Gloucester-Hartpury

Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club are an English women's rugby union club based in Hartpury, Gloucestershire. They are the unified women's team of Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury University R.F.C. They were founded in 2014 and since 2017 they have played in Premiership Women's Rugby.

Gloucester-Hartpury

Full name	Gloucester-Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club
Union	Gloucestershire RFU
Nickname(s)	The Circus[1] Cherry and Whites
Founded	2014; 11 years ago (2014)
Ground(s)	Hartpury Stadium[2] Kingsholm Stadium
CEO	James Forrester
Coach(es)	Sean Lynn
Captain(s)	Natasha Hunt Zoe Aldcroft
League(s)	Premiership Women's Rugby
2023–24	1st (Champions)
Home kit
First match
Gloucester-Hartpury 36–22 Worcester Warriors Women II (Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester) 13 September 2015
Largest win
Birmingham Moseley Ladies 0–95 Gloucester-Hartpury (Billesley Common, Moseley) 11 September 2016
Largest defeat
Gloucester-Hartpury 0–62 Saracens Women (The ALPAS Arena, Hartpury) 7 April 2018 Harlequins Women 62–0 Gloucester-Hartpury (Twickenham Stoop, Twickenham) 30 March 2019
Official website
www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk/gloucester-hartpury-women-home

History

2014–2017: Formation & Early Years

In 2014, Gloucester Rugby and Hartpury College came together to found a women's team to be run under the jurisdiction of Gloucester Rugby to capitalise upon the popularity of women's rugby in the area. Hartpury College already had a women's team competing in the BUCS rugby union leagues.^[3]

In their first year, Gloucester-Hartpury only played friendly matches, some of which were at Gloucester Rugby's home ground Kingsholm Stadium,^[4] whilst the Rugby Football Union decided which league to place them in. The team started with numbers as low as 4 and grew into a much bigger squad. The first captain was Stacy Payne (Hardie) and the vice-captain was Jessica Morgan. The team won the Junior Cup in their first season.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, the RFU placed them in National 2 South West.^[5] In their first season they finished second in the league.^[6] The following season, they were unbeaten.^[7]

2017–2023: Premier 15's

In 2017, to take advantage of an increase in women's rugby participation following England's victory in the 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup,^[8] it was announced that Gloucester-Hartpury were awarded a franchise in the new women's top flight, the Premier 15s, as part of a reorganisation of women's rugby in England, despite never competing in the Women's Premiership or Women's Championship and moving up two leagues as a result. This was controversial as, despite the franchises being awarded by an independent body,^[9] Gloucester-Hartpury were awarded the position in top flight at the expense of Lichfield Ladies who had been competing in the top flight of English women's rugby for 15 years.^[10] There was speculation that this was due to geographical considerations.^[11]

2022–2025: Increased funding and league success

Ahead of the 2022-23 Premier 15s season, Gloucester Rugby announced a significant increase in funding to Gloucester-Hartpury by almost 500%, matching an enhanced contribution from Hartpury University. It was also announced that both the men's and the women's team would wear the same design kit.^[12][13] Former Gloucester player and Gloucester-Hartpury coach James Forrester was appointed CEO of the team in 2023.^[14]

In 2023, the team won the Premier 15s by beating Exeter Chiefs Women. By doing so, Gloucester-Hartpury became the first team based outside of London to win the league title.^[15] The final was held at Kingsholm Stadium, renamed 'Queensholm' for the occasion.^[16] The final drew a crowd of over 9,600 spectators, setting a new record and tripling the finals attendance of the previous season.^[17]

Premier 15s rebranded as Premiership Women's Rugby for the 2023–24 season onwards.^[18] Gloucester-Hartpury improved their form from the previous season winning 15 out of the 16 regular season games. Gloucester-Hartpury went on to win the final against Bristol Bears 36–24 becoming the second team after Saracens to win two titles in a row.^[19]

In January 2025, it was announced that long-time head coach Sean Lynn would take on a new role as head coach of the Wales Women. Lynn will initially continue as head coach of Gloucester-Hartpury alongside his duties with Wales, he will step down from his role at Gloucester-Hartpury at the end of the Premiership season in March 2025 to focus entirely on his position with the Welsh team.^[20] In February 2025, it was announced that CEO James Forrester would step down at the end of the 2024–25 season to move to a new role at Gloucester Rugby, it was also revealed that all commercial rights for Gloucester-Hartpury would sit under Gloucester Rugby from February 2025.^[21]

Club honours

• Premiership Women's Rugby
  • Champions: (2) 2022–23, 2023–24
• Women's Championship Midlands 2
  • Champions: (1) 2016–17
  • Runners-up: (1) 2015–16

Current squad

For player movements before or during the 2024–25 season, see List of 2024–25 Premiership Women's Rugby transfers § Gloucester-Hartpury.

