Gloucester–Hartpury Women's Rugby Football Club are an English women's rugby union club based in Gloucester and 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.
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.
In their first year, Gloucester–Hartpury only played friendly matches, some of which were at Gloucester Rugby's home ground Kingsholm Stadium, 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.
In 2015, the RFU placed them in Women's Championship Midlands 2. In their first season they finished second in the league. The following season, they were unbeaten.
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, 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, 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. There was speculation that this was due to geographical considerations.
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. Former Gloucester player and Gloucester–Hartpury coach James Forrester was appointed CEO of the team in 2023.
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. The final was held at Kingsholm Stadium, renamed 'Queensholm' for the occasion. The final drew a crowd of over 9,600 spectators, setting a new record and tripling the finals attendance of the previous season.
Premier 15s rebranded as Premiership Women's Rugby for the 2023–24 season onwards. 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.
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. 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.
In March 2025, Gloucester–Hartpury won the PWR for a third consecutive time after beating Saracens 34–19. They became the second team to win the title three times, and the first to team to claim a three-peat. The 2025 final was Sean Lynn's last game as head coach, and Forrester's final game as CEO.
2025–present: Post Lynn era In April 2025, it was announced that Dan Murphy was appointed as Head Coach. Under Lynn's leadership, Murphy had served as scrum coach for Gloucester–Hartpury. On 23 June 2025, Murphy appointed former England international Matt Banahan as assistant coach, with Banahan joining from his previous role as Scotland Women's attack coach.
Gloucester–Hartpury entered the 2025–26 season as three-time defending champions. Eight Gloucester–Hartpury players were part of England's 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup-winning squad. co-captain Zoe Stratford publicly confirmed the club's goal was to go unbeaten for the entire season in pursuit of a fourth consecutive title.
During the season, a number of departures were confirmed ahead of 2026–27. Including co-captain and England captain Stratford. Also confirmed as deparating is assistant coach Banahan to take up a backs and attack coaching role at Hartpury University R.F.C. in the men's Champ Rugby.
The club's target for a fourth consecutive title came to an abrupt end in the semi-final on 14 June 2026. Gloucester–Hartpury were defeated 26–29 by Trailfinders Women. On 16 June 2026, the club announced the signing of French international centre and former Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship, Gabrielle Vernier, for the 2026–27 campaign.
Current squad
The Gloucester–Hartpury squad for the most recent season (2025–26) was:
Hookers
Props
Locks
Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
Centres
Wings
Fullbacks
Utility backs
Club Staff The publicly listed Gloucester–Hartpury staff for the most recent season (2025–26) was:
Coaching Team Dan Murphy — Head of Rugby Richie Williams — Assistant coach
List of head coaches
NameFromToPWDLHonours Susie Appleby 2014 January 2020 67 45 2 21 66.182014–15 RFU Women's Junior Cup2016–17 Women's Championship Midlands 2 Sean Lynn January 2020 March 2025 107 77 1 29 71.96 2022–23, 2023–24 & 2024–25 PWR Dan Murphy April 2025 20140670.00 Notes
Season summaries +Season Summaries League Cup Season Competition Final position Points Play-offsCompetitionPerformance2014–15No competitionRFU Women's Junior CupChampions2015–16Women's Championship Midlands 22nd56-RFU Women's Intermediate CupQuarter-final2016–17Women's Championship Midlands 21st58-RFU Women's Intermediate CupRunners-up 2017–18 Premier 15s 4th 60 Semi-finalNo competition 2018–19 Premier 15s 5th 50 - 2019–20 Premier 15s Season Annulled 2020–21 Premier 15s 5th 50 - 2021–22 Premier 15s 6th 51 - Allianz Cup 5th 2022–23Premier 15s 1st 79 Champions Allianz Cup 4th 2023–24Premiership Women's Rugby 1st 76 ChampionsAllianz Cup 3rd 2024–25Premiership Women's Rugby 1st 68 Champions No competition 2025–26Premiership Women's Rugby 1st 73 Semi-finalPWR Cup4th in pool 2026–27Premiership Women's Rugby PWR Cup
Gold background denotes championsSilver background denotes runners-up
Season records Season Records 2015/16–2025/26 Season Season 2015–16 14 11 0 3 2024–25 18 15 0 3 2016–17 16 15 0 1 2025–26 201406 2017–18 19 11 1 8 2018–19 18 8 1 9 2019–20 Season annulled due tothe COVID-19 pandemic 2020–21 18 10 0 8 2021–22 22 11 1 10 2022–23 25 20 0 5 2023–24 24 21 0 3 Notes
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 2025–26 season.
