Gloucester-Hartpury Women

Rugby team

Gloucester-Hartpury Women

Full name| Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club
Union| Gloucestershire RFU
Nickname(s)| The Circus
Cherry and Whites
Founded| 2014; 9 years ago (2014)
Ground(s)| The Hartpury Arena
Kingsholm Stadium
CEO| James Forrester
Coach(es)| Sean Lynn
Captain(s)| Natasha Hunt
Zoe Aldcroft
League(s)| Premiership Women's Rugby
2023–23| 1st (Champions)

Home kit

First match
Gloucester-Hartpury 36–22 Worcester Warriors Women II
(Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester)
13 September 2015
Largest win
Birmingham Moseley Ladies 0–95 Gloucester-Hartpury
(Billesley Common, Moseley)
11 September 2016
Largest defeat
Gloucester-Hartpury 0–62 Saracens Women
(The ALPAS Arena, Hartpury)
7 April 2018
Harlequins Women 62–0 Gloucester-Hartpury
(Twickenham Stoop, Twickenham)
30 March 2019
Official website
www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk/gloucester-hartpury-women-home

Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club are a English women's rugby union club based in Hartpury, Gloucestershire. They are the unified women's team of Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury University R.F.C. They were founded in 2014 and since 2017 they have played in Premiership Women's Rugby.

## History[edit]

### Formation & Early Years[edit]

In 2014, Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury College came together to found a women's team to be run under the jurisdiction of Gloucester Rugby to capitalise upon the popularity of women's rugby in the area. Hartpury College already had a women's team competing in the BUCS rugby union leagues.[1]

In their first year, Gloucester-Hartpury only played friendly matches, some of which were at Gloucester Rugby's home ground Kingsholm Stadium,[2] whilst the Rugby Football Union decided which league to place them in. The team started with numbers as low as 4 and grew into a much bigger squad. The first captain was Stacy Payne (Hardie) and the vice-captain was Jessica Morgan. The team won the Junior Cup in their first season.[citation needed]

In 2015, the RFU placed them in National 2 South West.[3] In their first season they finished second in the league.[4] The following season, they were unbeaten.[5]

### 2017–2023 — Premier 15's[edit]

In 2017, to take advantage of an increase in women's rugby participation following England's victory in the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup,[6] it was announced that Gloucester-Hartpury Women were awarded a franchise in the new women's top flight, the Premier 15s, as part of a reorganisation of women's rugby in England, despite never competing in the Women's Premiership or Women's Championship and moving up two leagues as a result. This was controversial as, despite the franchises being awarded by an independent body,[7] Gloucester-Hartpury Women were awarded the position in top flight at the expense of Lichfield Ladies who had been competing in the top flight of English women's rugby for 15 years.[8] There was speculation that this was due to geographical considerations.[9]

#### 2022—2023 — Increased funding & Premier 15's success[edit]

Ahead of the 2022-23 Premier 15s season, Gloucester Rugby announced a significant increase in funding to Gloucester-Hartpury by almost 500%, matching an enhanced contribution from Hartpury University. It was also announced that both the men's and the women's team would wear the same design kit.[10][11] Former Gloucester player and Gloucester-Hartpury coach James Forrester was appointed CEO of the team in 2023.[12]

In 2023, the team won the Premier 15s by beating Exeter Chiefs Women. By doing so, Gloucester-Hartpury became the first team based outside of London to win.[13] The final was held at Kingsholm Stadium, renamed 'Queensholm' for the occasion.[14] The final drew a crowd of over 9,600 spectators, setting a new record and tripling the finals attendance of the previous season.[15]

## Club honours[edit]

* Premiership Women's Rugby
* Champions: (1) 2022–23
* Women's Championship Midlands 2
* Champions: (1) 2016-17
* Runners-up: (1) 2015-16

## Current squad[edit]

For player movements before or during the 2023–24 season, see List of 2023–24 Premiership Women's Rugby transfers § Gloucester-Hartpury.

