World Rugby prepares to launch new global women’s tournament
WORLD Rugby has launched a new three-tier global women’s tournament as it seeks to make the game more competitive ahead of the expanded 16-team 2025 Rugby World Cup.
WXV, the annual competition, will start in 2023 and has initially been backed by £6.4m investment from the governing body over the first two years.
The 16-team model will be hosted in a new September-October international competition window, except in a World Cup year. Each standalone tiered tournament will be played in one location, while qualification for tiers will be determined on an annual basis.
World Rugby say the launch underscores “its commitment to increase competition, commercial and fan engagement opportunities while raising competitiveness of the women’s game on the road to an expanded 16team Rugby World Cup 2025”.
Entry into the competition will be via finishing positions in annual regional tournaments.
WXV 1, the top tier, will feature six teams with each side playing three games. The leading three teams from the Six Nations and the top three from a new qualifying competition featuring Australia, Canada, New Zealand and USA will qualify for the top band.
There will initially be no relegation from this tier, with the finals tournament played in a single location.
WXV 2 also has six teams, and will comprise two teams from Europe, the fourth-placed country from the cross-regional tournament featuring Oceania and North American teams, and one side each from Oceania, Asia and Africa. The sixth-placed team in WXV 2 at the end of each season will be relegated to WXV 3.
WXV 3 will be made up of four teams in a round-robin format, including two more teams from Europe, one from Asia and the winner of an Africa v South America play-off. The winner and rankings of this tier will be determined by a points table, with the top side to WXV 2.
Referencing the fact women’s international sides are at various stages of development, with few like England and New Zealand being fully professional, World Rugby says it is “committed to work in partnership with unions to support collective ambitions to progress women’s high-performance programmes forward in a realistic and appropriate pace of development to ensure optimal performance within the WXV”.
World Rugby will also work with all remaining 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.
The 2021 Rugby World Cup, which is being staged in New Zealand and features 12 teams, was postponed by a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is likely to take place in October and November next year.
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “This is a landmark moment for the sport. Today’s earning promotion
announcement of a new, global international 15s calendar will underpin the future success and accelerate the development of the women’s game.
“By establishing a unified international 15s calendar and introducing WXV we are creating a platform for the women’s international teams to compete in more consistent, competitive and sustainable competitions at regional and global level.
“At the same time, we are also growing the profile, fan base and commercial revenue, generating opportunities for women’s rugby through the new Women in Rugby commercial programme.
“This is an ambitious, longterm commitment to make the global game more competitive, to grow the women’s game and support the expansion of Rugby World Cup to 16 teams from 2025 and beyond.”
World Rugby competitions operations manager Alison Hughes said work has been ongoing with unions, regions and other stakeholders over two years to develop the calendar and competition offering.
JUST four months ago, the chances of Wales winning a Six Nations Grand Slam appeared in the same ball-park as Wayne Pivac being hit by a lump of space debris.
Mind you, Pivac’s fortunes seemed so bleak back then it wouldn’t have been wholly surprising had a flaming meteorite of the sort that landed in Gloucester recently descended upon him.
Whatever, Wales will travel to Paris to play for a championship clean sweep next weekend, with Saturday’s win over Italy having kept their challenge right on track.
The 48-7 success involved seven tries and a number of excellent individual displays.
We run through the winners and losers, with associated Six Nations events and utterances thrown into the mix as well...
WINNERS DAN BIGGAR
THE man has over the years.
Many would have liked to have seen Callum Sheedy given the starting berth against a milder challenge in Rome than other Six Nations fixtures.
But there was so much that was good about Biggar’s performance against Italy.
He just appeared a man who knew what to do.
His tactical appreciation was spoton and he made the right calls over when to kick and when to run, the art of the fly-half. He knew when to press on the accelerator and when to ease off.
When he plays well, Wales tend to do so, too, and he had a fine game on Saturday. Hats should be tipped in acknowledgement.
KEN OWENS
shipped enough flak
THERE was much social media love for the Wales hooker after his contribution in Rome.
It wasn’t just his stirring pre-match rendition of Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau alongside another wonderfully enthusiastic anthem singer in Alun Wyn Jones – well received though their melodious efforts were.
It was his startling all-round performance during the game which prompted more appreciation still.
Two tries, a grubber kick, 100 percent line-out accuracy and some mightily physical tackling and carrying added up to a big shift from the west Walian.
“Ken Owens is the true king of Carmarthen,” said one poster on
Twitter.
“Ken Owens made a strong claim for starting hooker for the Lions today,” reckoned another.
The second of those tweets is bang on the money, and possibly the first as well, without being fully acquainted with the royal bloodline situation in the great west Wales town.
No other No. 2 available to Warren Gatland this summer is playing as well as Owens right now.
When he wasn’t around in the autumn, Wales foundered.
That tells you all you need to know.
JAKE BALL
THERE was nothing Hollywood about it – a couple of tackles, four carries and few rucks hit with trademark force, compressed into 27 minutes.
But, still, Jake Ball would have savoured his 50th cap.
Welsh rugby did well over the line.
He’s leaving for Australia in the summer and there had been a dot of concern that his Wales career might end with the big man stranded one shy of his half-century.
It was good to see him then.
For, when he’s not clocking his captain, he’s an absolute gent, is Jake Ball.
