WXV

WXV
Current season, competition or edition:; 2024 WXV
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	2021; 3 years ago
First season	2023; 1 year ago
No. of teams	18 (6 in 3 divisions)
Country	Worldwide
Most recent; champion(s)	England (WXV 1); Australia (WXV 2); Spain (WXV 3)
Official website	wxvrugby.com

WXV is an annual women's rugby union competition between national teams. Launched in 2023,^[1] the competition consists of three tiers (WXV 1, WXV 2, and WXV 3), each comprising six teams divided into two pools in a split pool format, where teams only face teams from the other pool.^[2]

Background

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.^[3]^[4]^[5] 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 will be investing £6.4 million in the tournament, and It is expected to be played within an international window from September to October, except for Rugby World Cup years.^[1]

Format

Qualification

Teams can qualify through various regional competitions and both play-off and play-in fixtures for the three competition tiers. Each tier has 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 one will only change from 2026. There is no guarantee that a team will play in the same tier as they did in the year before.

WXV 1

In both the inaugural and the upcoming 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 will be relegated to WXV 2 and the top WXV 2 side's regional place will be promoted.^[2]^[6]

WXV 2

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]^[6]

Starting in 2023, the champion of WXV 3 will have their regional place elevated to WXV 2, leading to the displacement of the regional place of the sixth-placed team, which will be relegated to WXV 3 for the following tournament (2024). From 2026 onwards, this process will also apply to the regional places of both the WXV 2 champion and the sixth-placed team in WXV 1.^[2]^[6]

WXV 3

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]^[6]

Beginning in 2023, the champion of WXV 3 will see 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 is sixth-placed at the end of the tournament will have 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

In 2023, 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]^[6] 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.