WXV: The women’s rugby tournament explained and who is in the England squad

John Mitchell has challenged Poppy Cleall to improve her fitness and become more dynamic to force herself back into the England reckoning.

Cleall was the highest-profile omission from England’s 30-player squad for WXV1 in Canada. The Saracens back-rower, who missed out on a Red Roses contract earlier this summer, made her first appearance of the John Mitchell era against France earlier this month, coming off the bench in a 38-19 victory at Kingsholm to win a 67th cap.

She was also part of preparations for last weekend’s defeat of New Zealand and while Mitchell has overlooked Cleall as the Red Roses bid to defend their WXV1 title, he insisted that there was still a possibility of her reaching a home World Cup next year.

“If it was 32 for your World Cup squad, you’d take six back-rowers,” he said. “It’s as simple as that. Poppy is obviously a six and an eight in our mix. The game is getting quicker and it’s definitely challenging her physical demand to play the game we want to play. She’s got every opportunity still of making the World Cup squad, she’s just going to have to work harder physically.

“I’ve said that there’s still light at the end of the tunnel for her to make it [for the World Cup]. She’s under no illusions of what’s required. Physically, the game’s getting quicker, so she’s going to have to meet that demand. When you’re an impact player, we can’t afford that player to be a plodder. That player has got to be lifting the tempo of the game.

“At the moment, I’m just marking a couple of No 8s ahead of her, which is a difficult thing because she’s chasing. That’s the challenge for her. I think we’ve been as clear as we can be; the rest is up to Pops. She’s a good person, still a good rugby player. At the end of the day, it’s one person’s opinion – my opinion – and that’s all she needs to understand.”

Marlie Packer, named as captain, leads an England back-row cohort that also features Alex Matthews, Maddie Feaunati, Lilli Ives Campion and Georgia Brock. The latter two players made their Test debuts in the recent wins over France and New Zealand respectively. Zoe Aldcroft, named as one of two vice-captains alongside Natasha Hunt, has the capacity to cover the back row, as does Morwenna Talling.

Bristol Bears centre Phoebe Murray and Loughborough Lightning wing Bo Westcombe-Evans are the only uncapped tourists, but overall Mitchell has assembled a party full of know-how. It contains a total of 1,145 England caps, with Emily Scarratt, boasting 113, the most experienced individual. Feaunati and Amy Cokayne have evidently recovered from injuries that forced them to leave the field during a disjointed second half against the Black Ferns on Saturday.

“We have selected a strong group of players who have worked hard and smart for each other during the pre-season Test matches,” said Mitchell.

“We will use the learnings to improve our game and attack the WXV tournament in Canada with great energy.”

What is WXV?

It is a three-tier international women’s 15-a-side rugby tournament that was introduced in 2023. World Rugby’s goal in launching it was to create an aligned global calendar for the women’s game and to ensure more countries had regular Test matches.

There are three tiers of six teams – WXV1, WXV2 and WXV3 – and nations qualify through competitions earlier in the year. For example, WXV1 features the top three teams from the Six Nations and the top three teams from the Pacific Four Series.

This is who is taking part in each tier in 2024:

WXV1: Canada, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, United States.

WXV2: Australia, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Wales.

WXV3: Fiji, Hong Kong, Madagascar, Netherlands, Samoa, Spain.

Can teams qualify for next year’s Rugby World Cup from WXV?

Yes – 10 teams have already qualified for the World Cup: England, Canada, France, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, United States, Fiji, Japan and Brazil. The remaining six teams will come through WXV, with the highest-ranked countries who have not already qualified earning a place.

In reality, that means Italy, Scotland and Wales are guaranteed a spot as they are in WXV2 so will be the top-three ranked non-qualified teams. So Hong Kong, Madagascar, Netherlands, Samoa and Spain will be battling it out for the remaining three slots.

When is WXV taking place?

WXV1 runs from Sunday, September 29 to Sunday, October 13, with three rounds of matches taking place in Vancouver and Langley in Canada.

WXV2 is being staged in Cape Town, South Africa, from Friday, September 27 to Saturday, October 12. WXV3 runs over the same dates in Dubai.

What is the tournament format?