The Gloucester-Hartpury squad for the 2024–25 season is:^[22]

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union Gemma Bell Hooker Scotland Gillian Boag Hooker Canada Amy Dale Hooker England Neve Jones Hooker Ireland Kelsey Jones Hooker Wales Kathryn Buggy Prop Ireland Mackenzie Carson Prop England Lisa Cockburn Prop Scotland Maud Muir Prop England Ellena Perry Prop England Ranni Samuda Prop England Sisilia Tuipulotu Prop Wales Zoe Aldcroft (c) Lock England Carmen Castelucci Lock Spain Gwen Crabb Lock Wales Steph Else Lock England Sam Monaghan Lock Ireland Beth Stafford Lock England Lola Whitley Lock England Georgia Brock Back row England Tabitha Copson Back row England Bethan Lewis Back row Wales Alex Matthews Back row England Kate Williams Back row Wales Sarah Beckett Number 8 England

Player Position Union Bianca Blackburn Scrum-half England Megan Davies Scrum-half Wales Natasha Hunt (c) Scrum-half England Sian Jones Scrum-half Wales Lleucu George Fly-half Wales Lizzie Goulden Fly-half New Zealand Ellie Green Fly-half England Charlie-Mai Manns Fly-half England Tatyana Heard Centre England Hannah Jones Centre Wales Rachel Lund Centre England Jade Shekells Centre England Carys Williams-Morris Centre Wales Daisy Aspinall Wing England Daisy Aspinall Wing England Cath Richards Wing Wales Ellie Rugman Wing England Sophie Tandy Wing England Mia Venner Wing England Charlotte Woodman Wing England Lucia Scott Fullback Scotland Emma Sing Fullback England Pip Hendy Utility back England Millie Hyett Utility back England Nel Metcalfe Utility back Wales

List of head coaches

As of 22 June 2024

Name	From	To	P	W	D	L	Win %	Honours	Ref
Susie Appleby	2014[N 1]	January 2020[N 2]	67	45	2	21	66.18	2016–17 Women's Championship Midlands 2	[23]
Sean Lynn	January 2020[N 2]		89	62	1	26	69.66	2022–23 PWR 2023–24 PWR	[24][25]

Notes

1. Results from the 2014–15 season are not included as no record was kept.
2. Although Appleby left her role in January 2020, no results from the 2019–20 season are included as the season was annulled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Similarly, while Lynn joined part-way through the 2019–20 season, results start from the 2020–21 season.

Season records & summaries

Season Summaries

	League				Cup
Season	Competition	Final position	Points	Play-offs	Competition	Performance
2015–16	Women's Championship Midlands 2	2nd[26]	56	-	No competition
2016–17	Women's Championship Midlands 2	1st[27]	58	-
2017–18	Tyrrells Premier 15s	4th	60	Semi-final
2018–19	Tyrrells Premier 15s	5th	50	-
2019–20	Tyrrells Premier 15s	Season Annulled
2020–21	Allianz Premier 15s	5th	50	-
2021–22	Allianz Premier 15s	6th	51	-	Allianz Cup	5th
2022–23	Allianz Premier 15s	1st	79	Champions	Allianz Cup	4th
2023–24	Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby	1st	76	Champions	Allianz Cup	3rd
2024–25	Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby				No competition

Gold background denotes champions
Silver background denotes runners-up

Season Records 2015–2024
Season	P	W	D	L	Ref
2015–16	14	11	0	3	[28]
2016–17	16	15	0	1	[29]
2017–18	19	11	1	8	[30]
2018–19	18	8	1	9	[31]
2019–20	Season annulled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	18	10	0	8	[32]
2021–22	22	11	1	10	[33]
2022–23	25	20	0	5	[34]
2023–24	24	21	0	3	[35]
Notes
* Season still in progress Updated to matches played on or before 22 June 2024

Results per opposition

The following table details the past performance of Gloucester-Hartpury against different opponents in Premiership Women's Rugby, between the start of the 2017-18 season and the end of the 2023–24 season.^[36]

Premiership Women's Rugby
Opposition	Span	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win%	Points for	Average PF	Points against	Average PA	Points difference
Bristol	2017–2024	14	11	0	3	78.57%	377	26.93	213	15.21	164
DMP Sharks	2017–2024	10	9	0	1	90.00%	561	56.10	69	6.90	492
Exeter Chiefs	2020–2024	10	8	0	2	80.00%	284	28.40	234	23.40	50
Harlequins	2017–2024	12	5	0	7	41.67%	314	26.17	351	29.25	-37
Leicester Tigers	2023–2024	2	2	0	0	100.00%	85	42.50	40	20.00	45
Loughborough Lightning	2017–2024	12	5	1	6	41.67%	391	32.58	336	28.00	55
Richmond	2017–2019	4	3	1	0	75.00%	126	31.50	56	14.00	70
Sale Sharks	2020–2024	8	8	0	0	100.00%	266	33.25	88	11.00	178
Saracens	2017–2024	14	2	1	11	14.29%	305	21.79	480	34.29	-175
Trailfinders	2023–2024	2	2	0	0	100.00%	92	46.00	39	19.50	53
Wasps	2017–2023	9	3	0	6	33.33%	250	27.78	198	22.00	52
Waterloo	2017–2019	4	4	0	0	100.00%	168	42.00	62	15.50	106
Worcester	2017–2023	10	10	0	0	100.00%	413	41.30	80	8.00	333
Overall	—	111	72	3	36	64.86%	3632	32.72	2246	20.23	1386

• Data includes all regular season and play-off matches (semi-finals and finals).
• The 2019–20 season is excluded due to it being abandoned because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• All fixtures added from 2017–18 to 2023–24.

