World Rugby confirms Dubai UAE, as WXV 3 host

Dubai’s iconic The Sevens Stadium has been confirmed as the host of WXV 3 in its debut year. The competition will be played across the weekends of 14, 21 and 28 October.

Six teams will be heading to Dubai for WXV 3. Fiji, Ireland, Kazakhstan and Kenya have already confirmed their places, with two spots remaining to be filled by the winner of the two-leg play-off between Colombia and Brazil in Medellin, Colombia on 5 and 9 July and the loser of the play-off between Italy and Spain on 22 July in Piacenza, Italy.

The tournament will be supported by UAE Rugby Federation and hosted at The Sevens Stadium, which is no stranger to hosting world-class international competitions including the Emirates Dubai 7s and men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup qualifiers.

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World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby, Sally Horrox said: “We are excited to confirm Dubai as host of WXV 3. We have a longstanding relationship with the fantastic team at The Sevens Stadium and we can’t wait to work closely with them again as we bring women’s rugby to our fans in Asia once more.

“Competition is fierce as teams compete to secure their place. We look forward to seeing who joins Fiji, Ireland, Kenya and Kazakhstan in WXV 3.”

Mohamed Sultan AlZaabi, Secretary General, UAE Rugby Federation added: “The United Arab Emirates Rugby Federation is delighted to host the WXV3 event. As a host of the iconic Emirates Dubai Sevens, we look forward to becoming a hub for more world-level rugby events.

“This event also allows us to support the growth of women’s rugby which has seen a sharp increase and we hope it can also help inspire the next generation of players.

“We extend a warm welcome to all participating teams and fans, and believe we create an electrifying atmosphere that showcases the spirit of Rugby in the heart of the United Arab Emirates.”

Earlier this week, World Rugby announced that WXV 1 will be played in three cities across New Zealand in Wellington (Sky Stadium), Dunedin (Forsyth Barr Stadium) and Auckland (Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart). WXV 1 will run from 20 October to 4 November.

So far, England, France and Wales have secured their places in WXV 1 by virtue of their performances in the TikTok Women’s Six Nations 2023. They will be joined by the top three teams from this year’s World Rugby Pacific Four Series, which features Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA.

Japan, Samoa, Scotland and South Africa occupy four of the six spots in WXV 2 with the remaining two to be determined by the lowest-placed team in the Pacific Four Series and the winner of the Italy versus Spain play-off. An announcement regarding the venue for WXV 2 in Cape Town will be made shortly.

WXV is being supported by partners Mastercard, Capgemini and Gallagher, with World Rugby also injecting multi-million pound investment funding over an initial two-year period in the sprint to an expanded 16-team Rugby World Cup 2025 in England.