Exeter Chiefs captain Poppy Leitch wants her side to continue “moving in the right direction” as they prepare to compete in the inaugural Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby season.
PWR replaces the Premier 15s competition and starts on Saturday when Bristol Bears host Sale Sharks, while the Chiefs are in action against newcomers Leicester Tigers on Sunday.
The Chiefs will be aiming to bounce back from their Premiership final disappointment last season, where they lost 34-19 to Gloucester-Hartpury in June.
However, there is plenty still to cheer about for Exeter who have won two Allianz Cups and reached two consecutive league finals since their inception into the Premiership in 2020 – something Leitch admits is a “pinch yourself moment”.
“There are moments you have to pinch yourself to remind yourself about how far we’ve come in such a short period of time,” she told the PA news agency.
“But the exciting thing is, although we’ve had an exciting last three years, hopefully the next three years we have great player retention, people will still be playing at Sandy Park and these young faces playing in the cup and getting their Premiership debuts over the last couple of weeks are still very much part of Chiefs and we get that longevity of people’s careers while they represent what is such an amazing club.
“It’s a pinch yourself moment about how far we’ve come in a short period of time, but hopefully we continue to move in the right direction.”
Alongside playing for Chiefs, Leitch works as head coach of Exeter University Women’s Rugby Club and hopes that as the standard of Premiership rugby continues to improve players can eventually experience careers as professional athletes.
She said: “I think the next big thing is trying to get a large majority of players that are at Premiership clubs not on dual careers and being able to actually experience life as a proper female rugby professional athlete, which at the moment isn’t really the case across many of the squads.
“I suppose what drives me is probably how could you not try and get yourself into a Premiership environment that is the most up and coming, exciting women’s sport on the planet at the moment.
“I feel very fortunate to play in my hometown, I feel very fortunate to run out at Sandy Park, but I think the thing that kind of keeps you going when you work long hours then go to training and play high quality games at the weekend, is that everybody around you is challenging you to do better.
“I think that’s a really enticing part of the Premiership is each year the level of play increases massively, the standard increases massively and that in itself is usually motivating and engaging.”
Following their successful application to join PWR, Ealing Trailfinders are newcomers for this season and have made a number of top signings including England winger Abby Dow.
Canada’s Tyson Beukeboom is another of the new arrivals in west London and says the team are aiming to make their “own name”, kicking off with a home tie against Harlequins on Saturday.
“Being the underdog, which as a new team we’re going to be, kind of takes the pressure off,” Beukeboom told PA.
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“There isn’t a ton of expectation for us so we’re out to make our own name and see what we can do, which I think maybe can create some pressure within ourselves but from the outside there isn’t a ton of that expectation. We’re just excited to see what we can do.
“(Joining Ealing has) been amazing so far, it’s really fun coming into a new team and seeing what our team culture turns out to be. Meeting a whole bunch of new players and creating that family environment within a team.
“I think everyone’s really bought in and (Director of Women’s Rugby) Giselle (Mather) has done a really good job of creating that environment to have a successful team culture.”
Kolisi delighted with Springboks resilience after Rugby Championship triumph
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi was delighted with the character of his side as they defeated Argentina 48-7 to win the Rugby Championship title on Saturday.
In a role reversal last week, the Pumas denied Kolisi’s team the chance to win the title with a game to spare, pipping them to the post in a thrilling 29-28 win.
But the Springboks channelled the frustration from that near miss into a crushing win against the same opponents, and a first title in the competition since 2019.
Kolisi said: “I am lost for words but it has been a journey and a half, after last week, the way we stood up today says a lot about our team.”
The Springboks captain was also full of praise for his opponents, stating they will only improve in the coming years and that both sides share similarities.
He told Sky Sports: “Argentina are a side you cannot look over, how hard they work and what they did to us last week - they are a proud nation, similar to South Africa, the way they use the ball like we do. They will only get better and better."
Kolisi also reserved special praise for lock and long-time friend Eben Etzebeth, who became the most capped Springbok of all-time.
"I want to say to my best friend Eben that I am so grateful to be on this journey with you," Kolisi said.
