Premiership Women's Rugby: New dawn for elite game in England

The launch of Premiership Women’s Rugby has been hailed as a new era with the aim of making England home to the most competitive, progressive and sustainable domestic rugby competition in the world, reckoned chief executive Belinda Moore.

PWR is replacing the Premier 15s and will manage the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby club competition, which kicks off in the autumn.

PWR has been established to deliver a 10-year strategy for women’s rugby in England, which includes starting a new 10-team league in partnership with the RFU and the clubs.

Women’s rugby is already seeing a steady rise in popularity with a record crowd of 9,668 watching Gloucester-Hartpury beat Exeter 34-19 in the Allianz Premier 15s final at ‘Queensholm’ – Kingsholm having been rebranded for the day – on Saturday.

Additionally, a record-breaking crowd of 58,498 watched England lift their fifth successive Six Nations crown after beating France at Twickenham in April, and PWR chief Moore has outlined the aims for the new competition.

She said: “Our ambition is to transform the league into the world’s most competitive, progressive, and sustainable domestic rugby competition. Elite women’s rugby in England has never been in a stronger place. We have just seen Gloucester-Hartpury win the Allianz Premier 15s with a thrilling victory over Exeter Chiefs, in front of a record crowd at the newly-named Queensholm.

“The final was the culmination of a season that has confirmed that we have strong player talent depth as the foundation to grow the league over the next decade.

“The new era starts today, and the competition’s new look and feel is designed to be powerful, dynamic, and eye-catching. It aims to capture the excitement and high energy of the league, the players, the fans, and the sport as a whole.”