women
international women
Evie Gallagher’s 2026 was a story of frustration, resilience and individual brilliance.
In excellent shape for women Rugby World Cup 2025 saw the start of the Women’s Premiership rugby season Bristol Bears only for a hamstring injury to rule her out of this year’s edition of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
without her Scotland finished fifth in the championship. Defeats against England, Italy, France and Ireland they strongly emphasized how much they missed the 26-year-old back line – with injuries to other players in key positions.
After her exploits over the past two months, Gallagher was named the 29th. RugbyPass The 50 best female rugby players in 2026.
Ball-in-hand, Gallagher is nothing short of ruthless and is more likely to knock over a defender. In defense, she has a high rate of finishing the match, and she is also insightful in the breakdown – the striker is on top PWR for traffic.
Gallagher wasted little time in making her mark on her return to Test rugby, starting all five of Scotland’s matches in the extremely difficult WXV Global Series campaign.
She started all five matches for Dave Butcher’s side. And, even though they were losing games to Canada, New Zealand and three to Australia, ranked #8 in the top 5% for defenders beaten and assist attempts. She also carried the ball further than any other player in her position.
No wonder her international captain believes Gallagher is easily among the best in the world.
“Evie, for me, is the most popular player in the world right now and I don’t think that’s something I say lightly,” Malcolm said in October. “She’s just class in every single aspect and I think the way she carries the ball and punches above her weight in that area is a testament to the nuances of what she does in and around that contact area.
“Defensively, well that’s always been her trademark. Her ability to tackle, but probably most importantly, the ability for us to get the ball back to her over the ball is literally second to none in the world right now and I think that’s huge on our team and in our armory.”
Following Scotland’s three defeats against the Wallaroos, which ended their WXV Global Series 2026 campaign, Gallagher will return to PWR club Bristol for the new league season.
The West Country club made a splash this off-season with the recruitment of Red Roses fullback Ellie Kildunne, and saw Abbie Ward and Lark Atkin-Davies return to action after pregnancy in JAECOO PWR Next Gen Cup action in recent weeks.
A side aiming to improve on their eighth-place finish in the league, Gallagher will be key to a turnaround in fortunes and a potential return to the top four.
“Evie is one of the best players in the world at her position,” said Bristol Bears head coach Scott Lawson. “Her ability to play in the back row gives us huge flexibility, but what really sets her apart is the impact she has all over the pitch.
“Leading the league in turnovers shows the level of impact she has defensively, but her carrying capacity, physicality and work rate make her a complete player. She sets the standard every day and is a huge part of the environment we’re building here.”
