Premier 15s relaunched as Premiership Women's Rugby
The next season's league will feature 10 teams
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Premier 15s, the top women's rugby competition, has been rebranded as Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) and is set to embark on a 10-year plan aimed at advancing women's rugby in England.
Belinda Moore, the newly appointed chief executive officer, will lead the transformation. The initiative involves the establishment of a fresh 10-team league formed through a collaboration between Premiership Women's Rugby, the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and the participating clubs.
Since its inception in 2017, the Premier 15s has witnessed Saracens and Harlequins dominating the competition, claiming all the championship titles until the most recent season which saw Gloucester-Hartpury claim the championship.
In the upcoming season, the league will include the reigning champions Gloucester-Hartpury, along with Exeter, Loughborough, Bristol, Harlequins, and Saracens. Sale and Worcester have received conditional invitations to join the league after being excluded from the initial tender process in December, along with Leicester and Ealing.
"Our ambition is to transform the league into the world's most competitive, progressive, and sustainable domestic rugby competition," Moore said.
"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 which 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."
