Women's rugby league

Women's rugby league is the female-only version of rugby league overseen internationally by the Women & Girls Rugby League.

Not to be confused with Women's rugby union.
Women's rugby league
Highest governing bodyRugby League International Federation
NicknamesRugger, Footy
Characteristics
ContactFull Contact
Team membersThirteen
Mixed-sexSingle
TypeTeam sport, Outdoor
EquipmentRugby ball
VenueRugby league playing field

The sport has growing popularity Australia, France, Great Britain, and New Zealand, countries who regularly compete in the Women's Rugby League World Cup which has been in operation since 2000.

Governing Bodies

Women's & Girls Rugby League

The Women's & Girls Rugby League is the international governing body of women's rugby league and was established in 2000 in conjunction with the first Women's Rugby League World Cup.

The organisation currently oversees the running of the international game for women's rugby league and helps organise rugby league domestically in several countries.

Australian Women's Rugby League
Main article: Women's rugby league in Australia

The Australian Women's Rugby League is the governing body of female rugby league in Australia and other parts of Oceania and was established in 1993. It currently falls under the Australian Rugby League which oversees its running and management but it took the association five years to be recognized by the ARL.

The AWRL is run at state level by its own governing organisations in the Queensland Women's Rugby League, New South Wales Women's Rugby League, Canberra Women's Rugby League and the Western Australian Women's Rugby League. The main women's competitions in Australia are the National Rugby League Women's Premiership, Sydney Metropolitan Women's Rugby League and the Brisbane and District Women's Rugby League.

The AWRL also runs the Australia women's national rugby league team.

Rugby Football League
Main article: Women's rugby league in the British Isles

The Rugby Football League is the governing body of female rugby league in the United Kingdom; although some activity is run by the independent Women's Amateur Rugby League Association established in 1985. With women's rugby becoming increasingly popular, the RFL has seen itself take more control in running women's competitions.

At the beginning of the 2006 season there were between thirty and forty female only rugby league clubs running in England, not including clubs that have teams of both sexes.[1] The majority of these clubs are located in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

The RFL began control of the female sport in 2013 with the launch of the RFL Women's Rugby League. This became the RFL Women's Super League in 2017 as the top level women's rugby league competition in the United Kingdom.

At international level the Great Britain women's national rugby league team represented the whole of Great Britain, however in 2006 the RFL announced that after the 2007 All Golds Tour the Great Britain team would no longer compete on a regular basis, favouring national teams for the home nations of England, Scotland, and Wales.

New Zealand Rugby League

Women's rugby league in New Zealand is controlled by the New Zealand Rugby League. The national side is called the Kiwi Ferns. The NZRL Women's National Tournament is a competition for female rugby league teams. Women have been playing rugby in New Zealand since the 19th century.[2]

Domestic competitions

Australia

Each state has their own games and competitions, and the Women's NRL is the top tier national competition.

State of Origin is a state representative series played by Queensland and New South Wales. The series only consists of three matches. Each match is played at a different ground, Stadium Australia in Sydney, Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, and a third venue which alternates between Queensland and New South Wales each year. The team who wins two of the three games wins the State of Origin cup.

Great Britain
Main article: British rugby league system § Women's structure

The top tier of rugby league in Great Britain is the RFL Women's Super League which operates a promotion and relegation system with the RFL Women's Championship below it. The Women's Challenge Cup is Great Britain's primary cup competition.

International

The following list of nations that compete, or have competed, internationally in women's rugby league. Table last updated: 21 November 2022.

