Harlequins lost to Sale Sharks in the Champions Cup last 16 at Twickenham Stoop, according to multiple reports, with the match featuring large swathes of empty seats and more than 6,000 tickets unsold. The team was the only home side not to win in the Champions Cup last 16, multiple reports indicate. Harlequins' season is already over despite it being early in the year, multiple reports suggest, with the team ninth in Premiership Rugby with three wins from 12 games.
Harlequins have won just three Premiership games this season, and both Harlequins and Sale are not realistically challenging for a Premiership playoff spot, according to multiple reports. In a recent Premiership match, Harlequins beat Bristol Bears 18-14 at Principality Stadium, multiple reports confirm, with Rodrigo Isgro scoring a 58th-minute try and Jamie Benson kicking a last-minute penalty. Guido Petti stood out for Harlequins in that game, according to multiple reports, though Marcus Smith was absent due to a Caribbean break.
1 million, multiple reports indicate, with the team fifth in the Premiership, seven points off playoff positions. In the loss to Harlequins, Bristol were awful, with errors at the breakdown and line-out, according to multiple reports, though Fitz Harding and Steven Luatua scored tries, with Luatua's being a late consolation. Louis Rees-Zammit played for Bristol but had a mixed performance, multiple reports note.
Sale Sharks have experienced mixed results, losing to Bath 33-26 in a Premiership match where Bath rested key players like Finn Russell ahead of a Champions Cup tie, according to multiple reports. Sale have lost nine of 12 Premiership games this season, multiple reports indicate, though they fielded their strongest available team against Bath, including England internationals. In the Champions Cup match against Harlequins, George Ford kicked three penalties and converted a try for Sale, while Luke Cowan-Dickie scored two tries, according to multiple reports.
For Harlequins, Chandler Cunningham-South and Alex Dombrandt scored tries, with Dombrandt netting two, multiple reports confirm. Alex Dombrandt and Chandler Cunningham-South showed spirit for Harlequins in the Sale match, according to multiple reports. Harlequins have made coaching changes, with Jason Gilmore appointed permanent head coach, which had an underwhelming feel, multiple reports suggest.
Robbie Deans will join Harlequins as performance director in the summer but not on a full-time basis, and Robbie Deans and Rob Hunter will join the coaching staff next season, according to multiple reports. The 2025–26 Premiership Women's Rugby season is the ninth season of England's top-flight domestic women's rugby union club competition, with reigning champions Gloucester–Hartpury entering after claiming their third league title by winning the 2025 final against Saracens, according to research sources. Ahead of the season, Bristol Bears, Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester–Hartpury, Leicester Tigers, and Sale Sharks each announced changes to their head coach positions.
The season start was pushed back by three weeks due to the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, and the regular season fixtures were announced on 6 August 2025, research sources indicate. Gloucester-Hartpury beat Saracens to return to the top of Premiership Women's Rugby, multiple reports state, with Alex Matthews scoring a hat-trick in that match. Gloucester Hartpury and Saracens are the teams to beat this season, research sources note, and Gloucester Hartpury have a game in hand as things stand.
Saracens spoiled the party in South West London with a huge win over local rivals Harlequins, research sources describe, picking up their twelfth consecutive Premiership Women's Rugby victory. May Campbell scored her tenth try of the season and completed a hat-trick with two more tries in the second half against Harlequins, while Liv Apps also scored a try, according to research sources. Saracens had their try scoring bonus point by the end of the first half against Harlequins, research sources add.
Harlequins women have lost six games in a row, multiple reports confirm, including a 43-33 defeat to Loughborough Lightning and a 21-17 loss to Trailfinders at the Stoop. Jade Konkel scored a try for Harlequins in the match against Saracens, research sources note. The Bristol vs.
Harlequins women's match had a record attendance of 14,020 for a Bristol home game, multiple reports indicate, with Emma Orr scoring two second-half tries for Bristol Bears. In other women's Premiership results, Loughborough Lightning's Bo Westcombe-Evans scored a hat-trick against Harlequins, and Ellie Kildunne and Sadia Kabeya returned to play for their teams after being stranded in Dubai, according to multiple reports. Bristol Bears beat Leicester Tigers 68-0 in Round 13, and Sale Sharks bettered Loughborough Lightning 31-29 in Greater Manchester, research sources state.
Sale Sharks have three wins in their last three games, research sources add, while there are five more rounds of the season to go, with the top two teams locked in for knockout rugby in June and the race for a top four spot picking up speed. Disciplinary incidents occurred in women's Premiership matches, with Aoife Wafer receiving a yellow card in the match against Saracens and Amelia MacDougall shown a yellow card for a late cover tackle in the match against Harlequins, research sources report. The implications of Harlequins' struggles extend beyond the men's team, with the women's side also facing challenges, while developments in women's rugby, such as the return of the PWR Cup as a pre-season developmental tournament, offer context for growth.
Saracens won the 2025 PWR Cup, retaining their title from 2023–24, and Amelia MacDougall was Player of the Match in the final, research sources note.