WXV
| Most recent season or competition: 2024 WXV | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| First season | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 18 (6 in 3 divisions) |
| Country | Worldwide |
| Most recent champions |  England (WXV 1)Error creating thumbnail: Australia (WXV 2) File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain (WXV 3) |
| Official website | wxvrugby.com |
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WXV Global Series, formerly known simply as WXV, is an international annual women's rugby union competition between national teams. It was launched in 2023 as WXV,[1] featuring three tiers (WXV 1, WXV 2 and 3), each with six teams. In the original split-pool format, teams were divided into two pools and played only against teams from the opposite pool.[2] In September 2025, World Rugby announced the WXV Global Series, a two-tier, three-year programme running from 2026 to 2028. The series will feature more than 100 cross-regional matches and will form part of the qualification pathway for the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup.[3][4]
Background and original format (2023—2024)
[edit | edit source]With the expansion of the 2025 Rugby World Cup from 12 to 16 teams, the test calendar was restructured, with the WXV serving to revolutionise the women's international landscape.[5][6][7] WXV was announced on 16 March 2021 with the inaugural edition intended to begin in September 2022, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, it was pushed back to 2023 to accommodate the postponed 2021 Rugby World Cup. World Rugby said they would be investing £6.4 million in the tournament. It was played within an international window from September to October, except for Rugby World Cup years.[1]
Original three tier format: 2023–2024
[edit | edit source]Qualification
[edit | edit source]Teams could qualify through various regional competitions and both play-off and play-in fixtures for the three competition tiers. Each tier had designated regional slots allocated before the 2023 edition. From 2023 the allocation of the slots in tiers two and three may change based on the region of the champion team and the lowest-ranked team. The allocation of slots in tier would have changed from 2026, however the competition was re-formatted before this happened. There was no guarantee that a team will play in the same tier as they did in the year before.
WXV 1
[edit | edit source]In both the 2023 and 2024 WXV 1 the top three teams from that year's Six Nations Championship and Pacific Four Series qualified for WXV 1. From 2026, the bottom-ranked side's regional place would have been relegated to WXV 2 and the top WXV 2 side's regional place would have been promoted.[2][8]
WXV 2
[edit | edit source]In 2023, the fourth-placed team from the Six Nations Championship and Pacific Four Series qualified for WXV 2 alongside the champions of the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship, the Asia Rugby Women's Championship, and the Rugby Africa Women's Cup. Additionally, the winner of a playoff between the 5th placed team in the Six Nations and the champions of the Rugby Europe Women's Championship secured a place.[2][8]
Starting in 2023, the champion of WXV 3 had their regional place elevated to WXV 2, leading to the displacement of the regional place of the sixth-placed team, which was relegated to WXV 3 for the following tournament (2024). From 2026 onwards, this process would have also applied to the regional places of both the WXV 2 champion and the sixth-placed team in WXV 1.[2][8]
WXV 3
[edit | edit source]In 2023, the sixth-placed team from the Six Nations Championship, the runner-up in the playoff between the 5th placed team in the Six Nations and the champion of the Rugby Europe Women's Championship, the winner of a Play-in tournament between Colombia and Brazil, along with the runners-up from the respective regional tournaments in Asia, Africa, and Oceania, qualified for WXV 3.[2][8]
Beginning in 2023, the champion of WXV 3 saw their regional place promoted to tier two, displacing the regional place of the sixth-placed WXV 2 team for the following tournament (2024). The team that was sixth-placed at the end of the tournament had to compete in a playoff with the best non-competing side in the World Rugby Rankings to decide who will take the last place in WXV 3 for the following tournament.[2]
Tournament
[edit | edit source]In both 2023 and 2024, all tiers used a cross-pool format. Teams are divided into two pools of teams from the same region if possible. Teams will only play the opposition in the other pool.[2][8] WXV 3 was originally announced as a round-robin tournament consisting of four teams. However, this was later revised to also be a six-team cross-pool competition.
Results
[edit | edit source]WXV 1
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WXV 2
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WXV 3
[edit | edit source]| Ed. | Year | Host | Champion | Runner-up | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2023 | File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates | File:IRFU flag.svg Ireland | File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya | File:Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan | File:Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia |
| 2 | 2024 | File:Flag of Spain.svg Spain | File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa | File:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands | File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji | File:Flag of Hong Kong.svg Hong Kong China | File:Flag of Madagascar.svg Madagascar | |
| — | 2025 | No competition held due to the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup | ||||||
Global series format: 2026–
[edit | edit source]In September 2025, World Rugby announced a major re-structure of the WXV, launching the WXV Global Series.[3][4] The new format runs from 2026 to 2028 and is designed to give women's national teams a larger and more consistent schedule of international rugby.
18 national teams will compete across two competitions. The rankings to determine positions in the series were set at the end of 2024 WXV and teams will remain fixed in these throughout the 2026—2028 cycle
- The top 12 teams – Australia, Canada, England, France, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, the United States, and Wales – will play a cross-regional home-and-away league. Each team is scheduled for four to six fixtures a year during the September—October Test window.
- 6 emerging nations – Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong China, the Netherlands, Samoa and, Spain – will play a centrally funded annual tournament at a single host venue in 2026 and 2028.
In 2027, crossover matches between the two competitions will coincide with the British & Irish Lions Women's tour of New Zealand, giving additional opportunities for inter-tier play. Results from all three years will feed directly into the qualification pathway for the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup.[3][4]
References
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