Edinburgh Rugby Women

Edinburgh Rugby Women are a select provincial rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the Celtic Challenge league.

Edinburgh Rugby Women

Full name	Edinburgh Rugby Women
Union	Scottish Rugby Union
Founded	2023
Location	Edinburgh, Scotland
Ground(s)	Hive Stadium (Capacity: 7,800)
Coach(es)	Claire Cruikshank
League(s)	Celtic Challenge
Team kit
Official website
edinburghrugby.org
Current season

History

Edinburgh Rugby Women was formed in December 2023 by Edinburgh Rugby and the Scottish Rugby Union to play in the Celtic Challenge,^[1] a cross-border women's rugby union competition that will be held annually. The competition was launched in 2023 and is designed to develop players for the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales.^[1]

Stadium

Edinburgh Rugby women's side play their home matches at Hive Stadium.

Current standings

2023–24 Celtic Challenge table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts
1	Wolfhounds	7	6	1	0	238	130	+108	38	22	6	0	32
2	Edinburgh Rugby	6	4	1	1	148	122	+26	24	20	5	0	23
3	Clovers	6	3	0	3	130	135	−5	21	21	2	1	15
4	Gwalia Lightning	6	3	0	3	159	104	+55	19	17	3	2	17
5	Brython Thunder	6	2	0	4	83	132	−49	15	21	2	1	11
6	Glasgow Warriors	7	0	0	7	87	222	−135	13	29	0	1	1

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: After Round 5, the table is split in two for the the final two play-off rounds.^[2]

Coaches

The coaching team was announced on 12 December 2023.^[3]

Name	Position
Claire Cruikshank	Head coach
Stuart Corsar	Assistant coach
Euan Mochrie	Assistant coach
Andrew Whitelaw	Development Coach
Ross McCann	Development Coach
Drew Scott	Strength and Conditioning Coach

Current squad

The squad for the 2023–24 season was announced on 18 December 2023.^[4] On 29 December 2023 Sarah Denholm was named as captain as part of the first game squad announcement.^[5]

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

Player Position Union Katie Lindsay^[a] Prop   Scotland Alex Stewart^[a] Back row   Scotland Adelle Ferrie ??   Scotland Aila Ronald^[a] ??   Scotland Merryn Gunderson Back row   Scotland Alison Wilson ??   Scotland Freya Walker^[a] ??   Scotland Lucy Kidd ??   Scotland Millie Capaldi ??   Scotland Millie Whitehouse ??   Scotland Molly Poolman ??   Scotland Natasha Logan^[a] Second row   Scotland Poppy Fletcher^[a] Prop   Scotland Rachel Cox ??   Scotland Sam Taganekurukuru Back row   Scotland Sophie Murphy ??   Scotland

Player Position Union Ami Conchie ??   Scotland Sarah Denholm^[a] (cc) Fly-half   Scotland April McKenzie^[a] ??   Scotland Briar McNamara Centre   Scotland Cieron Bell^[a] Wing   Scotland Emma Orr^[a] Centre   Scotland Giselle Chicot ??   Scotland Hannah Chrisp ??   Scotland Hannah Ramsay ??   Scotland Hannah Walker^[a] Wing   Scotland Mary Nelson ??   Scotland Nicole Flynn ??   Scotland Rachel Philipps^[a] ??   Scotland Zoe Turner ??   Scotland

Transitional players

On 27 December 2023, Scottish Rugby announced 11 transitional players that could play for either Scottish Celtic challenge team.^[6] Transitional players were selected through a Scottish qualified programme, a programme to develop and support Scottish qualified players living outside of Scotland, as well as players who have previously been involved with Scotland but currently live outside of Scotland.^[6]

Name	Position	Club
Izzy Hannay	Flanker	Harlequins
Gemma Bell	Flanker	Gloucester-Hartpury
Evie Addy	Prop	Gloucester-Hartpury
Nicole Marlow	Fly Half	Cardiff Metropolitan University
Leia Brebner-Holden	Scrum Half	Gloucester-Hartpury
Izzy McGuire-Evans	Centre	Sale Sharks
Orla Proctor	Full Back	Leicester Tigers
Nicola Haynes	Hooker	Saracens
Demi Swann	Prop	Exeter Chiefs
Fiona McIntosh	Lock	Saracens
Panashe Muzambe	Prop	Exeter Chiefs

International players

International players released to play for Edinburgh Rugby in the Celtic Challenge league.^[7]

Name	Position	Club
Caity Mattinson	Scrum Half	Gloucester-Hartpury
Jenny Maxwell	Scrum Half	Loughborough Lightning

Notes

1. Scottish Rugby Regional Training Centre supported player.

References

1. "Edinburgh & Glasgow launch women's teams". BBC Sport. 5 December 2023. from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
2. "Irish Rugby | Clovers Progress To Top Three Play-Offs Despite Edinburgh Defeat". Retrieved 4 February 2024.
3. "CLAIRE CRUIKSHANK TO LEAD EDINBURGH RUGBY WOMEN'S TEAM". Edinburgh Rugby. 6 January 2024.
4. "Edinburgh Rugby women's squad announced". Edinburgh Rugby. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
5. "Turner and Clarke named co-captains for Celtic Challenge". Glasgow Warriors. 28 December 2023. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
6. "Scottish Rugby names Transitional Players available for Celtic Challenge selection". Scottish Rugby. 27 December 2023. from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
7. "Mattinson set for Edinburgh Debut". Edinburgh Rugby. 12 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.