Each team plays three matches, generally against sides they have not faced in competitions earlier that year. In WXV1, for example, the Six Nations teams play the Pacific Four Series teams.

As well as four points for a win, teams get a bonus point if they score four or more tries, and/or lose by seven points or less.

Who is in the England squad?

Forwards
Zoe Aldcroft (Gloucester-Hartpury, 55 caps)
Lark Atkin-Davies (Bristol Bears, 59 caps)
Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 63 caps)
Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears, 49 caps)
Georgia Brock (Gloucester-Hartpury, 1 cap)
Mackenzie Carson (Gloucester-Hartpury, 17 caps)
Amy Cokayne (Leicester Tigers, 76 caps)
Kelsey Clifford (Saracens, 8 caps)
Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs, 7 caps)
Rosie Galligan (Saracens, 16 caps)
Lilli Ives Campion (Loughborough Lightning, 1 cap)
Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury, 69 caps)
Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury, 32 caps)
Marlie Packer (Saracens, 106 caps)
Connie Powell (Harlequins, 19 caps)
Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks, 15 caps)
Abbie Ward (Bristol Bears, 66 caps)

Backs
Holly Aitchison (Bristol Bears, 32 caps)
Jess Breach (Saracens, 40 caps)
Abby Dow (Trailfinders Women, 47 caps)
Zoe Harrison (Saracens, 51 caps)
Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury, 24 caps)
Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury, 74 caps)
Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins, 45 caps)
Phoebe Murray (Bristol Bears, uncapped)
Lucy Packer (Harlequins, 23 caps)
Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning, 31 caps)
Emily Scarratt (Loughborough Lightning, 113 caps)
Bo Westcombe-Evans (Loughborough Lightning, uncapped)
Ella Wyrwas (Saracens, 6 caps)

How to watch WXV1 on TV

The WXV1 and WXV2 matches will be shown live on BBC iPlayer. WXV3 will be live on RugbyPass TV.

What are the WXV1 fixtures?

(Kick-offs UK time)

Sunday, Sept 29: United States v England, 8.30pm, Vancouver
Sunday, Sept 29: Canada v France, 11.45pm, Vancouver
Monday, Sept 30: New Zealand v Ireland, 3am, Vancouver
Saturday, Oct 5: United States v France, 8.30pm, Langley
Saturday, Oct 5: Canada v Ireland, 11.45pm, Langley
Sunday, Oct 6: New Zealand v England, 9pm, Langley
Friday, Oct 11: United States v Ireland, 8.30pm, Vancouver
Saturday, Oct 12: New Zealand v France, 11.45pm, Vancouver
Sunday Oct 13: Canada v England, 3am, Vancouver

What are the WXV2 fixtures?

Friday, Sept 27: South Africa v Japan, 3pm, Cape Town
Saturday, Sept 28: Australia v Wales, 11.30am, Cape Town
Saturday, Sept 28: Italy v Scotland, 2pm, Cape Town
Friday, Oct 4: Wales v Italy, 3pm, Cape Town
Saturday, Oct 5: Japan v Scotland, 1pm, Cape Town
Saturday, Oct 5: South Africa v Australia, 4pm, Cape Town
Friday, Oct 11: Wales v Japan, 3pm, Cape Town
Saturday, Oct 12: South Africa v Italy, 1pm, Cape Town
Saturday, Oct 12: Australia v Scotland, 4pm, Cape Town

What are the WXV3 fixtures?

Friday, Sept 27: Spain v Madagascar, 4pm, Dubai
Saturday, Sept 28: Fiji v Hong Kong, 3pm, Dubai
Saturday, Sept 28: Netherlands v Samoa, 5.30pm, Dubai
Friday, Oct 4: Madagascar v Hong Kong, 4pm, Dubai
Saturday, Oct 5: Fiji v Samoa, 3pm, Dubai
Saturday, Oct 5: Netherlands v Spain, 5.30pm, Dubai
Friday, Oct 11: Samoa v Madagascar, 4pm, Dubai
Saturday, Oct 12: Netherlands v Hong Kong, 3pm, Dubai
Saturday, Oct 12: Fiji v Spain, 5.30pm, Dubai

Who are the previous winners?

The tournament has only taken place once before. Last year, England won WXV1, Scotland won WXV2 and Ireland won WXV3.