Harlequins set for Gloucester double-header at Twickenham
- Published
Exeter Chiefs Women beat Harlequins 54-25 in last season's Big Game at Twickenham
Harlequins are aiming to attract a world record crowd of over 20,000 for a women's club game as part of a double-header at Twickenham in December.
Quins Women will face Gloucester-Hartpury before the men take on Gloucester on Saturday, 30 December in a contest billed as 'Big Game 15'.
Over 15,000 attended when Exeter Chiefs beat Quins Women at Twickenham in the Premier 15s in March.
Quins last faced Gloucester's men in a Big Game in December 2016.
That Premiership match was won 28-24 by the south-west London club in front of 77,567 spectators at the national stadium.
Last season's Big Game, when Harlequins' men's and women's teams had been due to face Bristol Bears, was rescheduled from its usual December date because of the impact of rail strikes.
The annual match was first held by Quins in December 2008, but it was not staged during the 2020-21 season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new Premiership campaign gets under way on Friday, 13 October, while the inaugural Premiership Women's Rugby season starts on the weekend of 18-19 November.
Gloucester-Hartpury are the defending champions, with the league rebranded over the summer as part of a 10-year plan for women's rugby in England.