The NSW Waratahs have secured a dream draw for the 2025 Super Rugby Women’s competition, securing home games for the first two rounds at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
The five-time Super Rugby Women’s champions first play the Fijiana Drua in Round 1 on Friday 28 February, then the Western Force in Round 2 on Saturday 8 March.
The games also feature in two doubleheaders at Allianz Stadium with the NSW Waratahs Men who host the Drua in Round 3 and Western Force in Round 4 that day.
“A Super Rugby Women’s Grand Final final rematch against the Drua at home, a doubleheader with the men … it is a great way to start the season,” NSW Waratahs Women’s Head Coach Michael Ruthven said.
“We will also be against the opposition with the most amount of travel in the competition. To have those two early at home sets us up well.”
From home, the NSW Waratahs Women’s side will head to Brisbane for Round 3 to play the Queensland Reds at Ballymore Stadium on Sunday, February with a 3:05 pm [AEDT] kick-off.
In Round 4, the NSW Waratahs then return to Sydney, to play a development game against Penina Pasifika at the NSW Waratahs training base in Daceyville.
There are four development fixtures featuring Penina Pasifika that will ensure the Australian Super Rugby Women's sides take the field each week of the regular season. Penina Pasifika assembles the best up-and-coming women's Rugby talent from the Pacific region, in particular Samoa and Tonga, and is funded through the Australian Government's PacificAus Sports program.
After playing the Penina Pasifika the NSW Waratahs take on the ACT Brumbies in Round 5 at GIO Stadium in Canberra on Friday 28 March.
Then it will be time for the knock-out rounds and ‘win at all costs’ run to the Grand Final.
The Super Rugby Women's Semi-Finals are due for Friday 4 April and Saturday 5 April.
The Grand Final is scheduled for Saturday 12 April at North Sydney Oval in Sydney.
For the first time in the competition history rugby fans will be provided with a blue ribbon Trans-Tasman clash where the winner of the Super Rugby Women's competition will take on the winner of the Super Rugby Aupiki in the first ever Womens Super Rugby Champions Final, which will be held in New Zealand.
Ruthven is excited about the depth of his NSW Waratahs squad that will assemble for the start of their pre-season training at Daceyville next Monday.
From a squad of forty-three players, thirty-two will be selected before Christmas for the 2025 season.
“We have a mix of girls contracted for 2024 and an exciting group of invitational players,” Ruthven said. “We are confident in the group and looking forward to getting stuff back in.
“We officially kick off next Monday for our pre-Christmas block, a four-week block.
“We want to embed some foundation principles into our game. We will focus heavily on fundamental skill sets and core principles around the way we want to play the game. And a big emphasis will be on our capacity to work hard and fight through a bit of pain.”
Ruthven said the NSW Waratahs face no shortage of motivation despite being five-time champions.
“The big challenge is providing the right environment around them to match their ambition and motivation,” Ruthven said.
“They are an incredibly driven group, and with that comes internal expectation, the expectation they have on themselves.
“They are used to winning. They enjoy winning, but they are extremely ambitious and incredibly motivated.
“We have just got to put the right framework and environment around that to make sure we get the best out of them all.
Ruthven expects his first major challenge will be to decide on his final 32-player squad.
“I'm predicting there will be some challenging decisions and conversations at the end of this pre-season block,” Ruthven said.
All time local * denotes double-header with Super Rugby Pacific
5.05pm Friday 28 Feb - Waratahs v Drua - Allianz Stadium, Sydney*
2.05pm Sat 1 Mar - Force v Brumbies - HBF Park, Perth*
Development fixture - 3.00pm Sat 1 Mar - Reds v Penina Pasifika - Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane
1.05pm Sat 8 Mar - Drua v Reds - Churchill Park, Lautoka*
5.05pm Sat 8 Mar - Waratahs v Force - Allianz Stadium, Sydney*
Development fixture - 2.00pm Sat 8 Mar - Brumbies v Penina Pasifika - University of Canberra
3.35pm Sat 15 Mar - Drua v Brumbies - Churchill Park, Lautoka
2.05pm Sun 16 Mar - Reds v Waratahs - Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane
Development fixture - 3.00pm Sat 15 Mar - Force v Penina Pasifika - McGillivray Oval, Perth
1.05pm Sat 22 Mar - Brumbies v Reds - Viking Park, Canberra
4.50pm Sun 23 Mar - Force v Drua - HBF Park, Perth*
Development fixture - 2.00pm Sat 22 Mar - Waratahs v Penina Pasifika - Daceyville, Sydney
5.05pm Fri 28 Mar - Brumbies v Waratahs - GIO Stadium, Canberra*
1.05pm Sun 30 Mar - Reds v Force - Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane
Fri 4 Apr - Sat 5 Apr T
Teams ranked 1st and 2nd will host the Semi-Finals
2.35pm Sat 12 Apr - North Sydney Oval, Sydney
7.05pm Thurs 17 Apr - 2025 Super Rugby Women's Champion v 2025 Super Rugby Aupiki Champion - New Zealand