He’s always been helpful to the media, polite and willing to talk, a player who doesn’t view that side of his job as a chore.
And he’s always given everything and then a bit more for Wales.
Forget the blackening of Alun Wyn Jones’ eye the other day. Such things happen in training when players are battling for shirts and stakes are raised. The pair didn’t take long to shake on the matter and put it behind them.
Jones the first to haul him get there, probably would have been to pat Ball on the back on
Saturday evening.
The rest of us can from afar.
Whether he gets to feature for Wales or not in the Grand Slam encounter with France, he’s been a fine servant for Welsh rugby.
DAVID FLATMAN
LOOK, he didn’t do any TV work on the Italy v Wales game, so there’ll be some wondering what he’s doing featuring in this article.
Well, his mother’s from Pontypool and he just happens to be one of the best rugby pundits in the business right now.
What’s especially enjoyable about him is that he’s free from bias. You can tell he’s English by his accent, but there’s not much else that gives him away.
The same goes for Sam Warburton where being Welsh is concerned.
Flatman has his moments as a bit of a wit, too, evident during the England v France match, while his technical knowledge and sharp-end experience allow him to impart the all-important quality of insight.
Let’s sum up and say his efforts make the viewing experience more enjoyable.
JOSH NAVIDI
THE quickest way wish him to come well unstuck in Rome is to forget about the unglamorous work and focus solely on the fancy stuff. Navidi never does that. Nor do Alun Wyn Jones, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau and Ken Owens.
All have been excellent in this Six Nations but it was Navidi’s turn to receive the official man-of-the-match gong this time.
His effort was typically built on multiple tackles – 19 of them, according to the first draft of stats – gritty work at the breakdown and uncomplaining graft around the field: at one stage he even appeared to cop an elbow around the face or throat area yet didn’t bat an eyelid.
There are selfless rugby and then there’s Navidi.
No-one seems to mention him Lions mix.
But Warren highly.
Much more of this and he’ll be there or thereabouts to be in Gatland’s squad.
Gatland
STEPHEN JONES
players rates in him
WAYNE Pivac and Gethin Jenkins have deservedly earned plaudits in this campaign for their work as Wales coaches.
But the tries. That side have also scored 17 suggests Stephen Jones is making a significant mark, too. Again, credit where credit’s due. Those scores haven’t happened by chance.
We have to assume Jones’ work behind the scenes is paying dividends.
ITALY LOSERS
ITALY U20s gave Wales a comprehensive beating in the Six Nations last year.
They were strong up front, control behind and were fully of their success.
Their performance suggested potentially brighter times ahead for the senior side.
But this year has been a catastrophe and patience is wearing thin.
Saturday’s loss to Wales was Italy’s 31st Six Nations defeat in a row and they haven’t won a home game in the competition since 2013.
This term they have leaked 48 points a game on average with their line crossed 26 times overall.
A game against them gives opponents a chance to either rest players from the start or pull off individuals in advance of tougher tests ahead. That isn’t how it should be. For the Azzurri and Italian rugby generally, these are desperately worrying times. had deserving
HE’LL play against weekend and he had half against Italy.
But he’ll be annoyed at his failure to complete a brace of touchdowns.
A momentary delay in grounding saw the officials rule that a foot had strayed into touch, meaning Adams’ claim for a try was disallowed. It was a borderline call, microscopic, even.
And let no-one say it’s been luck all the way for Wales in this Six Nations.
Yet some still expressed bemusement that the Welsh left wing had failed to convert a chance he normally wouldn’t expect to have too much trouble making the most of.
Adams wouldn’t have seen the funny side.
Just as a prop finds it hard to banish memories of the opposition winning a single scrum against the head, so a wing can find it hard to exorcise thoughts of the golden opportunity that went begging.
But he has enough
France next a decent first credit in the bank, and there’s always the chance to atone against France in Paris on Saturday.
Do the business out there and recollections of his faux-pas in Rome will be wiped out.
MATT FAGERSON
LET’S finish with a word on Scotland’s No. 8, who has taken to the pages of Rugby World magazine to have a pop at Wales prop Wyn Jones for feeling the need to reel backwards after being hit in the head or face area by a charge from his 6ft 2in, 19st 12lb brother Zander Fagerson.
The incident happened at Murrayfield on February 13.
But it’s evidently Scottish minds.
“If Wyn Jones doesn’t roll around on the floor... that was pathetic. He appeals to the ref, got nothing and then stayed on the floor,” says Matt, showing admirable sibling loyalty, if not obvious appreciation of the force with which Jones was hit by brother still exercising
Zander, who ran at him from 10 metres or so.
Let’s be clear. Jones isn’t a player who has made a career of rolling around on the floor and indulging in pathetic behaviour. So let’s say Fagerson junior’s choice of words was poor.
Rugby is either serious about deterring head knocks or it is not. He acknowledges himself that “by the letter of the law that is red” before suggesting there has to be more common sense in the disciplinary process.
Here’s the thing, though: anyone connecting with an illegal clear-out of the sort Zander Fagerson came up with against Wales deserves to be punished with the kind of ban which came the prop’s way.
Ireland’s Peter O’Mahony should have been suspended for longer after his hit on Tomas Francis in Cardiff in round one, too.
Jones has absolutely nothing to reproach himself over.