Talking Rugby Union

It came as no surprise to see Jodie Ounsley contributing to the recent #RWC2025 coverage.

Her passion for connecting audiences with the sport - as a player, Gladiator, presenter, and trailblazer - continues to shine through.

🔗 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/jodie-ounsle...

Welsh regions in focus: URC form and the state of play before autumn internationals The opening block of fixtures in this season’s United Rugby Championship has drawn to a close and as the league pauses for the Quilter Nations Series, the Welsh regions have plenty to ponder both on a...

✍️| The opening block of the URC has come to an end, here's my round up on all four Welsh teams and how they have gone on this season for @talkrugbyunion.bsky.social.

Any likes or shares would be greatly appreciated!
www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/welsh-region...

🗣️ "It’s a rivalry that’s been around for a long time, but that’s not our focus...

“Our focus is on performance..." 😤

Bath are aiming for a response over rivalry as they look to bounce back against Bristol Bears this weekend 👊

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/bath-focused...

📸 Patrick Khachfe

💭 'Welsh supporters will hope a win over Japan is achievable.

'Running Argentina close, maybe even stealing a win, and keeping the final two games competitive would make for an encouraging month.'

✍️ Iestyn Rhys-Thomas on Steve Tandy's first Wales squad: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/louis-rees-z...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿👓 The Welsh URC preview

🔥 Dragons vs Cardiff – East Wales derby! Can the Dragons end their losing streak?

🇿🇦 Scarlets kick off their South African tour

⚫️ Ospreys vs Glasgow - after last week’s win over Zebre, can Ospreys build momentum?

📸 www.inpho.ie

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/dragons-face...

Redemption mode 🔛

The 'sour taste' of last year's 33-0 home defeat to Leicester is fuelling Northampton ahead of Prem Rugby derby weekend...

✍️ Earlier this week, Elizabeth Cartwright heard from the Saints: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/-sour-taste-...

📸 Northampton Saints

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Three Welsh regions are still chasing their first URC wins but with a draw and a postponement thrown in, could better fortunes be just around the corner?

✍️ Iestyn Rhys-Thomas looks ahead to Round 3 of the United Rugby Championship: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/winless-wels...

📸 www.inpho.ie

🗣️ Ollie Hassell-Collins Interview

While he is fully aware of the strength in depth England have on the wings, the focus remains simple - do the job for Leicester Tigers 🐯

📝 James Orpin
📸 Paul Cooke / PAC Photography

🔗 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/ollie-hassel...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 URC Round 2: Welsh regions seek wins after mixed opener

✈️ Ospreys away at Stormers
🏠 Dragons host Sharks
🇮🇪 Scarlets + Cardiff in Ireland

💻 Iestyn Rhys-Thomas previews the weekend's action: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/united-rugby...

📸 www.inpho.ie

"I think it was a chance to redefine women’s rugby...."

The words of World Cup-winning captain Zoe Aldcroft said it all.

#RWC2025 was transformative and will help the game go to the next level.

✍️ Elizabeth Cartwright
📸 Lizzy Terry/TEZ.PHOTOG

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/redefining-w...

Cardiff impress with battling win ✅
Scarlets struggle 🙁
Ospreys & Dragons find positives in defeat 💪

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿✍️ Iestyn Rhys-Thomas with his weekly Welsh recap from the United Rugby Championship...

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/united-rugby...

🏉 The 2025/26 URC season 🔜

🔵⚫️ Will Cardiff's attack-minded style continue?
⚫️⚪️ Can Ospreys return to the Top 8?
🔴⚪️ Can Scarlets remain competitive?
🐉🐉 Dragons - Keep an eye on Harry Beddall!

📝 Iestyn Rhys-Thomas

🔗 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/united-rugby...

🗣️ “This might be the most enjoyable World Cup I’ve worked on.” – Ugo Monye

🔙 Reliving the quarter-finals
👀 Eyes on the last four 🔜
🌟 The impact of #RWC2025
🎙️ "A privilege" to cover it with incredibly passionate colleagues

✍️ Elizabeth Cartwright

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/ugo-monye-in...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 After exiting the World Cup, change is coming for Scotland...

But opportunity does lie ahead ✨🏉

💻 Gary Heatly has highlighted 5⃣ players to watch out for, all of whom ply their trade in Premiership Women's Rugby

🔗 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/scotland-s-w...

📸 N50Sports

#RWC2025 #PWR

Six months ago, Rhona Lloyd wasn’t sure she’d make #RWC2025...