The Gloucester-Hartpury squad for the 2023–24 season is:[16][17]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

| Player  | Position  | Union

|
|

Amy Dale | Hooker |  England
Kelsey Jones | Hooker |  Wales
Neve Jones | Hooker |  Ireland
Kathryn Buggy | Prop |  Ireland
Mackenzie Carson | Prop |  England
Abbey Constable | Prop |  Wales
Oliva Constable | Prop |  England
Laura Delgado | Prop |  Spain
Ellie Gilbert | Prop |  England
Cerys Hale | Prop |  Wales
Maud Muir | Prop |  England
Evie Roach | Prop |  England
Ranni Samuda | Prop |  Jamaica
Sisilia Tuipulotu | Prop |  Wales
Zoe Aldcroft | Lock |  England
Carmen Castelucci | Lock |  Spain
Trudy Cowan | Lock |  England
Gwen Crabb | Lock |  Wales
Steph Else | Lock |  England
Sam Monaghan | Lock |  Ireland
Liz Shermer | Lock |  England
Lola Whitley | Lock |  England
Sarah Beckett | Back row |  England
Georgia Brock | Back row |  England
Tabitha Copson | Back row |  England
Bethan Lewis | Back row |  Wales
Alex Matthews | Back row |  England
Jordan Russell | Back row |  Jamaica
Kate Williams | Back row |  Wales
| Player  | Position  | Union

|
|

Bianca Blackburn | Scrum-half |  England
Natasha Hunt | Scrum-half |  England
Caity Mattinson  | Scrum-half |  Scotland
Lleucu George | Fly-half |  Wales
Lizzie Goulden | Fly-half |  New Zealand
Charlie Mai-Manns | Fly-half |  England
Tatyana Heard | Centre |  England
Hannah Jones | Centre |  Wales
Kerin Lake | Centre |  Wales
Rachel Lund | Centre |  England
Abbie Priestnall | Centre |  England
Nel Metcalfe | Wing |  Wales
Lisa Neumann | Wing |  Wales
Cath Richards | Wing |  Wales
Ellie Rugman | Wing |  England
Kelly Smith | Wing |  England
Sophie Tandy | Wing |  England
Lucia Scott | Fullback |  England
Emma Sing | Fullback |  England
Mia Venner | Fullback |  England
Pip Hendy | Utility back |  England

## Club staff[edit]

### List of head coaches[edit]

Coach  | Years  | Ref

|
|

Susie Appleby | 2014–2019  | [18]
Sean Lynn  | 2019–Present  | [19][20]

## Season Summaries[edit]

| League  | Cup

|
|

Season  | Competition  | Final position  | Points  | Play-offs  | Competition | Performance
2015–16  | Women's Championship Midlands 2  | 2nd [21] | 56  | \-  | No competition  | N/A
2016–17  | Women's Championship Midlands 2  | 1st [22] | 58 | -
2017–18 | Tyrrells Premier 15s | 4th  | 60  | Semi-final
2018–19 | Tyrrells Premier 15s | 5th  | 50  | \-
2019–20  | Tyrrells Premier 15s | Season Annulled
2020–21 | Allianz Premier 15s | 5th  | 50  | \-
2021–22 | Allianz Premier 15s | 6th  | 51  | \-  | Allianz Cup | 5th place play-off
2022–23 | Allianz Premier 15s | 1st | 79 | Champions | Allianz Cup | 3rd place play-off
2023–24 | Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby |  |  |  | Allianz Cup |

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up
Pink background denotes relegated

## Notable players[edit]

Below is a non-exhaustive list of former players for the club who have been particularly notable during their time at the club.

* Zoe Aldcroft, 2021 World Rugby Women’s 15s Player of the Year and played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final both while at Gloucester-Hartpury.[23][24]
* Alex Matthews, played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester-Hartpury.[24]
* Maud Muir, played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester-Hartpury.[24]
* Tatyana Heard, played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester-Hartpury.[24]

### Rugby World Cup[edit]

The following are players who have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup whilst playing for Gloucester-Hartpury:

Tournament  | Players selected  |  England players  | Other national team players

|
|
|

2021 | 17  | Zoe Aldcroft, Connie Powell, Alex Matthews, Tatyana Heard, Maud Muir |  Wales — Lisa Neumann, Bethan Lewis, Kelsey Jones, Gwen Crabb, Kerin Lake, Lleucu George, Cerys Hale, Hannah Jones, Cara Hope, Siwan Lillicrap (C), Sisilia Tuipulotu
United States — Maya Learned

## Premiership Women's Rugby Record[edit]

### Results per opposition[edit]

The following table details the past performance of Gloucester-Hartpury against different opponents in Premiership Women's Rugby, between the 2017-18 and 2022–23 seasons.[25]

