April 2025 Rugby Round-Up
The Rugbystore round-up of the big news stories from the world of rugby over April.
- England win the Women’s Six Nations
The Red Roses continued their dominance of the Northern Hemisphere as they made it seven straight Six Nations titles, with six of them being Grand Slams. The title victory saw them extend their unbeaten run to 24 international tests, with their last defeat coming against the Black Ferns in the final of the 2022 World Cup.
While the English juggernaut has swept up titles since then, France’s performance did highlight that this team could be beat, as they only lost by a single point in their dramatic 43-42 defeat in the winner takes all decider that took place in Round 5.
Elsewhere Italy, Scotland and Ireland traded wins with a set of tightly contested matches throughout the competition. Wales created some unwanted history, as the women’s winless wooden spoon performance confirmed only the third time ever that a men’s and women’s side in the Six Nations had both lost all their games in the same year, with only Scotland and Italy doing this before.
- Rieko Ioane set to join Leinster
Irish powerhouse Leinster have already added to their backline for next season after announcing that they have signed experienced utility back Rieko Ioane from the Blues.
The Super Rugby star has 81 caps for the All Blacks activated the sabbatical clause in his contract, allowing him to join Leo Cullen’s side for the 25/26 season. Ioane isn’t the first New Zealander to do this, as former teammate Jordie Barrett is currently playing for the URC league leaders.
- Champions Cup Player of the Year Nominees announced
With the business end of the rugby season in full swing the Champions Cup Player of the Year shortlist has been announced.
Leinster have a number of the nominees, with Jordie Barrett, Caelan Doris and Jamison Gibson-Park all representing the Irish province. England and Northampton’s up and coming star Henry Pollock has seen his stock rise as this nomination highlights how important he has been to the Saints run to the Final.
The rest of the line-up is completed by players from the Top 14, with Thomas Ramos and Jack Willis being picked from Stade Toulousain. Meanwhile, Maxime Lucu and Damian Penaud from Union Bordeaux-Bègles complete the shortlist.
Competitions Round-Up
Unite Rugby Championship
With only two rounds left of the regular season there is still plenty to play for in the URC, as Leinster, Glasgow Warriors, Vodacom Bulls and the Hollywoodbets Sharks have all confirmed their place in the play-offs. At the other end Zebre have joined the Newport Dragons as the only sides to be officially ruled out of play-off contention.
That leaves ten teams fighting it out for the other four spots, which are currently occupied by Cardiff, DHL Stormers, Scarlets and Benetton.
Gallagher Premiership
The Gallagher Premiership is also in its closing weeks, as three rounds remain before the semi-finals. Bath are the only team to confirm their place in the final four, as they sit in an almost unsurmountable position atop the league table.
Leicester Tigers, Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears are the current sides on course for those final three spots, but everyone else in the league baring Newcastle Falcons and the Exeter Chiefs still have a chance to secure a semi-final spot.
Champions & Challenge Cup
The month end with four spectacular semi-finals across the two continental competitions. In the Challenge Cup Bath eventually overpowered a stern Edinburgh side to earn a 39-24 win in Scotland, meanwhile the all French semi-final between Lyon and Racing 92 served another close affair with Lyon winning 29-15.
In the Champions Cup we witnessed a huge shock as the Northampton Saints stunned Leinster 37-34 in Dublin. Union Bordeaux-Bègles will be joining the Gallagher Premiership side in the final after their 35-18 win over Stade Toulousain.
All four teams will be gearing up for their respective finals in Cardiff on the 23rd and 24th of May.
Super Rugby
Super Rugby has continued to entertain, and nothing looks to be changing that as we approach the final four rounds of the league phase. Its still all to play for, as every team can still make the play-offs, but sides such as the Chiefs, Crusaders and Brumbies look all but set to be in the Quarter-Finals.
The rest of the chasing pack will be wanting to make every point count as some sides could see their chances ended by a single defeat between now and the last set of fixtures on May 31st.
HSBC SVNS World Championship
The World SVNS Series took its top eight men’s and women’s sides to Los Angles to see who would be crowned World Champions in 2025. Over two days it eventually came down to four teams, as Spain’s men, who beat the league winner in Argentina, battled against South Africa. The Springboks came out as the eventual winners with a 19-5 over Los Leones.
In the Women’s final a dominant New Zealand came out on top with a 31-7 win over Australia, adding the trophy to their collection having already won this year’s league title.
That’s it! That’s our quick roundup for April 2025. Be sure to checkout the rest of the Rugbystore Blog for news, reviews, training tips and much more.