Record Numbers of Capped Players Across the League

A wave of new Welsh, Scottish and Irish caps are set to drive the standard of the Celtic Challenge, as the highest seeded team prepares to host the Final for the first time.

The Celtic Challenge has today announced the full fixture list for the 2026/27 season, its fourth year as the ultimate cross-border club competition for women’s rugby across Ireland, Scotland, and Wales; and one that arrives with more international quality across the six clubs than ever before.

Brython Thunder, Gwalia Lightning, Edinburgh Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, the Clovers, and the Wolfhounds will once again compete in a full double round-robin format, with each side playing five home and five away fixtures over the course of the regular season, before the top four seeded teams progress to the play-offs.

Tickets to Gwalia Lightening and Brython Thunder home game are on sale now from £10 Adults, £5 Students and £2 for children.

The competition returns off the back of a summer that has seen Celtic Challenge players at the heart of the Scotland, Wales, and Ireland set-ups alike.

Wales’ influence includes Brython Thunder trio Amy Williams, Shanelle Williams, and Elan Jones all won their first senior caps this September, while Gwalia Lightning’s Freya Bell and Bryonie King started against South Africa in the Vodafone Wales WXV Series.

For 2026/27, the Celtic Challenge Final moves away from a neutral venue for the first time, with the highest seed of the two semi-final winners now hosting instead. It’s a big incentive at a time when squads are being bolstered with international talent right across the board, and it means the race for the top four is set to be as relentless as it’s ever been.

The season will open on Saturday 5th December 2026 and conclude with the Final on the weekend of 27th March 2027.

Fixtures of interest

Round 1 serves up a rematch of last season’s semi-final, as Wolfhounds host Brython Thunder in Belfast; Thunder will arrive with a stronger hand than last time out, with a clutch of Welsh internationals now back in the fold.

Edinburgh Rugby’s first home outing of the campaign follows in Round 2, when they welcome Gwalia Lightning to the Hive Stadium; both sides freshly strengthened from WXV, and both with a point to prove.

By Round 4, Glasgow Warriors host Gwalia Lightning at Scotstoun in what should be another tight affair, the Warriors having edged the reverse fixture last season, and now boasting Scotland’s largest ever WXV contingent.

As the table starts to take shape heading into the closing rounds, Glasgow Warriors travel to Parc Y Scarlets to face Brython Thunder; the two sides having finished just a single place apart last season, a gap that was enough to send Thunder through to the play-offs.

Rivalries to watch

Round 3 belongs to the derbies, with all six teams facing their local rivals on the same weekend: Ystrad Mynach, Edinburgh, and Cork all hosting bragging-rights fixtures before the wider title race resumes. Every one of those match-ups was decided by a single place in last season’s table, so expect little to separate them second time round.

The same six sides meet again in Round 10, this time with play-off places on the line, giving each derby a second act just as the race for the top four reaches its sharpest point.

CELTIC CHALLENGE FIXTURES

Fixtures:
Gwalia Lightning v Glasgow Warriors
Ystrad Mynach
05/12/26, KO: 12:00

Gwalia Lightning v Brython Thunder
Ystrad Mynach
19/12/26, KO: 14:30

Gwalia Lightning v Edinburgh Rugby
Ystrad Mynach
16/01/27, KO: 12:00

Gwalia Lightning v Wolfhounds
Ystrad Mynach
06/02/27, KO: 13:00

Gwalia Lightning v Clovers
Ystrad Mynach
13/02/27, KO: 13:00

Fixtures:
Brython Thunder v Wolfhounds
Parc y Scarlets
16/01/27, KO: 12:00

Brython Thunder v Edinburgh Rugby
Parc y Scarlets
06/02/27, KO: 14:30

Brython Thunder v Glasgow Warriors
Parc y Scarlets
13/02/27, KO: 12:00

Brython Thunder v Gwalia Lightning
Parc y Scarlets
27/02/27, KO: 14:30