PWR Round 2 Preview: London derby promises bumper crowd

As attendances soared across the opening weekend of PWR fixtures, a new set of stadiums will experience the ‘World Cup bounce’ for the first time this weekend.

Action returns to the homes of Exeter Chiefs, Loughborough Lightning, Leicester Tigers and Saracens for the first time this season.

Bristol Bears will also enter the fray for the first time since the World Cup, as they kick off their season with a trip to Mattioli Woods Welford Road.

With records to be broken and another packed weekend of rugby, including a tantalising London derby between Saracens and Harlequins, there is plenty to watch out for this weekend.

Saturday 1 November

Exeter Chiefs v Gloucester Hartpury – Sandy Park – 3pm

Black Fern Amy Rule will make a highly anticipated full debut for Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park as the hosts look to make it two wins from two.

Having defeated Trailfinders Women on the road last weekend, Chiefs will face a tough visit from defending champions Gloucester Hartpury who earned a 40-14 home victory over Saracens.

But with PWR action returning to Sandy Park for the first time since it hosted seven scintillating Rugby World Cup clashes, there will be every intention to give the home fans something to cheer.

HUNGRY FOR ROUND 2 🔋

2 days ⏩️ @gloshartpury! #EXEvGLO | #SheInspires pic.twitter.com/l81i8TzWeT

— Exeter Chiefs Women (@ExeChiefsWomen) October 30, 2025

Rule will play a key part in those endeavours, having entered as a substitute against Trailfinders, as she lines up in the front row alongside Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald and Hope Rogers.

Chiefs make a further two changes as Gabriella Nigrelli starts at flanker, while Canada captain Alex Tessier is given the nod at full-back.

After a dominant performance against Saracens, the Circus opt not to make any changes to their starting XV.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Alexandra Tessier, 14 Katie Buchanan, 13 Nancy McGillivray, 12 Gabby Cantorna, 11 Claudia Moloney-MacDonald, 10 Liv McGoverne, 9 Flo Robinson; 1 Hope Rogers, 2 Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, 3 Amy Rule, 4 Linde van der Velden, 5 Emily Robinson, 6 Gabriella Nigrelli, 7 Maisy Allen, 8 Maddie Feaunati

Replacements: 16 Emily Tuttosi, 17 ⁠Demi Swann, 18 DaLeaka Menin, 19 ⁠Abby Duguid, 20 ⁠Zoe Dare, 21 ⁠Lucy Nye, 22 Merryn Elworthy, 23 Sabrina Poulin

Gloucester Hartpury: 15 Emma Sing, 14 Mia Venner, 13 Jade Shekells, 12 Tatyana Heard, 11 Nel Metcalfe, 10 Lleucu George, 9 Natasha Hunt; 1 El Perry, 2 Kelsey Jones, 3 Maud Muir, 4 Sam Monaghan, 5 Sarah Beckett, 6 Zoe Stratford, 7 Georgia Brock, 8 Alex Matthews

Replacements: 16 Neve Jones, 17 Ranni Samuda, 18 Sisilia Tuipulotu, 19 Kate Williams, 20 Bethan Lewis, 21 Meg Davies, 22 Lizzie Goulden, 23 Hannah Dallavalle

Match Officials

Referee: Michael Lamb

Assistant referees: Veryan Boscawen & James Pidding

Oval Insights

Exeter Chiefs

·       Exeter Chiefs Women led the round in total team possessions (47) and possessions in the opposition half (24).

·       Claudia Moloney-MacDonald recorded the highest carry distance (182, round-best) and most initial breaks (4, round-best).

·       Emily Robinson leads the season for attacking ruck entries (34) and recorded 38 total ruck entries in the latest round (round-best).

·       Maisy Allen beat 6 defenders (5th in round) and has 1 lineout steal this season (joint 1st).

Gloucester-Hartpury

·       Gloucester-Hartpury Women lead the competition in lineout steals this season (rank 1) while winning 15 lineout throws in the latest round (rank 2).

·       Lleucu George dominated the kicking game with 329 kick meters (round-best) and 4 retained kicks (round-best).

·       Sarah Beckett recorded 6 dominant contacts (most in round) while the team led the round in dominant carry contacts with 41.

·       Kelsey Jones scored 2 tries (joint round-best) and won 11 lineout throws (most in round).

Sunday 2 November

Loughborough Lightning v Sale Sharks – cinch Stadium @ Franklin’s Gardens – 1pm

World Cup winner Holly Aitchison will make her first start in a Sale Sharks shirt as the Salford outfit look to continue their strong start in the East Midlands.

Loughborough Lightning, meanwhile, will hope a return to familiar surroundings can kickstart their season against Sale Sharks after they suffered defeat in the opening day thriller.

A trip to Twickenham Stoop ended in a cruel 52-42 loss, but with an unchanged XV that features 13 World Cup stars, including Red Roses Sadia Kabeya and Lilli Ives Campion, they will be looking to the roar of a home crowd to get them over the line this time out.