"We have been together since we were 18 and you've been a true friend and you have led us in so many ways, the way you play the game.
"I am so proud of you and pleased to be your friend. I can't wait to tell my grandkids I played with Eben Etzebeth. Cheers, my friend, I love you!"
Having brought up that milestone, Etzebeth stated his desire to continue with the national team for as long as possible.
He said: “Rugby is like a religion in our country, to play for the Boks is the ultimate. You cannot go any better than that and I don't want to, it's the best team.
"Hopefully I stay fit and the coaches keep picking me. I will try my best."
Pumas captain Julian Montoya, meanwhile, was upfront about his side’s poor performance.
Montoya said: “Credit to South Africa, we were not good enough, they were the better team today.
“Of course I am pleased with what we have done, but you are only as good as your last game, and we were not good enough today. We have to get better."
'Frustrated' Schmidt eager to improve after disappointing Rugby Championship
Australia coach Joe Schmidt is determined to build on a disappointing Rugby Championship after being "frustrated" by their 33-13 defeat to New Zealand.
The Wallabies made a strong start on Saturday but found themselves trailing at the break after a topsy-turvy first half, and failed to get a single point on the board in the second as the All Blacks stretched their lead.
It was their ninth consecutive loss to New Zealand, who also beat them 31-28 in round five, and they have now won only one of their last six Test matches, losing the other five after making an unbeaten start under Schmidt.
Australia finished last in the four-nation tournament, with Schmidt rueing some of their missed chances after they slumped in the second half.
"I thought we created a few things early but what we had a lot of frustration [about] in that first half was slow ball," said Schmidt on Stan Sport.
"We were digging the ball out from amongst bodies on our side and that was really frustrating because it broke our rhythm.
"We started really strongly, got that try and then missed a couple of chances. They connect so well back off the sideline a couple of times, running back laterally and then connecting up with square runners.
"But just talking to Scott Barrett there, we made them work for it, and we're going to keep working for ourselves and make sure opponents do have to work for anything they get, and we try to get a little bit more."
Australia's tour in November, which includes Tests against England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, the nations that contribute players to the Lions, is next up, and Schmidt is looking forward to their next challenge.
"It's a bit like when we come up against the All Blacks, you know it's going to be a really tough tour.
"But if we can keep building through that tour, then I think we put ourselves in a position of potentially being competitive next July [against the Lions]."
Meanwhile, New Zealand's victory was their first in Wellington since June 2018, ending a five-game winless run in the capital.
They made a slow start to the game before rallying to a dominant comeback win, but captain Scott Barrett was just happy to triumph in Wellington.
"Really pleased to reverse the curse," All Blacks skipper Scott Barrett said.
"We didn't start too well, but I'm really pleased with how we finished: some grit in defence, and we held out the Aussies."
South Africa 48-7 Argentina: Rampant Springboks seal Rugby Championship crown
South Africa secured their first Rugby Championship title in five years with a dominant 48-7 victory over Argentina in Nelspruit.
The Springboks dominated from the off, with first-half tries from Aphelele Fassi (two), Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe handing Rassie Erasmus' side a comfortable advantage.
But an ill-disciplined Pumas display proved to be their downfall, with replacement Pablo Matera seeing his yellow card upgraded to a red on 20 minutes for making needless head contact during his challenge on Vincent Koch.
The fixture was then firmly ended as a contest after a competitive first period when full-back Santiago Carreras joined Matera in the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on, reducing the visitors to 13 players while allowing the Springboks to hammer home their advantage.
Malcolm Marx was the first to capitalise, with Du Toit quickly notching his second try of the encounter, before Jesse Kriel sealed a memorable triumph after latching onto the end of Handre Pollard's kick.
Tomas Albornoz scored the Pumas' only try in the contest, with the Springboks avenging last weekend's one-point defeat in Argentina, which briefly delayed their coronation.
Data Debrief: Etzebeth makes history as Springboks seal title
South Africa sealed just a second Rugby Championship triumph in the competition's full format since 2009, while adding to last year's World Cup success.
There was also an historic 128th Springbok appearance for lock Eben Etzebeth, who surpassed Victor Matfield as his county’s most-capped player.
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