New international women's competition offers qualification for 2025 Rugby World Cup; England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland will play across the tiered structure; WXV begins on October 13 and runs to November 4
Friday 13 October 2023 09:55, UK
World Rugby has launched a new three-tier annual women’s international competition, WXV, with all home nations in action from Friday October 13.
There are three tiers, each with six teams - WXV 1, WXV 2 and WXV 3. Each tier is played as a stand alone tournament in a different location, with WXV 1 in New Zealand, WXV 2 in South Africa, and WXV 3 in Dubai.
WXV 1: Australia, Canada, England, France, New Zealand, Wales.
WXV 2: Italy, Japan, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, USA.
WXV 3: Colombia, Fiji, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Spain.
It's a cross-pool format, meaning teams don't play everyone in their tier, instead taking on three nations from outside their continent (with the exception of Ireland vs Spain).
There will be no relegation from WXV 1 for the first two years, but the sixth-placed team from WXV 2 will be relegated to WXV 3 and replaced by the winner of the third tier.
The bottom-placed team from WXV 3 will be at risk of leaving the competition and face a play-off with the next best side according to the World Rugby Women's Rankings.
Teams qualify for WXV through their different regional competitions, with a certain number of spots given to each continent in each tier. For example, the top three European teams compete in WXV 1, and this is determined by the Six Nations standings.
WXV says it will 'revolutionise' international women's rugby by providing a pathway for all unions to compete, as well as offering a springboard towards the expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup in 2025.
It brings the chance of qualification for the World Cup, with at least the six top-ranked, non-qualified teams at the end of the 2024 competition securing a place for England 2025.
The international 15s calendar has been unified, producing a stronger, more compelling platform for players, broadcasters and fans.
The women's World Rugby calendar now has two windows, with regional competitions completed by the end of July, and WXV running in October and November.
The WXV commences on Friday October 13 with Italy vs Japan in WXV 2, and then runs for three weeks until Saturday November 4.
The final match of the competition is New Zealand vs England, with the two nations meeting for the first time since the thrilling Rugby World Cup final in 2021.
England (WXV 1)
England vs Australia - Friday 20 October (kick-off 7am BST)
England vs Canada - Friday 27 October (kick-off 7am BST)
New Zealand vs England - Saturday 4 November (kick-off 7am BST)
Wales (WXV 1)
Wales vs Canada - Saturday 21 October (kick-off 4am BST)
New Zealand vs Wales - Saturday 28 October (kick-off 4am BST )
Australia vs Wales - Friday 3 November (kick-off 6am BST)
Scotland (WXV 2)
South Africa vs Scotland - Friday October 13 (kick-off 3.30pm BST)
Scotland vs USA - Friday 20 October (kick-off 1pm BST)
Scotland vs Japan - Friday 27 October (kick-off 1pm BST)
Ireland (WXV 3)
Ireland vs Kazakhstan - Friday October 13 (kick-off 4.30pm BST)
Ireland vs Colombia - Saturday 21 October (kick-off 2pm BST)
Ireland vs Spain - Saturday 28 October (kick-off 2pm BST)
