The next Premiership Women’s Rugby season will be pushed back three weeks in the hope of capitalising on a surge of interest prompted by the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The current PWR campaign began last autumn on 5 October – but with the World Cup final at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium taking place later this year on 27 September, the next top-flight campaign will start towards the end of the following month, on 25 October.
The four-week gap is intended to allow star players to recover and give clubs time to prepare to welcome new supporters.
“The Rugby World Cup is a generational moment for women’s rugby and will create a huge opportunity for both PWR and our clubs to grow and celebrate with their fans,” said Amy Walmsley, PWR’s league operations manager.
“The optimum time between the Rugby World Cup Final and our first league match will ensure we capitalise on what we already know will be the biggest and best World Cup ever, while also ensuring player welfare with adequate rest across the season.”
The 2026 PWR final will also revert back to its usual calendar slot of June.
The climax to this year’s domestic season is being played on 16 March as part of a condensed schedule designed to maximise England’s chances of success at the World Cup.
It will allow England’s players to have their mandatory rest period at the conclusion of the Women’s Six Nations in late April, before they go into camp to prepare for the start of the World Cup on 22 August.
The Red Roses, who lost to New Zealand in the last World Cup final, are favourites to go one better after winning 50 out of their past 51 matches and moving well clear at the top of the world rankings.
More than 220,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament so far, with the final already over-subscribed and sure to break a world record for the best attended women’s rugby fixture ever.
