Victoria women will get their first opportunity to compete on the national stage in the traditional format of the sport after Rugby Australia announced a new five-team women’s competition on Wednesday.
The Super W competition, to kick off in March 2018, will re-define the landscape for Women’s XVs Rugby in Australia, with Victoria to play against the ACT, Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.
The five state representatives 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 with both 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.”