Premiership Women's Rugby

Opposition  | Span  | Played  | Won  | Drawn  | Lost  | Win%  | Points for  | Average PF  | Points against  | Best points difference  | Worst points difference
Bristol | 2017–2023 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 72.73% | 305 | 27.72 | 170 | 46 (2018–19) | -38 (2018–19)
DMP Sharks | 2017–2023 | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 90.00% | 561 | 56.1 | 69 | 84 (2021–22) | -14 (2018–19)
Exeter Chiefs | 2020–2023 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 71.43% | 172 | 24.57 | 164 | 20 (2020–21) | -39 (2022–23)
Harlequins | 2017–2023 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 30.00% | 226 | 22.6 | 308 | 53 (2022–23) | -62 (2018–19)
Loughborough Lightning | 2017–2023 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 30.00% | 288 | 28.8 | 286 | 29 (2017–18) | -19 (2018–19)
Richmond | 2017–2019 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00% | 126 | 31.5 | 56 | 46 (2018–19) | 0 (2018–19)
Sale Sharks | 2020–2023 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 194 | 32.33 | 66 | 34 (2022–23) | 3 (2020–21)
Saracens | 2017–2023 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 8.33% | 250 | 20.83 | 432 | 46 (2022–23) | -62 (2017–18)
Wasps | 2017–2023 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 33.33% | 250 | 27.78 | 198 | 64 (2022–23) | -17 (2018–19)
Waterloo | 2017–2019 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 168 | 42 | 62 | 34 (2017–18) | 7 (2017–18)
Worcester | 2017–2023 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | 413 | 41.3 | 80 | 80 (2017–18) | 3 (2021–22)
Overall | — | 93 | 55 | 3 | 35 | 59.14% | 2953 | 31.75 | 1891 | 84 vs DMP Sharks (2021–22) | -62 vs Saracens (2017–18) & vs Harlequins (2018–19)

* Data includes all regular season and play-off matches (semi-finals and finals).
* The 2019-20 season is excluded due to it being abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
* All fixtures added from 2017–18 to 2022–23.
* Excludes Allianz Cup results.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Gloucester & Hartpury join for women's rugby". Severn Sport. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
2. ^ Burrows, Tom (5 July 2016). "Gloucester-Hartpury Ladies Team confirm fixtures for the 2016–17 season". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
3. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury Women". Womens Club Rugby. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
4. ^ "The history of rugby through its competitions". Rugbyarchive.net. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
5. ^ "Lichfield Ladies left out of new premier women's rugby competition". ITV. 10 March 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
6. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury grab one of ten places as Women's Premiership rugby reinvents itself". Hartpury.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
7. ^ "Rugby Football Union announces 10-team Women's Super Rugby competition". ESPN. 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
8. ^ "Lichfield Ladies left out of new premier women's rugby competition". ITV. 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
9. ^ Tomas, Fiona (28 February 2017). "Women's rugby: Chronicle columnist Fiona Tomas examines the RFU's controversial changes to the women's game". Reading Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
10. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury to receive increased funding from Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
11. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury to receive increased funding from Gloucester Rugby". Hartpury University. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
12. ^ "James Forrester appointed Gloucester-Hartpury CEO". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
13. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury 34-19 Exeter Chiefs: Cherry and Whites win Premier 15s final at 'Queensholm'". BBC Sport. 24 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
14. ^ "Home of Gloucester Rugby becomes Queensholm this week". Gloucestershire Live. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
15. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury triumph in enthralling Premier 15s final". The Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
16. ^ "Squad List". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
17. ^ "WXV squads revealed". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
18. ^ "End of an era at Gloucester-Hartpury as Susie Appleby bids a fond farewell". Youtube. 7 January 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
19. ^ "Sean Lynn announced as Head of Women's Rugby at Hartpury". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
20. ^ "Sean Lynn | King of Hartpury". Gloucester Rugby. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
21. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Table 2015-2016". www.englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
22. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Table 2016-2017". www.englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
23. ^ "Zoe Aldcroft and Antoine Dupont named World Rugby's players of the year for 2021". Sky Sports. 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
24. ^ a b c d "England Women's Rugby World Cup final will be extra special for Gloucestershire". soglos.com. 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
25. ^ "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Results". RFU. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2023.

* v
* t
* e

Premiership Women's Rugby

2023–24 Teams|

* Bristol Bears Women
* Ealing Trailfinders Women
* Exeter Chiefs Women
* Gloucester-Hartpury Women
* Harlequins Women
* Leicester Tigers Women
* Loughborough Lightning
* Sale Sharks Women
* Saracens Women

Seasons|

| Premier 15s|

* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23

|

Premiership Women's Rugby|

* 2023–24

Former clubs|

* DMP Sharks
* Firwood Waterloo Ladies
* Richmond Women
* Wasps Women
* Worcester Warriors Women

Player transfers|

* 2022–23
* 2023–24

Other|

* The Big Game
* The Duel
* Women's Slater Cup

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