NationMonikerRLIF
Rank[3]		VenuesMatchesRecordDebutMost
Recent
HANWDLForAgstOrdDateOpponentReport
 Argentina1901010010481925/11/2018 Brazil[4]2018
 AustraliaJillaroos128181258340241,62584511/07/1995 New Zealand[5][6]2022
 BrazilAmazonas171124103681641925/11/2018 Argentina[4]2022
 CanadaRavens6155115061783361716/11/2017 New Zealand[7][8]2022
 Cook IslandsMoana1103912417142466628/09/2003 New Zealand[9]2022
 EnglandLionessess31319739271111,184462117/07/2007 France[10]2022
 FijiBulikula12201310228120420/09/1998 Australia[11][12]2019
 France513893031262841,126117/07/2007 England[10]2022
 Great BritainLionessessNR4104187110245338321/07/1996 Australia[13][14]2003
 Greece18120320140442314/09/2019 Turkey[15][16]2022
 Ireland14121430168802517/10/2021 Wales[17]2022
 Italy132406204681681525/02/2017 Lebanon[18]2022
 LebanonJunipers2010010010221525/02/2017 Italy[18]2017
 MaltaDames—0011100602723/10/2022 Philippines[19]2022
 New ZealandKiwi Ferns223171757470101,98655711/07/1995 Australia[6][20]2022
New Zealand MāoriWahine ToaNR7511360723827451/10/2002 New Zealand[21]2017
 NiueNR015611462220830/09/2003 New Zealand Māori[9]2020
 Pacific IslandsNR014520376164136/11/2008 New Zealand[22]2008
 Papua New GuineaOrchids4217103071543001716/11/2017 England[23][24]2022
 PhilippinesSampaguitas—0011001062723/10/2022 Malta[19][25]2022
 RussiaNR014520350220136/11/2008 England[26]2008
 SamoaFetu Samoa16131014608300368628/09/2003 Great Britain[9]2020
 Serbia82204004101142222/06/2019 Italy[27][28]2022
 TokelauNR015620496170830/09/2003 Cook Islands[9]2003
 TongaHakula Tonga100111121110146408830/09/2003 Samoa[9]2022
 Turkey940042026680215/01/2019 France[29][30]2022
 United StatesRedtails15010100110422616/04/2022 Canada[31]2022
 Wales732052031341222425/06/2021 England[32][33]2022

Notes:

  • In the Venues columns H: Home, A: Away, N: Neutral.
  • The tally of For and Against points for England and France excludes one Test Match, their first meeting in 2007.
  • A Great Britain women's rugby league team toured France in 1989 but played only touch football games against French women. They did play a tackle match against a men's Under 21 team, losing 4–10.[34][35]
  • The 2000 World Cup programme lists previous Test series occurring between 1995 and 1999.[35]
  • An article previewing the 2007 match between England and France mentions that it was the first international to be played by an English or Great Britain side since the 2003 World Cup.[10]
  • Jamaica played in a Nines tournament in 2019 (with Canada and Ontario teams), but is yet to play in a full international.

Women's Rugby League World Cup
Main article: Women's Rugby League World Cup

The Women's Rugby League World Cup was first held in Great Britain during 2000 to coincide with men's Rugby League World Cup with Australia, Great Britain and eventual winners New Zealand competing.[36] New Zealand also won the second and third World Cups: a nine team tournament held at North Harbour Stadium, in the Auckland suburb of Albany in 2003; and an eight team tournament held at the Sunshine Coast Stadium and, for the final, Suncorp Stadium in 2008.[37][38]

In the 2013 World Cup, the Australian Jillaroos won the cup, breaking New Zealand's 13 year winning streak.[39] Australia again beat New Zealand in the 2017 World Cup Final.[40]

The World Cup is played every 4 years. Delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent World Cup included eight teams and was held in November 2022 in England. It was played alongside Men's and Wheelchair tournaments.[41] Australia won the tournament for the third time, all three in succession.[42]

The next World Cup will be played in France in 2025 with sixteen participating teams, and be held alongside Men's, Wheelchair and a Youth World Cup.[43][44]

