Following the confirmation of all participating teams for the WXV 2024 earlier this year, World Rugby announced the pools and schedule for all three WXV divisions which see Japan play WXV 2 in South Africa, and Hong Kong China compete in WXV 3 in Dubai from 27th September to 12th October 2024.
Updated September 2024 (Match officials, squad news)
Sally Horrox, World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby, said: “We are delighted to reveal the fixtures for what is set to be an incredibly exciting and important second edition of WXV. With six Women’s Rugby World Cup places up for grabs, teams will be vying to secure qualification by ranking as highly as possible at the end of the tournament. No doubt, there will be some exhilarating matches, some new match-ups and star players that will captivate fans around the world.”
There will be a combination of standalone, double and triple header fixtures across the match weekends for WXV 2024, and three teams will make their WXV debit appearance this year. Ticket information for WXV 2 and WXV 3 are still to be announced.
WXV will break in 2025 for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, and a full review of the tournament will be undertaken.
WXV Format
WXV3 is a cross-pool format, where each team plays those not in their pool. At the end of the tournament, teams are ranked 1-6 based on their points.
- Win = 4 points
- Draw = 2 points
- Scoring 4 tries or more = 1 points
- Loss by 7 or less than 7 points = 1 point
- Loss by more than 7 points = 0 points
- No Show = 0 points
WXV 1 2024 Pools & Schedule
BC Place in Vancouver, Canada will host WXV 1 2024. WXV pools were confirmed following the World Rugby Women’s Rankings as of Monday, 8 July, 2024. For WXV 1, the pools are based on the positioning of teams from regional qualifiers, the Guinness Women’s Six Nations and World Rugby Pacific Four Series 2024.
Pool A
- England
- France
- Ireland
Pool B
- Canada
- New Zealand
- USA
All of the schedules can be seen here for WXV 2024.
Referees
Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)
Maggie Cogger-Orr (NZR)
Sara Cox (RFU)
Aurélie Groizeleau (FFR)
Kat Roche (USAR)
Julianne Zussman (RC)
TMOs
Leo Colgan (IRFU)
Quinton Immelman (SARU)
Andrew McMenemy (SRU)
Ian Tempest (RFU)
- Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) will become the first female to referee 40 tests when she takes charge of England v New Zealand at Twickenham on 14 September
- Sara Cox (England) will join the South African on the milestone when she referees Wales v Australia in Newport
WXV 2 2024 Pools & Schedule
Japan will represent Asia in WXV 2 after winning the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship (ARWC) again this year, and head to SA already having qualified for RWC 2025.
Since beating Kazakhstan and Hong Kong China to win the ARWC, they drew a series 1-1 in Fiji, and the Sakura XV will host the WXV1-qualified side, the USA, for a series before the WXV is played.
Pool A
- Australia
- Italy
- Japan
Pool B
- Scotland
- Wales
- South Africa
Japan Women XV Schedule
- Japan vs SA – Friday 27 September 2024 (DHL Stadium)
- Japan vs Scotland – Saturday 5 October 2024 (Athlone Sports Stadium)
- Japan vs Wales – Friday 11 October 2024 (Athlone Sports Stadium)
Referees
Ella Goldsmith (RA)
Maria Latos (DRV)
Amelia Luciano (USAR)
Clara Munarini (FIR)
Zoe Naude (SARU)
Precious Pazani (ZRU)
TMOs
Chris Assmus (RC)
Matteo Liperini (FIR)
Aaron Paterson (NZR)
Estelle Whaiapu (NZR)
WXV 3 2024 Pools & Schedule
Aside from playing vital international rugby, WXV 3 also offers two spots for the Rugby World Cup 2025 to be hosted in England. Fiji have already qualified, so the remaining two places will be competed for by Hong Kong China, Spain, Samoa, Madagascar, and the Netherlands.
Hong Kong China Rugby’s General Manager of Performance Jo Hull said, “This is a fantastic group of women who worked hard to deliver good results in the recent Asia Rugby Championship and secure themselves a place in the WXV. To be able to play such good quality opposition on a global stage outside of Asia is really important for the continued development of our programme, and I have no doubt that the squad will continue to keep up their positive attitude and seize the opportunities that are on the table.”
It is expected Hong Kong China will play at least one more international before the WXV gets underway.
Pool A
- Spain
- Hong Kong China
- Samoa
Pool B
- Fiji
- Netherlands
- Madagascar
Hong Kong China Women XV Schedule
Following Hong Kong China’s second-place finish in this year’s Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, they represent Asia in WXV2 and will play on the following dates:
- HKCR vs Fiji – Saturday 28 September 2024 (The Sevens 2 Field)
- HKCR vs Madagascar – Friday 4 October 2024(The Sevens 2 Field)
- HKCR vs Netherlands – Saturday 12 October 2024 (The Sevens 2 Field)
Details on the HKCR squad for WXV 2024 can be seen here.
Referees
Shanda Assmus (RC)
Natarsha Ganley (NZR)
Mélissa Leboeuf (FFR)
Jess Ling (RA)
Tyler Miller (RA)
Holly Wood (RFU)
Assistant Referee
Sunny Lee (HKCR)
TMOs
Rachel Horton (RA)
Dan Jones (RFU)
Oli Kellett (RA)
The match officials for all of the WXV matches in 2024 can be seen here.
ARSS and WXV Clash In 2024
It should be noted that the WXV tournaments do clash with the opening two rounds of the Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2024 (in terms of preparation and match days), with the three legs confirmed to be:
- ARSS 2024 Leg 1 Korea: September 7-8, Incheon Asiad Rugby Stadium, Incheon
- ARSS 2024 Leg 2 China: September 21-22, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou
- ARSS 2024 Leg 3 Thailand: November 9-10, Police Tero Stadium, Bangkok
How To Watch WXV 2024
More details are to be confirmed by World Rugby, but in 2023 all matches were made available on RugbyPassTV.
Women’s Rugby News 2024
- Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2024 – What To Know.
- Sunny Lee – A New Generation Of Rugby Match Official.
- WXV 2024 Details Confirmed.
- Olympic Games Paris 2024 – Rugby Sevens Pools.
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