WXV 2023 is the first edition of WXV, a women's international rugby union group tournament for senior national teams organised by World Rugby, and will take place between 13 October and 4 November. The competition will feature three divisions of six nations each, evenly divided across two pools. Participating teams were determined by regional competitions and play-in matches. Wellington, Dunedin, and Auckland in New Zealand will host the first-division WXV 1. Stellenbosch and, Cape Town in South Africa will host WXV 2, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates will host WXV 3.

Format
The competition will be a group tournament featuring a league system of three divisions with six teams each: WXV 1, WXV 2 and WXV 3. Within each division, the six teams are evenly divided into two pools; teams will play a match against each team in the other pool. World Rugby tournaments typically award four competition points to teams for winning a match, two points for a draw, and no points for a loss. A bonus point is also awarded for scoring four or more tries in a match, or losing by seven or less match points. Classification tiebreakers are decided in order of: the result of matches between tied teams, match points difference, tries difference, match points for, tries for, and world rank. At the end of the competition, promotion and relegation between the regional position of the first-placed WXV 3 team and the regional position of the last-placed WXV 2 team will occur ahead of the next edition. The last-placed team in WXV 3 will also play-off against the team with the highest world rank that did not participate in the competition, for a spot in WXV 3 in the next edition. No promotion or relegation between WXV 1 and WXV 2 will take place in the inaugural season.

Qualification

Participants in the competition were determined by regional competitions and play-offs matches staged in 2023. The top three teams of that year's Six Nations and Pacific Four series were placed in WXV 1. The fourth-placed team in both tournaments were placed in WXV 2 alongside that year's African, Asian and Oceanian champions; their runners-up were placed in WXV 3 alongside the sixth-placed Six Nations team. The winners of a play-in between the fifth-placed Six Nations team and the European champions were placed in WXV 2, while the losers were placed in WXV 3 alongside the winners of a play-off between the only two active Sudamérica Rugby women's national teams,  and .

The South American play-off was a two-match series on 5 and 9 July in Medellín, Colombia. It was preceded by the 2023 Americas Rugby Trophy, the first South American tournament for women's national teams sanctioned by World Rugby. A match in the tournament between Brazil and Colombia was decided by a late try by Juliana Soto, helping Colombia win 18–15. It was the closest Brazil had ever come to defeating Colombia up to that point. In the opening match, Colombia scored thrice before half-time, including a double from Valentina Álvarez. Brazil mounted a comeback in the second half though, as the pressure of two yellow cards on Colombia's defence helped facilitate a controversial late try by Lohana Valente; evidence that she had grounded the ball was unclear. However, the attempt to convert it failed, and the match ended with Colombia leading the series by a single point. The second match was decisive, with Colombia scoring four unanswered tries, including a hat-trick by Leidy Soto, who was recognised as critical in Colombia's victory. Two late penalty tries for Brazil were not enough to overcome the 54–42 aggregate score, and thus Colombia earned qualification to WXV 3. 

The European play-off was a single match between Italy and Spain on 22 July in Piacenza, Italy.   Italy played their first game at the  and made a comfortable four-try defeat of Spain, and consequently earning qualification to WXV 2. Despite a notable offensive effort early in the second half, Spain failed to score a single point in the match, settling for a place in WXV 3.

Play-offs

Squads

Competition

WXV 1
WXV 1 will be staged in New Zealand between 20 October and 4 November. The first round will take place at Wellington's Regional Stadium, the second round at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, and the final round at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland. Mount Smart was chosen over Eden Park, which hosted the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, due to sponsorship arrangements. Each round will be led by a Friday night match, followed by two Saturday matches. England, France and Wales will play matches against Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

WXV 2
WXV 2 will be staged in South Africa between 13 and 28 October. The first round will take place at Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, while the second and final rounds will take place at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town. Each round will feature a Friday double-header, followed by a Saturday match. Samoa, Scotland and Italy will play matches against Japan, South Africa and the United States.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

WXV 3
The Sevens Stadium in Dubai will host all nine matches of WXV 3 between 13 and 28 October 2023. Like WXV 2, each round will feature a Friday double-header, followed by a Saturday match. Fiji, Ireland and Kenya will play matches against Colombia, Kazakhstan and Spain.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Broadcasting rights

References
Notes

Citations

External links
 WXV at World Rugby

WXV
 
2023 in women's rugby union
2023 rugby union tournaments for national teams
October 2023 sports events in New Zealand
October 2023 sports events in South Africa
October 2023 sports events in the United Arab Emirates
November 2023 sports events in New Zealand