England Students Women ready for UKAF fixture at Farnham – come join us

The Students Rugby Football Union is delighted to announce that the England Students Women side will return and face the UK Armed Forces Women’s side on Saturday 11 July, kick-off: 5pm at Farnham Rugby Club.

The fixture forms part of a full performance week, with the squad coming together at Aldershot Garrison from Monday 6 July for an intensive camp based at St Omer Barracks. The programme is being hosted by the Army, reflecting the strong support the UK Armed Forces have provided and their instrumental role in the revival of the England Students Women team.

The match against UKAF at Farnham Rugby Club is free to enter, with no tickets required and free parking available on site – so we’d love to see as many of you there as possible. Come down, bring your teammates, friends and family, and get behind England Students Women as they take to the field in what promises to be an exciting, high-quality fixture.

The fixture builds on the programme’s highly successful return in 2025 after a 20-year absence, when England Students Women delivered an emphatic 74–22 victory over UKAF in the lead-up to the Women's International Defence Rugby Competition ahead of the record-breaking Women's Rugby World Cup 2025.

From last year’s cohort of players, Jodie Verghese has secured a Saracens contract and an England senior call-up, while Grace White has progressed into the U21 Six Nations squad, with a number of other players now playing regularly in the domestic Premiership Women’s Rugby league.

Alongside performance, the programme champions the dual-career pathway, enabling players to pursue their academic studies alongside their rugby and supporting progression into professional sport without compromising their education.

The programme continues to play a key role in bridging university rugby and the professional game, offering players exposure to high-performance preparation and representative-level competition. This summer’s fixture provides another opportunity to showcase the strength and progression of the women’s student pathway, with Phil de Glanville, SRFU President, hosting on the day.

Phil de Glanville said: “The standard of women’s university rugby goes from strength to strength, and having watched last year’s England Students match where some breathtaking tries were scored, I am so looking forward to watching them again. Superbly prepared by the volunteer coaching and support teams, mostly drawn from the university sector too, come and watch high quality rugby, for free!”

The England Students Women volunteer team management in camp reflects a breadth of expertise drawn from across the higher education and performance game, bringing together a committed group of volunteers to support the players throughout the week.

England Students Women – Team Management:

Head Coach: Andrew Ford – Hartpury University

Team Manager: Charlotte Ankerstjerne – University of Bath

Kit and Logistics: Matthew Woodward – Royal Air Force

Assistant Coach: Poppy Leitch – University of Exeter

Assistant Coach: Lisa Newton – Cardiff Metropolitan University

S&C Lead / Scrum Coach: Ethan York – University of Surrey

Head Medic: Luis Mendia

Team Doctor: Luke De Moya

Physio: Maisie Burton - Hartpury University

Sports Therapist: Emily Middleton – University of Nottingham

Analyst: Usmaan Anwar – Brunel University London

Comms: Abigail Reid – Cardiff University

Liaison Officer: Sam Hodgkiss – British Army