This change of structure comes as an opportunity to continue the rapid growth of university women’s rugby union and provide more players with the chance to play at the highest level while studying.
Since its inception in the 2019-20 season, the Women’s National League has played an instrumental role in the wider women’s rugby union structure. We have seen an impressive number of Women’s National League players go on to compete in Premier 15’s or on the international stage.
Just recently 34 players from the league past and present were called-up to represent their country in the TikTok Six Nations Championship 2023. All seven teams that have competed in the league since 2019-20 have representation. Read the full article here.
The new seven team format means that the 2022-23 relegation playoff scheduled to be between Durham and Cardiff will now not take place. This means that Cardiff (winners of the north vs south playoff) will gain automatic promotion into the league.
Cardiff joining the league will also see a change to the National Championship format, retaining the current three week schedule with the only adaptation being the team who wins the league getting a bye into a home semi final. The new round one format will be:
2nd vs 7th
3rd vs 6th
4th vs 5th (winner playing the league’s first placed team in the semi finals)
The addition of Cardiff will also mean that there will be no relegation at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. The first stage of discussion around the need for a north and south promotion play-off game to create an eight team league in the future will be scheduled for December 2023.
The BUCS Women’s National League Management Committee Chair, Rosie Williams OBE, said, “I am extremely excited to see the Women’s National League expand from six to seven teams from next season. The need for greater competition at the very top of the chain is something we have always been aware of. We are working hard with the RFU, SRU and WRU player development pathways to make sure that the playing of rugby union is a key part of the player journey and one that brings new women to the sport.
We hope that this expansion will create a league of higher quality, and opportunity for its players to progress onto bright futures on or off the field. We look forward to welcoming Cardiff into the Women’s National League next season.”
Download the full ‘Notice of Change’ here.
