PWR Ins and Outs – Ellie Kildunne and Ruby Tui head the big-name moves as clubs get ready for blast-off

Ruby Tui and Ellie Kildunne headline a blockbuster summer of movement in the PWR as clubs across the division attempt to reshape the pecking order ahead of the new campaign.

World Cup-winning New Zealand superstar Tui became the latest marquee arrival this week when last season’s beaten finalists Trailfinders secured the 34-year-old on a one-year deal.

Tui brings one of the most decorated CVs in the women’s game, having won the World Cup with the Black Ferns, Olympic gold and silver in sevens and the 2019 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Player of the Year award.

Her arrival is another major statement from a Trailfinders side who only finished fourth in the regular season, winning seven of their 16 games, before coming alive in the play-offs and reaching the final, where Saracens eventually claimed their fourth league title.

Ruby Tui (right)

Best

Tui is joined by Scotland international Helen Nelson and England wing Bo Westcombe-Evans from Loughborough Lightning, as well as Teya Ashworth from UBC Thunderbirds, as Barney Maddison’s side look to take the final step.

“I feel like I’ve seen a lot of women’s rugby and it’s the biggest and best women’s comp in the world right now,” Tui added.

“The whole Trailfinders team have been so welcoming since I got here and watching them all last season had me fizzed about how they’re playing the game.”

But arguably the biggest domestic move of the summer is Kildunne’s switch from Harlequins to Bristol Bears.

The England full-back is the centrepiece of an extensive rebuild at a club who finished eighth last season, winning six of 16 games and ending 39 points behind regular-season table-toppers Gloucester-Hartpury.

“I finally knew what I wanted to do,” Kildunne said. “I needed to have the right conversations and make sure it’s the right club for me, and I couldn’t be happier with the conversations that I had.

“I knew straight away that it was right for me. I was actually in the car with my mum when I was on a call with the coaches.

“She said after it brought a tear to her eye because she felt like it was truly right for me, which is very exciting.”

Ellie Kildunne (centre)

Arrivals

Kildunne is one of eight arrivals at Bristol, with Lucy Burgess and Orla Proctor also making the move from Harlequins, while Pip Hendy and Bethan Lewis arrive from Gloucester-Hartpury.

Lia Green joins from Loughborough, Zoe Evans from Leicester and Ellen Scantlebury from Exeter as Bears attempt to force their way back towards the top four.

There has been major traffic in the opposite direction too, with Pamphinette Buisa and Chloe Daniels joining Loughborough, Tilly Ryall and Maisie Davies heading to Exeter and a host of others either released or moving elsewhere.

Harlequins have responded to losing Kildunne by adding some serious experience of their own.

Former England captain Marlie Packer has crossed London after a trophy-laden spell with Saracens, with Rosie Galligan making the same move.

Wales prop Sisilia Tuipulotu arrives from Gloucester-Hartpury, while Daisy Aspinall also joins from the regular-season table-toppers.

Italy international Sara Mannini and Exeter’s Eva Sterritt further bolster a squad which finished fifth last term.

Marlie Packer

Significant change

It is also a significant changing of the guard at The Stoop, with Jade Konkel, Laura Delgado, Izzy Mayhew, Sheree Cooper, Hannah Duffy and Heather Cowell all retiring.

Kildunne, Burgess and Proctor have joined Bristol, while Abbie Fleming and Lagi Tuima have signed for Leicester.

No club has undergone a more dramatic overhaul than Tigers.

Leicester endured a bruising 2025-26 campaign, losing all 16 league matches, scoring just 188 points and conceding 918 on the way to a minus-730 points difference.

Their response has been emphatic, with 16 new arrivals.

Australian internationals Tabua Tuinakauvadra and Ashley Fernandez come in from the Brumbies, France prop Coco Lindelauf from Blagnac and Western Force pair Halley Derera and Grace Freeman have also arrived, with Caitlyn Halse joining from the Waratahs.

Closer to home, Leicester have recruited Cara Brincat from Trailfinders, Fleming and Tuima from Harlequins, Freya Greensmith, Rachel Ehrecke and Lucy Finch from Loughborough, and Isobel McGuire-Evans from Sale.

Lagi Tuima

Talent drain

Regular-season table-toppers Gloucester-Hartpury have suffered perhaps the biggest talent drain of the summer.

They won 14 of 16 games and finished two points clear of eventual champions Saracens before falling short in the play-offs.

