Round 8 in Numbers

Things heated up in Round 8 of the Premiership Women’s Rugby 2025-26 season, the last fixture weekend before Christmas! It kicked off with a bang at Allianz Stadium, where Harlequins faced Bristol Bears in a double header for Big Game 17. Quins started as they meant to go on, with three tries in the first 20 minutes, with little pushback from Bristol. The game ended 38-12 to Harlequins, seeing the London side take home a bonus point win!

Saracens took a trip up north for the next game, where Sale Sharks hoped to cause upset. Sarries quickly got to work, with Alysha Corrigan opening up the scoring in the 8th minute, followed by 2 more, all with successful conversions. Shona Campbell gave Sharks a glimmer of hope with a try just before the break. They continued to push, but the London side were too good to overturn, winning the game 17-36 and putting them at the top of the table before Christmas.

Up next was a thrilling clash in the midlands between Loughborough Lightning and Trailfinders Women. An even back and forth scoreline saw fans nervously biting their fingernails on the sidelines right until the end. With a 78th minute try and conversion, Trailfinders almost had the win, but in a crazy turn an extra time converted try gave Loughborough the 29-29 draw!

Drawing a close to the weekend, Leicester Tigers hosted Gloucester Hartpury, with the underdogs hoping to beat the champions. Though, it took just 2 minutes for Emma Sing to score and convert, making her intention known. Gloucester continued on their try-scoring rampage, scoring 11 tries in the duration of the game and securing a strong 12-75 win.

Gloucester Hartpury’s Emma Sing was the round’s top points scorer, with a staggering 30 points from 2 tries and 10 successful conversions! Loughborough Lightning’s Helen Nelson dominated the kicking game, not only completing the conversion that earned her team a draw but collecting 559 kick metres during her time on the field.

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

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Other key performances included:

• Rhona Lloyd (Sale Sharks) beat 7 defenders during her game, the most in the round.
• Georgia Evans (Saracens) and Kate Zackary (Trailfinders Women) made 25 tackles each, making them joint-first in the round.
• Lucy Packer (Harlequins) picked up 2 try assists in Harlequins’ win against Bristol, topping the stats in the round,
• Rosie Inman (Trailfinders Women) and Ella Cromack (Harlequins) were the most successful kickers in the round, each earning a success rate of 100%.

Team of the Week, as per Oval Insights:

• Liz Crake (Saracens)
• Lucy Simpson (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Sisilia Tuipulotu (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Alaw Pyrs (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Steph Else (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Kate Williams (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Georgie Perris-Redding (Sale Sharks)
• Ellie Wilson (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Olivia Apps (Saracens)
• Helen Nelson (Loughborough Lightning)
• Sarah Parry (Harlequins)
• Claudia Pena (Harlequins)
• Hannah Dallavalle (Gloucester Hartpury)
• Rhona Lloyd (Sale Sharks)
• Emma Sing (Gloucester Hartpury)

To read the Oval Insights Review of Round 7, click here.