World Rugby and 18 national unions launch landmark WXV Global Series to harness the strength of women’s rugby, provide certainty of fixtures and a pathway to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029.

WXV Global Series set to transform the international calendar and fuel momentum from Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 towards 2029 and beyond

Will feature the world’s best 18 teams in a fixture schedule with over 100 matches between 2026-28

Top 12 teams to compete in home-and-away touring model. Teams 13-18 will compete at a single destination, funded by World Rugby

New structure creates greater opportunity for Unions to host home matches, fuel fan and commercial growth, and provides certainty of competition on the road to Women’s Rugby World Cup Australia 2029

World Rugby, national member unions and the International Rugby Players Association have launched WXV Global Series, a bold new international fixture series that will transform the global women’s rugby calendar and serve as a central pillar of the qualification pathway to Women’s Rugby World Cup Australia 2029.

The WXV Global Series introduces a new format featuring the top 18 national teams in the world, delivering certainty, increased meaningful competition and calendar harmony, driving long-term performance and commercial sustainability in the women’s game.

The top 12 teams (Australia, Canada, England, France, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, USA, Wales) will compete in a home-and-away, cross-regional touring model within a newly aligned September – October international window. Significantly, unions will retain domestic commercial rights to their home fixtures, recognising the importance of growing the value of the women’s game in each country, and supporting reinvestment in player pathways and national programmes.

Meanwhile, teams 13-18 (Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong China, Netherlands, Samoa, Spain) will play their fixtures in a single destination in 2026 and 2028, funded by World Rugby, addressing financial challenges, and supporting development. Rankings to determine positions in the Series were set at the end of WXV 2024 and teams will remain fixed in these through the 2026–28 cycle, as agreed with participating unions.

Additionally, the WXV Global Series is fully aligned with the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 qualification pathway, offering clear progression opportunities for teams across both levels and all six of World Rugby’s regions.

The structure of the 2027 season will allow teams to face new opponents, with additional fixtures for unions not involved in the British and Irish Lions Women’s Tour to New Zealand.

Women’s rugby is a major driver of rugby’s global growth, attracting new fans, new investment and new media engagement. The first iteration of WXV provided more competitive games for participating Unions and raised performance standards ahead of RWC 2025. Fandom is also growing rapidly with the Guinness Women’s Six Nations continuing to break records, including a record crowd of 58,498 for England v France in 2023 and a sell-out crowd in Kansas City for USA v Canada in the Pacific Four Series. Most recently, Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 has seen more than 300,000 fans in attendance and over 435 million video views across World Rugby channels as we enter the tournament’s final stages.

The WXV Global Series will capitalise on this growth trajectory and strengthen elite competition, drive participation, and build long-term sustainability for women’s rugby worldwide.

WXV Global Series overview

18 national teams across two competitions

Top 12 teams to play in a home-and-away cross-regional model from 2026–28

Teams will play between four and six fixtures annually within the new September–October test window

Teams 13-18 to compete in a funded, centralised annual tournament hosted at a single destination

Cross-over fixtures to take place in 2027 around the British and Irish Lions Women’s Tour

Over 100 international matches to be played across the three-year cycle

Touring unions retain commercial rights to home fixtures

Integrated into the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 qualification pathway

In addition to Australia as host union, qualification for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia will be determined through a combination of: RWC 2025 standings (with Canada, England, France and New Zealand having qualified after making the semi-finals), eight teams through 2027 regional competition results, two teams through world rankings at the end of the 2027 Global Competition Window, and one final spot decided by the WXV Global Series 2028 centrally hosted competition for teams 13-18, which will function as a Final Qualification Tournament (FQT).

World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: “The launch of the WXV Global Series marks another landmark moment for the women’s game, following what will be an era-defining Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, that will change the global landscape for women’s rugby.”

“It delivers on our commitment to raise standards, provide consistent and competitive fixtures, a clear international calendar that prioritises welfare, and create sustainable commercial outcomes for the women’s game globally. Working closely with players and unions, this model creates the platform for women’s rugby to reach its full potential on and off the field.

World Rugby Director of High Performance Nicky Ponsford, also commented: “This announcement builds on the growing momentum in women’s rugby. With the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in England set to be the most attended and most viewed tournament in history, we now look ahead to the semi-final weekend with real excitement.”

“The WXV Global Series offers unions, players and domestic leagues certainty for the next three years. It will also support the development of teams ensuring quality competition across the cycle.”