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The Women's Premiership, also called the RFUW Premiership was the top level of women's rugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by the Rugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season by Premier 15s.

History

Women's rugby in England was initially run by the Women's Rugby Football Union on a British Isles-wide basis. The Women's Premiership was formed in 1990 as the top tier of women's rugby in the British Isles. In 1994, the Rugby Football Union for Women was formed and took over the management of women's rugby in England, including the Women's Premiership, after Scotland, Ireland and Wales left the Women's Rugby Football Union. At the start, most of the teams in the league were University teams. Since the RFUW took over and Professionalism was permitted in 1996, the university teams were gradually replaced by women's clubs associated with professional and semi-professional men's clubs as they were able to give the women's team the funding to be able to compete.

Promotion and relegation in the Women's Premiership is determined by the lowest placed team playing against the winner of the Championship 1 North-South playoff. If the Premiership team wins, there is no promotion and relegation that year. It is noted that promoted teams often fail to win during the regular league season during their first season in the Women's Premiership, including Old Albanians Ladies and Thurrock T-Birds, who were relegated in 2013 after losing to Aylesford Bulls Ladies in the 2013 playoff.

During seasons that precede the Women's Rugby World Cup, promotion and relegation is suspended for that season. In 2014, Thurrock appealed against this ruling to the RFUW, claiming that some Women's Premiership clubs were actively attempting to block promotion and relegation in Women's Rugby World Cup years.

Premier 15s

For the 2017–18 season the RFU Council proposed to create a Super League, the Premier 15s with up to ten teams. The new system to be considered new and distinct from the existing Premiership. It was expected that all 8 teams from the Premiership would apply for the new league, together with several top Championship teams. Seven of the eight Premiership teams were accepted into the Super Rugby competition (Lichfield being excluded), together with Gloucester-Hartpury Women, Firwood Waterloo and Loughborough Students (Lightning).

2013-14 Teams and Locations

Below is listed the locations of the teams that participate in the 2013-14 Women's Premiership.

Clubs Since 2003

Dates are the year the season ended.

• Bristol Ladies was called Clifton Ladies RFC until 2008.

Champions

References

1. "RFU Women's Premiership". Scrum Queens. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
2. ^ "Women's Rugby – Then and Now". RFU. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
3. Paul Trow (24 November 1996). "Lessons of the sisters in arms". The Independent. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
4. ^ "Bulls Ladies secure Premiership place". Kent Sports News. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
5. "Premiership race going to the wire". Scrum Queens. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
6. Clark, Frazer (29 January 2014). "Saracens and Richmond Borough to blame for T-Birds". Thurrock Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
7. "England reveal top new women's competition". Scrumqueens. October 2016.
8. "Women's Super Rugby to launch in England". Scrumqueens. February 2017.
9. Ali Donnelly (5 September 2013). "Women's rugby Premiership preview". BT. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

v t e Rugby union in England
Governing body	Rugby Football Union Rugby Football Union for Women (merged into the RFU)
National teams	Men's England England A 7's U-21 U-20 U-18 British & Irish Lions England Counties XV Women's Women's 7's
International competitions	Men's World Cup Six Nations Rugby World Cup Sevens Sevens World Series Sevens Grand Prix Series Commonwealth Games Women's World Cup Six Nations World Series Sevens
Competition divisions	Men's Premiership Championship National Leagues London and SE Division Northern Division Midland Division South West Division United Hospitals Cup Women's Premiership Women's Rugby
European competitions	European Rugby Champions Cup European Rugby Challenge Cup
National competitions	Premiership Rugby Premiership Cup RFU Championship Championship Cup National League 1 National League 2 East National League 2 North National League 2 West RFU Intermediate Cup RFU Senior Vase RFU Junior Vase Premiership Rugby Sevens Series Women's Premiership Premier 15s
London and South East competitions	Regional 1 South East Regional 1 South Central Regional 2 Anglia Regional 2 South Central Regional 2 South East Regional 2 Thames London 1 North London 2 North East London 2 North West London 2 South East London 2 South West London 3 North West London 3 South East London 3 South West Counties 2 Eastern Counties London 3 Essex Eastern Counties 1 Eastern Counties 2 Eastern Counties 3 Counties 2 Essex Counties 2 Hampshire Counties 3 Hampshire Counties 4 Hampshire Hampshire Cups Counties 1 Herts/Middlesex Herts/Middlesex 2 Hertfordshire Cups Middlesex Cups Counties 3 Kent Counties 4 Kent Counties 5 Kent Kent Cups Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex Counties 2 Surrey Counties 3 Surrey Counties 4 Surrey Counties 5 Surrey Surrey Cups Counties 2 Sussex Sussex 1 Sussex Cups
Midland competitions	Regional 1 Midlands Regional 2 North Midlands Regional 2 West Midlands Regional 2 East Midlands Counties 1 Midlands West (North) Counties 1 Midlands West (South) Midlands 2 East (North) Midlands 2 East (South) Midlands 3 West (North) Midlands 3 West (South) Midlands 3 East (North) Midlands 3 East (South) Midlands 4 West (North) Midlands 4 West (South) Midlands 4 East (North) Midlands 4 East (South) Midlands 5 West (South) Leicestershire Cups North Midlands Cups Staffordshire Cups Warwickshire Cups
Northern competitions	Regional 1 North East Regional 1 North West Regional 2 North Regional 2 North East Regional 2 North West North 1 East North 1 West North 2 West Counties 1 ADM Lancashire & Cheshire Lancs/Cheshire 1 Lancs/Cheshire 2 Cheshire Cups Lancashire Cups Counties 1 Cumbria Cumbria Cups Counties 1 Durham & Northumberland Counties 2 Durham & Northumberland Counties 3 Durham & Northumberland Durham Cups Northumberland Cups Counties 1 Yorkshire Counties 2 Yorkshire Counties 3 Yorkshire Counties 4 Yorkshire Yorkshire Cups
South West competitions	Regional 1 South West Regional 2 Severn Regional 2 South West Counties 1 Southern North Counties 1 Southern South Counties 1 Western North Counties 1 Western West Counties 2 Cornwall Counties 3 Cornwall Cornwall Cups Counties 2 Devon Counties 3 Devon East Counties 3 Devon West Devon Cups Gloucester Premier Gloucester 1 Gloucester 2 North Gloucester 2 South Gloucestershire Cups Counties 2 Somerset Somerset 1 Somerset 2 North Somerset 2 South Somerset 3 North Somerset 3 South Somerset Cups Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier Oxfordshire Cups Dorset & Wilts 1 North Dorset & Wilts 1 South Dorset & Wilts 2 North Dorset & Wilts 2 South Dorset & Wilts 3 North
County competitions	Division 1 Division 2 Division 3
Discontinued competitions	Anglo-Welsh Cup Cornwall/Devon League Divisional Championship National League 2 South North Premier RFU Knockout Cup South West 1 East
Related articles	International players Clubs Churchill Cup Calcutta Cup Millennium Trophy Ella-Mobbs Trophy Hillary Shield
Other	English rugby union system Timeline of rugby union on UK television

• Women's sports leagues in England
• Rugby union leagues in Europe
• Rugby union leagues in England
• Women's rugby union competitions in England