Gloucester–Hartpury results per opposition (Premiership Women's Rugby 2017/18 - 2025/26 seasons) Opposition Span Played Won Drawn Lost Win% Points for Average PF Points against Average PA Points difference Bristol 19 14 0 5 73.68% 542 28.53 309 16.26 233 DMP Sharks 2017–2024 10 9 0 1 90.00% 561 56.1 69 6.9 492 Exeter Chiefs 2020–2026 14 11 0 3 78.57% 425 30.36 318 22.71 107 Harlequins 2017–2026 16 9 0 7 56.25% 471 29.44 429 26.81 42 Leicester Tigers 2023–2026 6 6 0 0 100% 306 51 102 17 204 Loughborough Lightning 2017–2026 16 9 1 6 56.25% 560 35 412 25.75 148 Richmond 2017–2019 4 3 1 0 75.00% 126 31.5 56 14 70 Sale Sharks 2020–2026 12 12 0 0 100% 396 33 157 13.08 239 Saracens 2017–2026 19 6 1 12 31.58% 486 25.58 610 32.11 -124 Trailfinders 2023–2026 7 5 0 2 71.43% 251 35.86 187 26.71 64 Wasps 2017–2023 9 3 0 6 33.33% 238 26.44 230 25.55 8 Waterloo 2017–2019 4 4 0 0 100.00% 168 42 62 15.5 106 Worcester 2017–2023 10 10 0 0 100.00% 413 41.3 80 8 333 Overall — 146 101 3 42 69.18% 4943 33.86 3021 20.69 1922
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 2025–26.
Club honours Premiership Women's Rugby Champions: (3) 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 Women's Championship Midlands 2 Champions: (1) 2016–17 Runners-up: (1) 2015–16 RFU Women's Intermediate Cup Runners-up: (1) 2016–17 RFU Women's Junior Cup Champions: (1) 2014–15
Notable players
Zoe Aldcroft – 2021 World Rugby Women's 15s Player of the Year; played in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, became England captain in January 2025, and led the team to victory in the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final while representing Gloucester–Hartpury. Alex Matthews – played in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, and won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester–Hartpury. Maud Muir – played in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, and won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester–Hartpury. Tatyana Heard – played in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final while at Gloucester–Hartpury, and won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final. Natasha Hunt – Won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup while at Gloucester–Hartpury. Jade Shekells – part of the wider England squad that won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup while at Gloucester–Hartpury. Emma Sing – part of the wider England squad that won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup while at Gloucester–Hartpury. Mackenzie Carson – part of the wider England squad that won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup while at Gloucester–Hartpury.
Rugby World Cup The following are players who have represented their countries at the Rugby World Cup whilst playing for Gloucester–Hartpury: TournamentPlayers selected playersOther national team players202118Zoe Aldcroft, Connie Powell, Alex Matthews, Tatyana Heard, Maud Muir – Katie Dougan – Lisa Neumann, Bethan Lewis, Kelsey Jones, Gwen Crabb, Kerin Lake, Lleucu George, Cerys Hale, Hannah Jones, Cara Hope, Siwan Lillicrap (c), Sisilia Tuipulotu – Maya Learned202524Zoe Aldcroft (c), Mackenzie Carson, Tatyana Heard, Natasha Hunt, Alex Matthews, Maud Muir, Jade Shekells, Emma Sing – Neve Jones, Sam Monaghan (cc), Ellena Perry – Lisa Cockburn – Kelsey Jones, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Alaw Pyrs, Kate Williams (cc), Bethan Lewis, Seren Lockwood,Lleucu George, Hannah Dallavalle, Nel Metcalfe, Gwen Crabb, Megan Davies, Catherine Richards
Sources
References