Gwalia Lightning and Brython Thunder will face each other in a festive Welsh derby in Round 2 of the new expanded Celtic Challenge league at Ystrad Mynach on Saturday, December 27th (KO: 2pm)
Gwalia Lightning did the double over their Welsh rivals in last season’s Celtic Challenge with both teams finishing mid-table in the championship.
Brython Thunder will be looking to build on the double they did over Glasgow Warriors during last season’s Celtic Challenge.
Players who were part of Wales’ historic victory over the Wallaroos in Australia and the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup in England will feature in this season’s Celtic Challenge.
The Celtic Challenge is the cross-border championship between the two Welsh sides, and the Wolfhounds and Clover of Ireland and Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland.
The expanded league now runs to 10 high quality fixtures to showcase the best talent in Wales, Ireland and Scotland in the women’s game before the addition of a semi-finals and before a first Celtic Challenge Final. Gwalia Lightning finished third in last season’s competition with a host of Welsh internationals, like skipper Bryonie King, prop Maisie Davies, lock Alaw Pyrs and hooker Molly Reardon, all part of the starting line-up.
Brython Thunder finished fourth in the league with the likes of experienced Wales international Natalia John leading a young side with Wales U20s starlets, fly half Hanna Marshall and centre Savannah Picton-Powell impressing.
The two Welsh sides will open the campaign with Brython Thunder at home to Glasgow at Parc y Scarlets, while Gwalia Lightning will be on the road in Ireland to face Irish side the Clovers on Saturday, December 20th.
Gwalia were the only side in the Celtic Challenge to really trouble the double-champions when they lost to the Irish side in Ireland.
The Welsh sides will clash again in the final Round 10 of game when Brython Thunder host Gwalia Lightning at Parc Y Scarlets on Saturday, March 7th.
Both teams will know by then if they have reached the new semi-finals of the league to give themselves a chance of Celtic Challenge silverware.
WRU head of women’s rugby Belinda Moore, who will stay in her interim role until the end of the 2026 Women’s Six Nation, said: “The return of the Celtic Challenge on the back of the biggest Women’s Rugby World Cup in England is an exciting opportunity for players with international ambitions.
“To have a big Welsh derby in Round 2 of the new expanded league during the festive period is a mouthwatering prospect and we are planning for a vociferous crowd at the fixture.
“The Welsh Rugby Union has made an investment in this championship, and it will play a key role in giving Welsh-qualified players game-time ahead of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
“We have publicly stated that WRU contracted players who need regular game-time will play for Gwalia Lighting or Brython Thunder in the Celtic Challenge.
“The Irish sides really benefited by having the majority of their contracted players available for last season’s championship and we fully expect Scotland to follow suit for this campaign.
“The PWR takes a break in January, and we will endeavour to have the WRU contracted players get valuable playing time ahead of what promises to be a major Six Nations championship.
“We want to hit the ground running when Wales play Scotland in the opening round of the W6N at the Principality Stadium on Saturday, April 11th.”
Head coaches, coaching teams and squads for Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning will be announced in due course ahead of the start of the Celtic Challenge.
The Road to the Final
At the conclusion of the 10-round regular season, the top four seeded teams will progress to the play-offs.
- The two highest-ranked sides will host the semi-finals, with 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd battling for a place in the inaugural final.
- The winners of the semi-finals will then meet in the Celtic Challenge Final, where they will compete for the honour of becoming the Celtic Challenge Champions.