But now she has very much rediscovered her love for rugby and is relishing a quarter-final clash with England 👏 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

✍️🌟 Gary Heatly heard from the Scotland star: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/rhona-lloyd-...

📸 Lizzy Terry/TEZ.PHOTOG

🌋 From Vesuvius to Etna
🚴 500 miles | 🧗 11,500m | ⏱️ 6 days

💪 Ex-Worcester & Exeter Chief Kai Horstmann joins Phil Dollman & Greg Bateman for an epic challenge...

All in aid of Looseheadz 🖤🤍

🗣️ He talks about the cause + chats rugby with TRU...

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/kai-horstman...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Flag Day for Molly!

👏 Scotland front-rower Molly Wright was honoured by her former Watsonians teammates after battling back from injury to star in her second Women’s Rugby World Cup.

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/flag-day-for...

✍️ Gary Heatly

#RWC2025

"𝗜𝗳 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆..." ✨

Scotland’s Emma Orr is an inspiration to the girls of Biggar RFC as they watched her shine last weekend against Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👏

📰 Gary Heatly has the story: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/scotland-wor...

📸 Biggar RFC

#RWC2025

The Women’s Rugby World Cup starts TODAY🤩

We’ll be in Sunderland, Salford and Northampton this weekend and speaking of Salford, Scotland fans will be excited to watch the electric Francesca McGhie vs Wales tomorrow⚡️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

💬✍️ Gary Heatly heard from the winger

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/scotlands-fr...

Play Their Way - Play Their Way | A Hub for Child First Coaching in Sport Join a community of coaches who are supporting young people to play their way!

Sarah spoke to TRU through the Play Their Way campaign.

It is calling on rugby coaches to adopt child-first coaching, which prioritises fun, enjoyment and their voices to maximise the opportunity to boost girls’ participation.

Coaches can join the PlayTheirWay movement at Playtheirway.org.

🏆🌹 Of course, the Red Roses will be chasing World Cup glory, but their impact can go beyond the pitch.

England defence coach Sarah Hunter believes #RWC2025 can be a pivotal moment in inspiring the next generation.

💻 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/sarah-hunter...

📸 Lizzy Terry/TEZ.PHOTOG

"𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨..." 🌹🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

The triumphant return of the England Students Women’s programme was a resounding success and could provide a fresh avenue for future Red Roses 👏

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/the-dominant...

Quiet achiever in the spotlight...🌠

Loughborough Lightning's Becky Boyd has gone from an unexpected Six Nations debut to earning a spot in Scotland’s #RWC2025 squad.

💬 She chats to Gary Heatly for TRU: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/loughborough...

📸 Scottish Rugby

ICYMI: Big changes could be coming to Welsh rugby 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

The WRU is set to reveal its "optimal solution" for the game’s future.

✍️ Last week, Iestyn Rhys Thomas was at the Principality Stadium for TRU: www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/wru-s-next-s...

Thrilled to have Gary Heatly covering Scotland for TRU during #RWC2025 🤩

He recently heard from skipper Rachel Malcolm, who said that after a ‘disruptive’ build-up, the focus is now on attacking their World Cup campaign 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🖇️ www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/scotland-cap...

📸 Scottish Rugby

ICYMI...

Steve Tandy brings a wealth of coaching experience to the Wales job, but knows there is no magic wand or quick fix 🛠️

Rebuilding Welsh rugby needs to be a collective process 👊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/steve-tandy-...

📸 INPHO

After BUCS heartbreak and missing out on England U20s, Lucy Weaver is grabbing new chances with both hands 🙌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🐯

The promising scrum-half is part of the re-established England Students Women's programme and has recently signed for Leicester Tigers...

🗞️ www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/lucy-weaver-...

Despite being sidelined since March, Mackenzie Carson has her sights set on achieving glory with England.

Her determination and infectious energy could be key for the Red Roses during #RWC2025 🏉🙌🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

🌹🗣️ She chats to TRU: 🔗 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/mackenzie-ca...

📸 RFU Collection via Getty

Australia denied the Lions a 3‑0 sweep with a gritty win in Sydney, which would've lifted spirits ahead of the Rugby Championship.

✍️ Iesytn Thomas shares his reflections on why Joe Schmidt's side should have a spring in their step: talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/australia-s-...

💬 “I hope the World Cup shows that normal people and normal women can do incredible things...”

She never thought rugby could be her career, but now Maud Muir is chasing glory in her second World Cup and is hoping to inspire the next generation 💫🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

👉 www.talkingrugbyunion.co.uk/maud-muir-in...