Setting the scene for the Pacific Four Series
Playing for a spot in WXV1
Out of the ashes of the Women’s Rugby Super Series emerged the Pacific Four Series. The North American and Oceanian answer to the Six Nations and qualifying tournament for the WXV.
The Women’s Rugby Super Series was a tournament played all the way back in in 2019. It featured New Zealand, England, France, Canada and USA in what could effectively be a preview of what WXV1 might become. New Zealand won this tournament, dropping a match to France but knocking over England. USA finished last but managed to get one over Canada which arguably is more important given the history of that rivalry.
Covid hit the breaks on rugby in 2020 and then the Pacific Four Series was announced for 2021. The pandemic wasn’t over though (still isn’t fam!) so New Zealand and Australia were unable travel to take part. The tournament played on anyway and Canada were named the inaugural winners.
In 2022, Aotearoa hosted the first full rotation of the Pacific Four Series. It rained so hard for what felt like the whole time. This made the free running rugby that Wayne Smith was encouraging very stressful for the Black Ferns fans to watch. The Black Ferns were unbeaten in this series, taking the title. Canada were their runners up, only dropping the one game to New Zealand. USA narrowly edged Australia to finish third, leaving the Wallaroos with the wooden spoon.
This year, the tournament is being hosted in Canada… well kind of. The first round has actually already been played. Canada beat USA convincingly in Spain back in April and last week, the Black Ferns demolished the Wallaroos in Brisbane. But now everyone has made their way to Ottawa and the next two weeks will lay out the pathway for the international calendar for the next two years.
The last time the Black Ferns played in Canada was eight years ago and the streaming service ran a clock that read 1 hour 15minutes rather than 75minutes and it was very confusing.
What’s at stake?
This tournament is the feeder to the big show being put on at the end of this year, the WXV (This is a link to more full explainer with visuals I popped up on my instagram a while back). It’s a tournament made up of three parts; WXV1, WXV2 and WXV3. Feeder tournaments are being held at the beginning of this year to determine which of these three tiers you qualify for.
WXV is a game changer, looking to introduce some consistency into the international test schedule for women. This was a necessary development because in 2025 we will have 16 nations competing in the World Cup. Basically everyone outside the Six Nations sides have struggled to lock in regular test matches. For example, England’s Sarah Hunter has personally played more test matches than the Black Ferns have in their entire history.
The result of the test match desert is that folks turn up rusty to the main event. If we want the World Cup to be the jewel in the crown that it should be, we need to give all competing nations a chance to get a bit more polished. The hope is that WXV will provide this elbow grease.
While it is a tasty prospect to see the big guns face off each year, I am actually more excited for the development potential it could unlock for sides like Samoa and Spain. The former having had a hard time recruiting talent without games on offer, outside of World Cup qualification and the latter being an example of the copying pasting from the men’s game erasing bonafide talent.
It’s not without its challenges though. While it is creating a window of opportunity for 18 nations to take part, drawing a line anywhere puts some people on the other side of it. So while WXV should lift this group and the standard of the women’s game, it may put the game further out of reach for those ranked 19th and below.
This tournament is also an example of what I would like to encourage rugby to do more, which is dare to be different with plans for the women’s game. Trialing things which then may inform the direction of men’s rugby. With rumours of a World Series for the blokes on the horizon, WXV then has to be the test case.
At the announcement of this new tournament, World Rugby also announced there will be limits on promotion and relegation between tiers before the World Cup in 2025. Basically, if you win WXV3 you can go up to WXV2 in 2024. If you finish last in WXV3 you have to play a challenger to hold on to your sport. If you lose WXV2 you could go down to WXV3 in 2024. But if you win WXV2 you do not get promoted.
That’s why qualification to WXV1 is a golden ticket this year. Once you’re in, you’re staying there through to the next World Cup. That means you’re playing the top 5 other nations in the world at least twice before World Cup 2025 which is a heck of a leg up.
From 2026, it’s game on - promotions and relegations for everyone. We may yet see further developments to the format but ultimately it means a lot more women’s rugby to watch, hooray!
This week’s action
The Pacific Four Series has two big matches coming this weekend. Both are being played Sunday 9 July (NZT) with Australia versus USA at 8.00am followed by Canada playing the Black Ferns at 11.00am.
So mark these two in your diary and I’ll be back later this week with details on where to watch and a preview of the two games once the team lists are out.
With you,
Alice