Premiership women’s rugby: Sam Monaghan backs bid for potential Irish club at PWR

Ireland second-row Sam Monaghan says having an Irish club in Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) would be “amazing” for the growth of the national team.

The PWR, currently limited to English clubs, opened an expression of interest process in April for organizations that could join the nine-team competition if it were to expand, with the Irish Rugby Football Union confirming on Friday that they had expressed an interest in joining.

Monaghan is one of 11 players in the Ireland Six Nations squad to play for PWR and one of four to play for reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury after signing in the summer of 2022.

Munster, Connacht, Leinster and Ulster play in an interpro league, while the Clovers and Wolfhounds represent Ireland in the Celtic Challenge alongside clubs from Scotland and Wales, but Monaghan believes an Irish team in the PWR would further accelerate player development in a more competitive environment.

“I think it’s something we’ve always said, us girls who love playing, ‘Wouldn’t it be amazing to have an Irish team where we could all play together?’, because where I’ve been in my career, the Premiership has been amazing for me,” she told BBC Sport NI.

“I’ve built a life there, I’ve got a home and a job and I’d love to come home and play, but I don’t think it’s possible for me, so to have the opportunity to do both would be really amazing and it would benefit us massively to have our players playing together.

“It’s something we’ve said before, but it will be amazing to see it come to fruition because it’s so competitive.”