WXV heralds the start of an exciting new dawn for international women’s rugby and fans around the world will be able to get in on the action from the very first whistle thanks to an impressive take-up by broadcasters in key and emerging rugby territories.
Matches in all three divisions – WXV 1, WXV 2 and WXV 3 – will be broadcast live, with RugbyPass TV offering free streaming of any matches outside of the relevant territories.
WXV starts on Friday, 13 October with a game between Italy and Japan in WXV 2 and runs for three weeks through to Saturday, 4 November, when New Zealand and England meet for the first time since the thrilling final of Rugby World Cup 2021.
Sky New Zealand and Stan Sport in Australia are showing all nine WXV 1 fixtures, while TFI will broadcast all of France’s matches.
Long-established Rugby World Cup broadcast partner ITV will show all three England and Wales matches in WXV 1 on ITVX, with the latter's matches also available on S4C.
South African host broadcaster SuperSport has added WXV 2 to its extensive live sports portfolio, bringing all nine matches from Stellenbosch and Cape Town into the homes of millions of South Africans. Sky New Zealand viewers will also be able to watch WXV 2 in its entirety.
South-East Asian network BEIN has signed up for blanket coverage of all three divisions as the appeal of women’s rugby continues to grow.
World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby Sally Horrox commented: “Visibility for the women’s game is key and fans around the world will now have more opportunities than ever to get closer to the game with our world-class streaming platform, RugbyPass TV showing all the WXV fixtures for free. This is an exciting step forward for the women’s game and it will undoubtably play a leading role in awareness, promotion and accessibility of this fantastic new tournament.”
Chief Commercial Officer Ben Slack added: “Growing the reach and visibility of women’s rugby is central to our overall growth mission and we are delighted to be welcoming a strong line-up of broadcasters with proven rugby pedigree for WXV. The blend of free-to-air broadcast along with provision of free programming and content via RugbyPass TV for markets where a broadcast partner does exit, means that no matter where you are in the world you can watch all the action from WXV.”