See also

References
  1. "Women's rugby league". news.bbc.co.uk. 7 September 2005. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  2. "History". www.communityrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
  3. "World Rankings - Women". IRL. 8 July 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  4. "Brazil win inaugural South American Cups". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 26 Nov 2018. Retrieved 18 Apr 2021.
  5. Scholes, Gary (9 Jul 1995). "NZ men's defeat motivates women". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 12. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  6. "Kiwi Ferns - Past Results". NZRL. 30 Sep 2020. Retrieved 7 Oct 2020.
  7. France, Marvin (16 Nov 2017). "Kiwi Ferns blow out the cobwebs with big win over Canada in World Cup opener". stuff. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  8. "Kiwi Ferns Vs Canada - Women's RLWC 2017 Highlights". YouTube. Rugby League World Cup. 16 Nov 2017. Retrieved 30 Sep 2020.
  9. Francis, Payne (2003). New Zealand Rugby League Almanack 2003. New Zealand Rugby Football League Inc.
  10. "England squad for womens [sic] Rugby League International". Sport Focus. 1 Jul 2007. Retrieved 27 Oct 2021.
  11. "Sport". Courier Mail. 21 Sep 1998. p. 32.
  12. Curtin, Jennie (21 Sep 1998). "48 Hours". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 28.
  13. Hardy, Karen (22 Jul 1996). "Brits pay ultimate penalty". Canberra Times. p. 25.
  14. "1996 Aust vs GB Womens RL Test Match". YouTube. Jenny Luker. 31 Oct 2019. Retrieved 15 Jun 2021.
  15. "Turkey and Greece to meet in historic double-header". Rugby League Planet. 6 Jun 2019. Retrieved 18 Apr 2021.
  16. "Türk Kadin Ragbi Takimi 44 4'Lük Skorla Galip Geldi". YouTube. Edirne Televizyonu. 15 Sep 2019. Retrieved 29 Mar 2022.
  17. "Wales 24 v 26 Ireland - Match Report". European Rugby League. 17 Oct 2021. Retrieved 24 Oct 2021.
  18. "Lebanon 0 v 22 Italy - Match Report". European Rugby League. 25 Feb 2017. Retrieved 15 Apr 2021.
  19. "Philippines Sampaguitas Go Down To Malta Dames In Inaugural Women's International". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 25 Oct 2022. Retrieved 25 Oct 2022.
  20. Scholes, Gary (9 Jul 1995). "NZs men's defeat motivates women". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. p. 12. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  21. "The Scoreboard". Rugby League Week. Sydney: Bauer Media Group (9/10/2002).
  22. "Kiwi Ferns v Pacific nations". YouTube. NZ Rugby League. 3 August 2017 [2008]. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  23. "England 36 v 8 Papua New Guinea - Match Report". European Rugby League. 16 Nov 2017. Retrieved 31 Mar 2021.
  24. "England vs Papua New Guinea - Full Highlights - Womens RLWC 2017". YouTube. Channel 7 Sport. 16 Nov 2017. Retrieved 1 Apr 2021.
  25. "Philippines Sampaguitas Name Squad For Malta Clash". Asia Pacific Rugby League. 21 Oct 2022. Retrieved 25 Oct 2022.
  26. "England women shine in World Cup". BBC. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  27. "Italy 26 v 0 Serbia - Match Report". European Rugby League. 22 Jun 2019. Retrieved 15 Apr 2021.
  28. James, Honor (26 Jun 2019). "Italy's women win 1st Test as Serbia make their bow". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 17 Apr 2021.
  29. "La France s'impose largement face à la Turquie". Trieze Mondial. 5 Oct 2019. Retrieved 8 Apr 2021.
  30. "International Test Match Turkey vs France". YouTube. Turkish Rugby League. 6 Oct 2019. Retrieved 23 Oct 2021.
  31. "Canada Ravens vs USA Redtails - April 16th 2022". Canada Ravens. 16 Apr 2022. Retrieved 17 Apr 2022.
  32. "England 60 v 0 Wales". European Rugby League. 25 Jun 2021. Retrieved 31 Oct 2021.
  33. Hafez, Shamoom (25 Jun 2021). "Women's international: England 60-0 Wales - 10 different try-scorers for hosts". BBC. Retrieved 26 Jun 2021.
  34. "Women out to rattle bones, not buckets". Times (London). 14 Aug 1998.
  35. rugbee.com Women's Rugby League World Series 2000 Official Programme. Harold Lacey Publications. 2000.
  36. Hadfield, Dave (25 Nov 2000). "Rugby League: Hina too strong for battling Britain". The Independent (London). p. 23.
  37. Coffey, John (13 Oct 2003). "Kiwi Ferns rule on league cup stage". The Press (Christchurch). p. 29.
  38. "Ferns girls too strong - league world cup". Daily Telegraph. 17 Nov 2008. p. 67.
  39. "Jillaroos win Women's World Cup". NRL.com. 2013-06-15. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
  40. "Women's Rugby League World Cup: Australia's Jillaroos beat New Zealand 23-16 in final to claim world title". ABC. 2 Dec 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  41. "Rugby League World Cup - England 2021 - Women's Tournament". RLWC2021. 1 Feb 2022. Retrieved 30 Mar 2022.
  42. Lucantonio, AJ (20 Nov 2022). "Bend it like Brigginshaw as Jillaroos remain queens of the international game". League Unlimited. Retrieved 21 Nov 2022.
  43. "International Rugby League Announces Qualification Places For France 2025". IRL. 24 Mar 2022. Retrieved 30 Mar 2022.
  44. Walter, Brad (25 Mar 2022). "Fiji, Samoa, Tonga to play off for World Cup spots". NRL. Retrieved 25 Mar 2022.
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