Big news for the XVs version of the Women's game which has been overshadowed by 7s of late:
Rugby Australia today launched the Super W Competition that will re-define the landscape for Women’s XVs Rugby in Australia, with the five-team competition to kick off in March 2018.
Australia’s five State representative teams; Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria, and Western Australia will compete around the country in a six-week competition which will conclude with a final in April.
The new Women’s National XVs competition, Super W, is the second national Women’s Competition to be launched this year after the successful first season of the Aon University Sevens Series that was held from August to September.
The Super W competition will provide greater opportunity for XVs players across the country, lift the standards of Rugby and re-define the pathway to the Buildcorp Wallaroos.
In a further exciting development for Women’s Rugby, Rugby Australia also today confirmed that it would bid for the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup, that if successful would see the 12 best Rugby nations descend on Aussie soil to fight for the global crown.
Outgoing Rugby Australia CEO, Bill Pulver said: “For a young girl picking up a Rugby ball for the first-time next season, she will now have a clear and accessible pathway to represent her country through the Buildcorp Wallaroos and Qantas Australian Women’s Sevens team.
“Super W will allow our Women’s XVs players the opportunity to play in a high-quality competition, fully entrenched within the professional programs at each state giving them access to elite Coaching and High-Performance facilities. This will make the Buildcorp Wallaroos a significantly stronger outfit moving forward.
“The pathway is now complete in both with the Aon University Sevens Series and Super W working in tandem to provide elite opportunities for players in both formats of the game.”
“Bidding for the Women’s Rugby World Cup I hope signifies to the community how serious we are about making Rugby a game for all and growing female participation. If we are successful with our bid, it will have an immediate and significant impact on Women’s Rugby.”
“The Australian Rugby community has been incredibly proud of the growth of the Women’s Game in recent times and I know that this crucial competition is going to supercharge this growth in future years.”
Qantas Australia Women’s Sevens Co-Captain and Buildcorp Wallaroos Captain, Shannon Parry said: “I am really proud and excited about this competition launching next year and what this means for the game in Australia.
“Since I started playing Rugby in Brisbane the game has come along in leaps and bounds and this competition means that there is opportunity now for all XVs players and Sevens players at the elite level.
“It’s going to be great to see Women’s State teams slug it out against each other and will open a lot of girls’ eyes up to the opportunities for them in Rugby.
“I have played in three Women’s Rugby World Cups and I know that we would be amazing hosts for the tournament.
Australians love putting on a sporting show when we host major tournaments and events and it would be huge to bring the pinnacle of Women’s XVs Rugby to our shores.”