Notable players

Below is a non-exhaustive list of former players for the club who have been particularly notable during their time at the club.

• Zoe Aldcroft, 2021 World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year and played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final both while at Gloucester-Hartpury.^[37][38]
• Alex Matthews, played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester-Hartpury.^[38]
• Maud Muir, played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester-Hartpury.^[38]
• Tatyana Heard, played in 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester-Hartpury.^[38]

Rugby World Cup

The following are players who have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup whilst playing for Gloucester-Hartpury:

Tournament	Players selected	England players	Other national team players
2021	17	Zoe Aldcroft, Connie Powell, Alex Matthews, Tatyana Heard, Maud Muir	Wales – Lisa Neumann, Bethan Lewis, Kelsey Jones, Gwen Crabb, Kerin Lake, Lleucu George, Cerys Hale, Hannah Jones, Cara Hope, Siwan Lillicrap (C), Sisilia Tuipulotu  United States – Maya Learned

References

1. "Five more players re-sign for The Circus". Gloucester Rugby. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
2. "Hartpury Stadium renamed as Vodafone and 4Ed Foundation partnership unveiled". Hartpury University & College. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
3. "Gloucester & Hartpury join for women's rugby". Severn Sport. 21 April 2014. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
4. Burrows, Tom (5 July 2016). "Gloucester-Hartpury Ladies Team confirm fixtures for the 2016–17 season". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
5. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women". Womens Club Rugby. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
6. "The history of rugby through its competitions". Rugbyarchive.net. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
7. "Lichfield Ladies left out of new premier women's rugby competition". ITV. 10 March 2017. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
8. "Gloucester-Hartpury grab one of ten places as Women's Premiership rugby reinvents itself". Hartpury.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
9. "Rugby Football Union announces 10-team Women's Super Rugby competition". ESPN. 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
10. "Lichfield Ladies left out of new premier women's rugby competition". ITV. 9 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
11. Tomas, Fiona (28 February 2017). "Women's rugby: Chronicle columnist Fiona Tomas examines the RFU's controversial changes to the women's game". Reading Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
12. "Gloucester-Hartpury to receive increased funding from Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
13. "Gloucester-Hartpury to receive increased funding from Gloucester Rugby". Hartpury University. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 14 October 2022. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
14. "James Forrester appointed Gloucester-Hartpury CEO". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 6 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
15. "Gloucester-Hartpury 34-19 Exeter Chiefs: Cherry and Whites win Premier 15s final at 'Queensholm'". BBC Sport. 24 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
16. "Home of Gloucester Rugby becomes Queensholm this week". Gloucestershire Live. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
17. "Gloucester-Hartpury triumph in enthralling Premier 15s final". The Daily Telegraph. 24 June 2023. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
18. "Premiership Women's Rugby Launched To Kick Off A New Era For Women's Rugby In England". www.thepwr.com. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
19. McLaughlin, Luke (22 June 2024). "Gloucester-Hartpury seal comeback against Bristol to retain PWR title". The Observer. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
20. "Sean Lynn appointed as Wales Senior Women's Head Coach". Gloucester Rugby. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
21. "James Forrester appointed Commercial Sales Director". Gloucester Rugby. 6 February 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
22. "Squad List | Gloucester Rugby". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 5 October 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
23. "End of an era at Gloucester-Hartpury as Susie Appleby bids a fond farewell". YouTube. 7 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
24. "Sean Lynn announced as Head of Women's Rugby at Hartpury". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
25. "Sean Lynn | King of Hartpury". Gloucester Rugby. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
26. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Table 2015-2016". www.englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
27. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Table 2016-2017". www.englandrugby.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
28. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2015-16". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
29. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2016-17". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
30. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2017-18". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
31. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2018-19". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
32. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2020-21". Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
33. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2021-22". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
34. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2022-23". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 28 August 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
35. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Stats 2023-24". Rugby Football Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
36. "Gloucester-Hartpury Women's RFC Results". www.englandrugby.com. Retrieved 6 February 2025.
37. "Zoe Aldcroft and Antoine Dupont named World Rugby's players of the year for 2021". Sky Sports. 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
38. "England Women's Rugby World Cup final will be extra special for Gloucestershire". soglos.com. 11 November 2022. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.