Hear the thoughts of Rugby World Cup winner Sadia Kabeya ahead of our first game back at cinch stadium this weekend ⬇️https://t.co/iNxaeZ7IIW pic.twitter.com/YysGzINJCn

— Loughborough Lightning Rugby ⚡️ (@LightningRugby) October 29, 2025

Sale Sharks fared far better on their opening weekend, triumphing 46-17 at home to Leicester Tigers, but with a new look squad they will test their mettle on the road.

They have not been scared to flex that depth either. Aitchison’s entry at fly-half is one of six changes, including a start for fellow Red Rose Morwenna Talling who returns to action.

There are also full debuts for Scotland trio Eva Donaldson, Leah Bartlett and Evie Wills, who all came off the bench during the victory over Leicester.

Loughborough Lightning: 15 Lia Green, 14 Bulou Mataitoga, 13 Alev Kelter, 12 Carmela Morrall, 11 Bo Westcombe-Evans, 10 Helen Nelson, 9 Leia Brebner-Holden; 1 Anne Young, 2 Lucy Calladine, 3 Mae Sagapolu , 4 Becky Boyd, 5 Lilli Ives Campion, 6 Daisy Hibbert-Jones, 7 Sadia Kabeya, 8 Haineala Lutui 

Replacements: 16 Kathryn Treder, 17 Amelia Williams, 18 Christine Belisle, 19 Rachel Ehrecke, 20 Tahlia Brody, 21 Kendall Waudby, 22 Alicia Maude, 23 Ellen Scantlebury

Sale Sharks: 15 Lizzie Duffy, 14 Rhona Lloyd, 13 Evie Wills, 12 Katana Howard, 11 Holly Thorpe, 10 Holly Aitchison, 9 Amy Relf; 1 Leah Bartlett, 2 Amy Cokayne, 3 Nick James, 4 Iona Antwis, 5 Morwenna Talling, 6 Eva Donaldson, 7 Katie Childs, 8 Sharifa Kasolo

Replacements: 16 Scarlett Fielding, 17 Tysh Harper, 18 Sophie Benavent, 19 Charlotte Fray, 20 Trudy Cowan, 21 Olivia Ortiz, 22 Laura Perrin, 23 Alba Capell

Match Officials

Referee: Nikki O’Donnell

Assistant referees: Rebecca Piddlesden & Simon Adams

Oval Insights

Loughborough Lightning

·       Loughborough Lightning led the round in carries (182) and carry distance (1,097).

·       Haineala Lutui topped the round statistics with 22 carries and 29 post-contact meters.

·       Helen Nelson recorded the most kicks in play (13) and the second-most kick meters (301) in the round.

·       Loughborough Lightning achieved 100% goal kick success (round-best) and made 6 successful goals (most in round).

Sale Sharks

·       Sale Sharks Women scored 8 tries (round-best) and accumulated 46 points (2nd in round).

·       Holly Thorpe registered the highest meters per carry (20.8, round-best) and recorded 132 carry distance (2nd in round).

·       Sale Sharks Women recorded 22 visits to the opposition 22 (most in round) while making 46 total team possessions (2nd in round).

·       Rhona Lloyd made 5 dominant contacts (4th in round) and recorded 2 initial breaks (joint 4th in round).

Leicester Tigers v Bristol Bears – Mattioli Woods Welford Road – 1pm

Bristol Bears will enter PWR action for the first time this season, though Red Roses stars Sarah Bern and Abbie Ward have been named on the bench.

Last season’s fourth-placed finishers will travel to Leicester wanting to get off to a winning start and benefit from the services Scottish internationals No.8 Evie Gallagher and outside-centre Emma Orr to achieve those aims.

First up at home 🏡

📅 Sun 2 Nov
📍Mattioli Woods Welford Road
⏰ 13:00

🎟️ https://t.co/JTkvPopOaF pic.twitter.com/8f3PQdNrMC

— Leicester Tigers Women's (@TigersWomens) October 28, 2025

Scott Lawson also calls on the international experience of Canadian international Holly Phillips at hooker in his first game at the helm.

Having suffered defeat to Sale last time out, Leicester will aim to bounce back in front of home support.

They make four changes in the aims of doing just that as Emily Henrich comes in at outside centre, while forwards Danielle Allen Solly, Leah Heath and Alicia Watkins are handed starts.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Tess Feury, 14 Grace Deane, Emily Henrich, 12 Georgie Lingham, 11 Zoe Evans, 10 Kristin Bitter, 9 Jenny Maxwell; 1 Danielle Allen Solly, 2 Micke Gunter, 3 Nadine Vincent, 4 Leah Heath, 5 Ali Coleman, 6 Alicia Watkins, 7 Morgan Richardson, 8 Tiana Gordon

Replacements: 16 Alana Bainbridge, 17 Ellie Smith, 18 Lauren Poole, 19 Olivia Tallon, 20 Jordan Russell, 21 Eneka Labeyrie, 22 Amelie Anstead, 23 Karolina Kacirkova

