Women’s 15s WXV Global Rugby Competition Launches in 2023

World Rugby has announced a new women’s 15s global rugby (WXV) competition on March 16th, 2021, which will see sixteen national teams compete in a three-tier competition from 2023.

World Rugby said that the new structure will underscore its “commitment to increase competition, commercial and fan engagement opportunities while raising the competitiveness of the women’s game on the road to an expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup 2025.”

World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “This is a landmark moment for the sport. Today’s announcement of a new, global international 15s calendar will underpin the future success and accelerate the development of the women’s game.”

At an online press conference, World Rugby’s Alan Gilpin (Interim Chief Executive), Alison Hughes (World Rugby Competitions Operations Manager)and Katie Sadleir (World Rugby General Manager of Women’s Rugby) outlined the plans for their plans to take the women’s game forward.

The new sixteen-team, three-tier WXV global competition has the financial backing from World Rugby to the tune of £6.4 million in its first two years.

What is the new WXV global competition?

World Rugby Competitions Operations Manager, Alison Hughes said: “We have been working in collaboration with our member unions, regions and other key stakeholders over the past two years, developing the unified global international 15s calendar and competition offering.

“To grow the game at elite level we need to ensure our member unions have quality, competitive and consistent playing opportunities so they can continue to develop and invest in their women’s high-performance programmes.”

• Unified international 15s calendar to comprise of two playing windows on an annual basis, optimising player welfare and performance, and be hosted within a new September-October global competition window, except in a Rugby World Cup year.
• Ground-breaking global international 15s calendar set to accelerate the development of women’s game ahead of expanded RWC 2025.
• WXV will be supported by the new Women in Rugby commercial programme.
• WXV offers hosts diversified revenue-generating opportunities.

Photo Credit: World Rugby – The WXV competition includes Six Nations teams

What teams will play in the Women’s XV Global competition?

World Rugby announced that nations will qualify annually into the WXV competitions “courtesy of their finishing positions within the respective existing annual regional competitions, such as the Women’s Six Nations.”

These regional competitions, played within a new regional window, must be completed by June each year. There are three tiers: WXV 1, 2 and 3.

Cross-regional Tournament

A new annual cross-region competition will also be established which “will act as one of the principal qualification routes for the top tier of WXV.”

The governing body said that “this represents a huge step forward, providing a regular annual international competition for these teams, where previously there was none.”

This cross-region competition will feature:

• Australia
• Canada
• New Zealand
• USA

World Rugby General Manager of Women’s Rugby, Katie Sadleir said: “Through consultation and partnership we will work with unions to support the development of high-performance pathways as they develop their women’s programmes while supporting the overarching ambition of global growth.” She added:

“In addition, with WXV as a key component of the Women in Rugby commercial programme, it is opening up diversified investment opportunities to grow investment into the women’s game.”

Photo Credit: World Rugby – WXV will be a great chance for Asian nations to compete at the top level

WXV 1

WXV 1 will consist of six teams and be played in a cross-pool format, at a standalone tournament in one location, which will be determined on a year-by-year basis. This will be played at the end of October each year.

Participating teams will include:

• Top three teams from the Women’s Six Nations (Europe).
• The top three teams of the cross-regional tournament featuring Australia,  Canada, New Zealand and the USA (Oceania/Rugby Americas North (RAN).

There will be no promotion or relegation in the first cycle of WXV 1.

WXV 2

The WXV 2 competition will consist of six teams, playing in a cross-pool format, as a standalone tournament in one location, which will be determined on a year-by-year basis. The dates for each year will be confirmed.

Participating teams for 2023 will include:

• Two teams from Europe.
• The fourth-placed team from the cross-regional tournament featuring Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA (Oceania/RAN).
• One team from Oceania.
• One team from Asia.
• One team from Africa.

The sixth-placed regional position in the WXV 2 competition at the end of each season will be relegated to WXV 3.

WXV 3

WXV 3 will be hosted in one venue as a round-robin format and will consist of four teams with the winner and rankings determined by a points table. The dates for each year will be confirmed.

Participating teams will include:

• Two teams from Europe.
• One team from Asia.
• Winner of an Africa v South America play-off.

The top-ranked regional position in the WXV 3 competition will be promoted to the WXV 2 competition at the end of each season.

A play-off between the fourth-ranked team and the next best-ranked team from the World Rugby Women’s Rankings will determine the regional position for the next year.

What does the WXV mean for Asian Teams?

Based on the three tiers above, Asian teams will feature in WXV 2 and 3. We assume these will come from the top two teams from the Asia Rugby Championship.

At the press conference, Katie Sadleir told Rugby Asia 247 on being asked how this competition will help the women’s game in Asia:

“We are excited by whats happening in Asia and the numbers in the women’s game are astronomical in the region. There is an Impact Beyond Program linked to 2021 and the RWC which has been delayed to 2022. There are also strong tournaments in Asia-Pacific and we will work with them on high-performance to lift their game”.

Photo Credit: Asia Rugby

How will the WXV  be broadcast or streamed?

We also asked Katie Sadleir if the tournament already has plans to be streamed, and Katie said: “It is still being worked on and the aim is for it to be accessible all over and to make sure young girls and boys can watch as much rugby as possible”.

World Rugby is working on the broadcast plans and will announce more details on broadcast and streaming options closer to the time.

World Rugby’s Alan Gilpin repeated that free to air and streaming options are all being considered but World Rugby wants the maximum number of people to view the rugby in WXV.

Women in Rugby Commercial Programme

The WXV competition programme will be supported by a dedicated Women in Rugby commercial programme. This will set out to “actively further profile, engagement and sustainable growth, driving revenue back into the development of the game” and is supporting another key objective of the Women in Rugby Plan 2017-25.”

World Rugby will “work with all high-performance teams, outside of the global competitions, to coordinate matches, should they wish to do so, within the global competition window, either in their own region or cross-regional.”

More details will be announced but World Rugby said there is huge interest in the WXV and from partners that are keen to get involved and support the women’s game.

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