Tatyana Heard, Sarah Beckett, Zoe Stratford and Kelsey Jones have all joined Sale, while Hendy and Lewis have headed to Bristol.

Tuipulotu and Aspinall are Harlequins-bound and Ellena Perry, Bianca Blackburn and Rachel Lund have retired.

Yet Gloucester have recruited strongly themselves, with France international Gabrielle Vernier arriving from Blagnac and Italy hooker Vittoria Vecchini joining from Valsugana.

USA lock Emerson Allen makes the switch from Leicester, Lauren Bailey arrives from Bristol and Evelyn Clarke from Loughborough, while Roisin Maher, Hannah Smyth and Ellie Wilson step up from the academy.

Zoe Stratford

Most striking

Sale’s recruitment is among the most striking in the division.

They finished seventh last term but have signed four players from Gloucester-Hartpury alone in Heard, Beckett, Stratford and Jones.

Kendall Waudby also joins from Loughborough and Freya Aucken from Harlequins.

It gives Sale a wealth of proven international and title-challenging experience as they look to push up the table after six wins last season.

Loughborough have taken a different route, leaning heavily into development and Canadian talent.

Buisa and Daniels arrive from Bristol, Brooke Rempel from Brock University and UBC trio Kiki Idowu, Rachel Smith and Florence Symonds also join.

Lightning have additionally promoted 12 players from their academy after losing a large group including Nelson, Westcombe-Evans, Greensmith, Ehrecke and Finch.

Exeter, third in the regular season last year, have strengthened with Wales hooker Carys Phillips from Harlequins and Deborah Wills from Saracens.

Shya Pinnock joins from Trailfinders, while Bristol pair Ryall and Davies also head to Sandy Park.

Champions Saracens, meanwhile, face the unusual challenge of defending their crown after losing some of their most recognisable names.

They finished second in the regular season before defeating Trailfinders in the final, but Packer and Galligan have since joined Harlequins, Wills has moved to Exeter and Beth Blacklock to La Rochelle, instead so far only graduating academy players in the opposite direction.

Bo Westcombe-Evans

Bristol Bears

In: Lucy Burgess, Orla Proctor, Ellie Kildunne (all Harlequins); Pip Hendy, Bethan Lewis (both Gloucester-Hartpury); Lia Green (Loughborough Lightning), Zoe Evans (Leicester Tigers), Ellen Scantlebury (Exeter Chiefs)

Out: Jenna De Vera, Savannah Picton-Powell, Stella Orrin (all released); Alisha Joyce, Jasmine Joyce (both Brython Thunder), Pamphinette Buisa, Chloe Daniels (both Loughborough Lightning); Tilly Ryall, Maisie Davies (both Exeter Chiefs); Rhea Clarke, Elliann Clarke (both Glasgow Warriors); Meg Varley (retired), Emma Orr (Edinburgh), Lauren Bailey (Gloucester-Hartpury)

Lucy Burgess

Exeter Chiefs

In: Tilly Ryall, Maisie Davies (both Bristol Bears); Shya Pinnock (Trailfinders), Lizzie Lander (Bath), Carys Phillips (Harlequins), Honey Kerslake (Exeter College), Deborah Wills (Saracens)

Out: Abby Duguid, Emily Tuttosi (both retired); Hannah Bluck, Eleanor Febrey, Edel McMahon (all released); Abby Middlebrooke, Eva Sterritt (both Harlequins); Sabrina Poulin (Canada Sevens), Ellen Scantlebury (Bristol Bears)

Carys Phillips

Gloucester-Hartpury

In: Roisin Maher, Hannah Smyth, Ellie Wilson (all academy); Gabrielle Vernier (Blagnac), Emerson Allen (Leicester Tigers), Lauren Bailey (Bristol Bears), Vittoria Vecchini (Valsugana), Evelyn Clarke (Loughborough Lightning)

Out: Tatyana Heard, Zoe Strat-ford, Sarah Beckett, Kelsey Jones (all Sale Sharks); Pip Hendy, Bethan Lewis (both Bristol Bears); Sisilia Tuipulotu, Daisy Aspinall (both Harlequins); Ellena Perry, Bianca Blackburn, Rachel Lund (all retired); Lizzie Goulden (released)

Lauren Bailey

Harlequins

In: Marlie Packer, Rosie Galligan (both Saracens); Sisilia Tuipulotu, Daisy Aspinall (both Gloucester-Hartpury); Abby Middlebrooke, Eva Sterritt (both Exeter Chiefs); Sara Mannini (Rugby Colorno)