Bristol Bears: 15 Ella Lovibond, 14 Reneeqa Bonner, 13 Emma Orr, 12 Phoebe Murray, 11 Millie David, 10 Lucie Skuse, 9 Keira Bevan; 1 Simi Pam, 2 Holly Phillips, 3 Aisha Jah, 4 Natalia John, 5 Delaney Burns, 6 Demelza Short, 7 Jenny Herring, 8 Evie Gallagher

Replacements: 16 Amy Dale, 17 Maisie Davies, 18 Sarah Bern, 19 Abbie Ward, 20 Hollie Cunningham, 21 Rhea Clarke, 22 Natalee Evans, 23 Jenny Hesketh

Match officials

Referee: Holly Wood

Assistant referees: Jenny Burrows & Rosanna Procter

Oval Insights

Leicester Tigers

·       Leicester Tigers Women led the round in total lineouts (20) and lineout throws won (17).

·       Tess Feury scored 2 tries (joint round-best) and made 2 initial breaks (joint 4th in round).

·       Georgie Lingham made 5 offloads (most in round) with 1 try assist this season (joint 2nd).

·       Micke Gunter won 11 lineout throws (joint most in round) and has 1 total jackal this season (joint 1st).

Bristol Bears

·       Bristol Bears Women led the PWR in attacking metrics with 2,808 carries (rank 1), 17,896 carry distance (rank 1) and 147 initial breaks (rank 1) last season.

·       Sarah Bern led the league in both dominant contacts (68) and post-contact metres (365) last season.

·       Millie David was the joint-top try scorer in the PWR last season with 17 tries and ranks fourth for offloads with 17.

·       Lark Atkin-Davies led the league in lineout throws won with 155 successful throws last season, helping Bristol Bears achieve the PWR's best lineout success rate (87.1%).

Saracens v Harlequins – StoneX Stadium – 3pm

With a record crowd expected for the London Derby clash on Sunday afternoon, there is plenty to anticipate, including a 50th Harlequins cap for Ellie Kildunne.

The Red Roses star starts for Quins at full-back after they triumphed in an opening day thriller against Loughborough Lightning.

Have you got your tickets? 👀

Tickets 👉 https://t.co/MtgnGfzn8r pic.twitter.com/qfgf8H7gRf

— Saracens Women (@SaracensWomen) October 30, 2025

Their back three is also the site of the only change Ross Chisholm has made from that opening victory as Katie Shillaker starts on the right wing in place of Lauren Torley.

Saracens have work to do after suffering a heavy defeat to their PWR final opponents Gloucester Hartpury on the opening day, with Alex Austerberry’s eight changes indicating as much.

Laetitia Royer, Julia Omokhuale and Olivia Apps are all handed debuts in the reshuffle while May Campbell starts as hooker after bagging a try last week.

Saracens: 15 Jemma-Jo Linkins, 14 Jess Breach, 13 Sydney Gregson, 12 Beth Blacklock, 11 Alysha Corrigan, 10 Zoe Harrison, 9 Olivia Apps; 1 Kelsey Clifford, 2 May Campbell, 3 Donna Rose, 4 Laetitia Royer, 5 Poppy Cleall, 6 Julia Omokhuale, 7 Marlie Packer, 8 Sophie de Goede

Replacements: 16 Bryony Field, 17 Akina Gondwe, 18 Carmen Tremelling, 19 Rosie Galligan, 20 Georgia Evans, 21 Tori Sellors, 22 Amelia MacDougall, 23 Paige Farries

Harlequins: 15 Ellie Kildunne, 14 Katie Shillaker, 13 Claudia Pena, 12 Sarah Parry, 11 Beth Wilcock, 10 Lagi Tuima, 9 Lucy Packer; 1 Silvia Turani, 2 Connie Powell, 3 Lizzie Hanlon, 4 Fi McIntosh, 5. Abbie Fleming, 6 Nicole Wythe, 7 Sara Svoboda, 8 Jade Konkel

Replacements: 16 Carys Phillips, 17, Hannah Sims, 18 Laura Delgado, 19 Tyla Shirley, 20 Liana Mikaele-Tu'u, 21 Lucy Burgess, 22 Ella Cromack, 23 Kayleigh Powell

Match Officials

Referee: Richard Gordon

Assistant referees: Benjamin Wood & Ryan Collier

Oval Insights

Saracens

·       Saracens Women led the round in total successful tackles (202) and tackle success rate (83.1%).

·       Sophie de Goede made 20 successful tackles (3rd in round) with a perfect 100% tackle success rate (round-best).

·       Poppy Cleall beat 7 defenders (joint most in round) and recorded 15 defensive ruck entries (most in round).

·       Georgia Evans contributed 18 successful tackles (7th in round) and 10 defensive ruck entries (2nd in round).

Harlequins

·       Harlequins Women led the round in points scored (52) and tries scored (8).

·       Claudia Pena was the round's top scorer with 15 points and 5 successful goals (round-best).

·       Lauren Torley beat 7 defenders (joint most in round) and made 3 initial breaks (2nd in round).

Nicole Wythe contributed 5 dominant contacts (4th in round) while making 19 successful tackles (5th in round).