Gloucester Hartpury: Season Preview

Gloucester Hartpury completed a historic Premiership Women’s Rugby three-peat last season, but Mia Venner insists it has only left her wanting more.

The 23-year-old wing scored Gloucester’s third try in last season’s final as they came from behind to defeat Saracens 34-19 at StoneX Stadium.

But despite the unprecedented achievement, there is no indication that The Circus are close to giving up their domestic domination.

“Our main focus is to not get complacent. There's no part of us that wants to stop. There's no part of us that wants to slow down,” said Venner.

“We want to keep growing. We want to keep getting better. We want to keep winning.

“We’ve got a lot of changes this season within the coaching staff and it's about how we can maintain our performance but also understand that things are going to change within the side.

“We’re going to have new people with new values coming in. It's just how we stay tight as a group.”

Venner and Gloucester Hartpury bid farewell to head coach Sean Lynn after a third consecutive PWR title last season.

His replacement, Dan Murphy, will hope to live up to the sizeable expectations left behind by Lynn, but for Venner the change only provides reasons to be excited.

“Dan Murphy wants to come in and put his own stamp on it,” she said.

“I know he worked closely with Lynnie, our old coach, and they did share a lot of the same values and a lot of the same ideas. So, for him to come in and put his own stamp on it, is going to be great to see throughout the season.

“It's exciting more than anything. Changes can be quite scary sometimes, but we've got a good feeling about this one and we look forward to seeing how it goes.”

And if the Cherry & Whites were ever close to lacking in motivation, that will surely have received a boost this summer.

Venner was in attendance at the Allianz Stadium as the Red Roses, led by Gloucester Hartpury’s very own Zoe Aldcroft, lifted the World Cup trophy on a momentous day for women's rugby.

“The thing that stuck out for me was how many people stayed after the final whistle. The buy-in from everyone was just amazing,” she reflected.

It is that ever-growing fanbase that means the impact extends beyond just England’s international reputation, with the PWR and women’s rugby riding the wave of a ground-breaking tournament.

“It does motivate me a lot. To see the growth within the game over the last couple of years alone, it's really encouraging to see and it's really exciting,” said Venner.

“The way that the women's game is evolving, I feel like we've been given the chance to take the game where it hasn't been before by trying new things and push it to the boundaries.

“The World Cup's been amazing for drawing a lot of eyes onto the game and hopefully that transfers over to the PWR.

“It’s off to a really, really good start and there's a really good buzz around it within the playing community and the supporters.”

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But alongside the stresses of growing the game and winning a World Cup, Venner made sure that the Red Roses had some well-earned downtime as she accompanied them on a trip to Ibiza.

“That was fun,” she laughed. “It's really great to see the girls finally let go and celebrate what they've done because they work so hard.

“It has been great to finally see them achieve what they deserve and achieve what they've been working towards for the last three years.”

Venner herself received her first England cap in the 2025 Six Nations triumph against Italy and was part of the training squad in the lead up to the World Cup.

And just like the Red Roses, she certainly knows how to win having been at Gloucester since 2019 and a key part of their trio of titles.

“The main thing is we enjoyed it the entire way through. That honestly kept us going,” she said.

“There was a lot of people keeping each other accountable within the team and each year was different.

“We created loads of good memories on the way. It brings people closer together and then that obviously shows in how well we work with each other on the pitch.”

The countdown to Saracens is on! 🍒💫

Before our next battle, dive into #THREEPEAT, the behind-the-scenes story of our third @ThePWR title.

Want to relive the magic? Be sure to join us on Sunday 26 October at Queensholm 🎪

📲 Ticket link: https://t.co/byScMTOvz4 pic.twitter.com/lZAz9Y9QTS

— Gloucester Hartpury (@gloshartpury) October 16, 2025

What’s new at Gloucester Hartpury in 2025/26?

The change in coaching represents the biggest shift at Gloucester Hartpury this summer as Sean Lynn ended his five-year stint at the helm.

Former scrum coach Dan Murphy steps up into the vacancy and will be assisted by Matt Banahan as assistant coach who makes the move down from being Scotland’s attack coach.

But while it is all-change in the staff, the playing personnel has seen relatively few alterations with 19-year-old Welsh international Alaw Pyrs representing the only new face in the west.