Out: Jade Konkel, Laura Delgado, Izzy May-hew, Sheree Cooper, Hannah Duffy, Heather Cowell (all retired); Beth Wilcock, Emma Swords, Jessie Spurrier, Lisa Neumann, Jade Mullen, Lauren Fisher, Sophie Tansley, Iley Bailey, Izzy Hannay (all released); Lucy Burgess, Orla Proctor, Ellie Kildunne (all Bristol Bears); Abbie Fleming, Lagi Tuima (both Leicester Tigers); Fiona McIntosh (Glasgow Warriors), Coreen Grant (Edinburgh), Freya Aucken (Sale Sharks), Layla Sae (Hurricanes Poua), Liana Mikaele-Tu’u (Blues), Carys Phillips (Exeter Chiefs)

Sisilia Tuipulotu

Leicester Tigers

In: Halley Derera, Grace Freeman (both Western Force); Freya Greensmith, Rachel Ehrecke, Lucy Finch (all Loughborough Lightning); Abbie Fleming, Lagi Tuima (both Harlequins); Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Ashley Fernandez (both ACT Brumbies); Leah Brough, Louisa Maynard (both Lichfield); Coco Lindelauf (Blagnac), Cara Brincat (Trailfinders), Caitlyn Halse (NSW Waratahs), Isobel McGuire-Evans (Sale Sharks), Charlotte Seale (University of Nottingham)

Out: Kristin Bitter, Katherine Baverstock, Olivia Tallon, Charlotte Daley, Amber Schonert (all released); Leah Heath, Danielle Solly (both retired); Emerson Allen (Gloucester-Hartpury), Zoe Evans (Bristol Bears), Emily Henrich (Stade Bordelais)

Abbie Fleming

Loughborough Lightning

In: Kiki Idowu, Rachel Smith, Florence Symonds (all University of British Columbia); Ashton Adcock, Aoibhe Kelly, Ella Barnes, Alice Bennett, Izzy Clist, Emily Heaps, Lily Hickey, Freya MacColl, Imogen Mockford, Alice Redfern, Sasha Roberts, Harli Stanton (all academy); Pamphinette Buisa, Chloe Daniels (both Bristol Bears); Brooke Rempel (Brock University)

Out: Christine Belisle, Isla Curphey, Paige Stathopoulos, Tahlia Brody, Bulou Mataitoga (all released); Lucia Scott, Anne Young, Becky Boyd (all Glasgow Warriors); Freya Greensmith, Rachel Ehrecke, Lucy Finch (all Leicester Tigers); Elis Martin, Leia Brebner-Holden (both Edinburgh); Kendall Waudby (Sale Sharks), Cath O’Donnell (retired), Lia Green (Bristol Bears), Helen Nelson, Bo Westcombe-Evans (both Trailfinders), Evelyn Clarke (Gloucester-Hartpury)

Chloe Daniels

Sale Sharks

In: Tatyana Heard, Zoe Stratford, Sarah Beckett, Kelsey Jones (all Gloucester-Hartpury); Kendall Waudby (Loughborough Lightning), Freya Aucken (Harlequins)

Out: Nikita Prothero, Molly Morrissey, Asia Hogan-Roches-ter (all released); Molly Wright, Trudy Cowan, Sophie Lewis, Kay Jarrell-Searcy (all retired); Evie Wills (Glasgow Warriors), Rachel Philipps (Edinburgh), Isobel McGuire-Evans (Leicester Tigers)

Tatyana Heard

Saracens

In: Alix Ahad, Leila Crick, Lavinia Natui, Ruby Ross (all promoted from Senior Academy/Oaklands College pathway)

Out: Marlie Packer, Rosie Galligan (both Harlequins); Beth Blacklock (La Rochelle), Deborah Wills (Exeter Chiefs)

Rosie Galligan

Trailfinders

In: Helen Nelson, Bo Westcombe-Evans (both Loughborough Lightning); Ruby Tui (New Zealand), Teya Ashworth (UBC Thunderbirds)

Out: Kate Zackary, Amelia Buckland-Hurry, Cana Williams, Ellie Boatman, Emma Taylor, Georgia Ponsonby, Grace Moore, Isla Norman-Bell, Kim Grundy, Manon Johnes, Mica Evans, Mikiela Nelson, Sara Seye, Shannon Ikahihifo (all released); Shya Pinnock (Exeter Chiefs), Cara Brincat (Leicester Tigers), Celia Quansah (retired)

Helen Nelson