PWR Round 1 in Numbers

The highly anticipated 2025-26 Premiership Women’s Rugby season kicked off on Friday night at Twickenham Stoop, where Harlequins secured their first win of the season with a thrilling 52-42 victory over Loughborough Lightning.

Trailfinders Women fielded several debutants on Saturday afternoon following an exciting summer transfer window. However, their efforts weren’t enough to overcome a remarkably strong Exeter Chiefs side, who claimed a 12-24 away win in London.

On Saturday evening, Sale Sharks hosted Leicester Tigers in front of a sold-out home crowd. The Northern side delivered a dominant performance, deafeating Tigers 46-17, despite both teams sharing even possession.

In a repeat of last season’s PWR Final, Gloucester Hartpury faced familiar rivals Saracens in the final match of the weekend. The reigning three-peat champions held the visitors scoreless in the first half, before beating them 40-14 at the full-time whistle.

It was a stand-out performance from Harlequins’ Claudia Pena, who was the round’s top scorer with 15 points and 5 successful goals. Gloucester Hartpury’s Lleucu George dominated the kicking game with 329 kick meters and 4 retained kicks, making her the best of the round.

For the full rundown, head over to the Stats Hub where you’ll find up-to-date player and club statistics and rankings!

Other key performances in Round 1 included:

• Holly Thorpe (Sale Sharks Women) registered the highest meters per carry (20.8, round-best) and recorded 132 carry distance (2nd in round).
• Lauren Torley (Harlequins Women) beat 7 defenders (joint most in round) and made 3 initial breaks (2nd in round).
• Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs Women) recorded the highest carry distance (182, round-best) and most initial breaks (4, round-best).
• Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning) had the most successful kick rate, completing 5 conversions (round best) with 100% success.

To read the Oval Insights review of Round 1, click here