Challenge, as the highest seeded team prepares to host the Final for the first time.
The Celtic Challenge has today announced the full fixture list for the 2026/27 season, its
fourth year as the ultimate cross-border club competition for women's rugby across
Ireland, Scotland, and Wales; and one that arrives with more international quality
across the six clubs than ever before.
Brython Thunder, Gwalia Lightning, Edinburgh Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, the Clovers,
and the Wolfhounds will once again compete in a full double round-robin format, with
each side playing 5 home and 5 away fixtures over the course of the regular season,
before the top four seeded teams progress to the play-offs.
The competition returns on the back of a summer that has seen Celtic Challenge
players at the heart of the Ireland, Scotland and Wales set-ups alike. Ireland's Clovers and Wolfhounds have made a strong case for themselves. Of the seven uncapped players named in Scott Bemand's 36-player squad for this autumn, five have now won their first caps, all of them Celtic Challenge players last season: Beth Buttimer and Jemima Adams-Verling were capped during the WXV Global Series, before
Kate Jordan, Sophie Barrett, and Alana McInerney all made their debuts against Japan in
Cork last weekend, with two of the three crossing for tries. Glasgow Warriors alone had ten players named in Scotland's squad for the inaugural WXV Series, the highest number the club has ever sent to a Scotland Women's squad, whilst Edinburgh Rugby have been just as prominent with seven players called up. Scrum-half Ceitidh Ainsworth marked her senior Scotland debut against Canada before going on to claim the starting scrum-half jersey against New Zealand and Australia. Holland Bogan and Evie Wills have also earned their starts, both impressing the Scotland coaches to take their place in the XV following early-series injuries, with the uncapped Nicole Flynn and Imogen Spence still waiting for their chance. Hannah Ramsay and Molly Poolman have been ever-present, with Ramsay claiming the full-back shirt outright against Australia; Rachel Philipps started the opening two Tests before a concussion ruled her out against Australia, and Adelle Ferrie made her mark off the bench against Canada and the BlackFerns. Wales' influence has been just as visible, Brython Thunder trio Amy Williams, Shanelle Williams, and Elan Jones all won their first senior caps this September, while Gwalia Lightning's Freya Bell and Bryonie King started against South Africa in the Vodafone
Wales WXV Series. With squads across all three nations now carrying a strong Celtic Challenge influence, the standard on show domestically is only expected to climb.
For 2026/27, the Celtic Challenge Final moves away from a neutral venue for the first
time, with the highest seed of the two semi-final winners now hosting instead. It's a big
incentive at a time when squads are being bolstered with international talent right
across the board, and it means the race for the top four is set to be as relentless as it's
ever been.
The season will open on Saturday 5th December 2026 and conclude with the Final on
the weekend of 27th March 2027.
Fixtures of interest
Round 1 serves up a rematch of last season's semi-final, as Wolfhounds host Brython
Thunder in Belfast; Thunder will arrive with a stronger hand than last time out, with a
clutch of Welsh internationals now back in the fold.
Edinburgh Rugby's first home outing of the campaign follows in Round 2, when they
welcome Gwalia Lightning to the Hive Stadium; both sides freshly strengthened from
WXV, and both with a point to prove.
By Round 4, Glasgow Warriors host Gwalia Lightning at Scotstoun in what should be
another tight affair, the Warriors having edged the reverse fixture last season, and now
boasting Scotland's largest ever WXV contingent.
As the table starts to take shape heading into the closing rounds, Glasgow Warriors
travel to Parc Y Scarlets to face Brython Thunder; the two sides having finished just a
single place apart last season, a gap that was enough to send Thunder through to the
play-offs.
Rivalries to watch
Round 3 belongs to the derbies, with all six teams facing their local rivals on the same
weekend: Ystrad Mynach, Edinburgh, and Cork all hosting bragging-rights fixtures before
the wider title race resumes. Every one of those match-ups was decided by a single
place in last season's table, so expect little to separate them second time round.
The same six sides meet again in Round 10, this time with play-off places on the line,
giving each derby a second act just as the race for the top four reaches its sharpest
point.
