serious participation.