World Rugby has launched a revised format for the WXV Global Series, intended to transform the women’s rugby calendar and provide a clear pathway towards the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 in Australia.
The new format will see the world’s top 18 teams split into two groups, creating a regular programme of test rugby that delivers certainty for unions and drives long-term commercial growth in the women’s game.
Ireland in the Top 12
Ireland have been confirmed among the top 12 teams in the world — alongside Australia, Canada, England, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, USA, and Wales.
From 2026 to 2028, these sides will compete in a home-and-away, cross-regional touring model within a newly aligned September–October international window. Teams will play between four and six fixtures per season, facing opposition from across the northern and southern hemispheres.
Each will retain the commercial rights to their home fixtures, allowing the value of the women’s game to grow domestically and revenue to be reinvested into player pathways and national programmes.
This does, though, mean that England, with the broader commercial base and higher ceiling, is likely to continue to dominate.
On a positive note, this guarantees regular, high-quality competition against a diverse range of international opposition, building on the progress seen during the Guinness Women’s Six Nations last year’s WXV campaign and the Rugby World Cup.
Development Pathway
The second tier of the structure (teams ranked 13–18: Brazil, Fiji, Hong Kong China, Netherlands, Samoa, Spain) will compete in a single-location tournament in 2026 and 2028, fully funded by World Rugby. This centralised model aims to address financial barriers and support the global development of women’s rugby.
Rankings for the new cycle were fixed at the conclusion of WXV 2024, ensuring Ireland’s place among the leading nations for the next three years.
World Cup Qualification
The Global Series is fully integrated into the qualification pathway for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029. Four teams (Canada, England, France and New Zealand) have already qualified after reaching the semi-finals of RWC 2025. Additional places will be determined via results in the 2027 regional competitions (8 spots); World rankings at the end of the 2027 WXV Global Series (2 spots); and a final place from the 2028 WXV centralised competition for teams ranked 13–18, which will serve as the Final Qualification Tournament.
Building on Growth
The announcement comes at a time of unprecedented growth in women’s rugby. The Guinness Women’s Six Nations continues to set records, including a 58,498 attendance for England v France in 2023. Meanwhile, the ongoing Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 has attracted more than 300,000 fans through the gates and generated 435 million video views across World Rugby’s digital channels.
By formalising a global test schedule, World Rugby aims to capitalise on this momentum, ensuring elite competition for leading nations like Ireland, while providing a clear development pathway for emerging teams.
Over the three-year cycle, more than 100 international matches will be played under the WXV Global Series banner.
Image Credit Irish Rugby and Dan Sheridan, Inpho.ie
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