| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1994 |
| Ceased | 2017 |
| Replaced by | Premier 15s |
| Country | England(RFUW) |
| Most titles | Richmond,Saracens(5 titles) |
TheWomen's Premiership, also called theRFUW Premiership was the top level of women'srugby union in England until 2017. It was formed in 1990 and was run by theRugby Football Union for Women. It was superseded in the 2017/18 season byPremier 15s.
Women's rugby in England was initially run by the Women's Rugby Football Union on aBritish Isles-wide basis. The Women's Premiership was formed in 1990 as the top tier of women's rugby in the British Isles.[1] 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, afterScotland,Ireland andWales left the Women's Rugby Football Union.[2] At the start, most of the teams in the league were University teams.[2] Since the RFUW took over andProfessionalism 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.[3]
Promotion andrelegation in the Women's Premiership is determined by the lowest placed team playing against the winner of the Championship 1 North-South playoff.[4] 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, includingOld Albanians Ladies andThurrock T-Birds,[5] who were relegated in 2013 after losing toAylesford Bulls Ladies in the 2013 playoff.
During seasons that precede theWomen's Rugby World Cup, promotion and relegation is suspended for that season.[4] 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.[6]
For the 2017–18 season the RFU Council proposed to create aSuper League, thePremier 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.[7] Seven of the eight Premiership teams were accepted into the Super Rugby competition (Lichfield being excluded), together withGloucester–Hartpury,Firwood Waterloo andLoughborough Students (Lightning).[8]
 |
The map illustrates the locations of the teams that participated in the 2013-14 Women's Premiership.[9]
Competing clubs in the Women's Premiership have included:
| Seasons | Team | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Aylesford Bulls Ladies | 2014-2017 |
| 1 | Blaydon Ladies | 2007 |
| 13 | Bristol Ladies[a] | 2003-2005, 2008–2017 |
| 11 | Darlington Mowden Park Sharks[b] | 2004-2006, 2010-2017 |
| 5 | Henley Ladies | 2003-2007 |
| 15 | Lichfield Ladies | 2003-2017 |
| 2 | Old Albanians Ladies | 2011-2012 |
| 15 | Richmond Women | 2003-2017 |
| 15 | Saracens Women | 2003-2017 |
| 3 | Team Northumbria Ladies | 2008-2010 |
| 1 | Thurrock T-Birds | 2013 |
| 2 | Vale of Lune Ladies | 2006-2007 |
| 15 | Wasps Ladies | 2003-2017 |
| 15 | Worcester Valkyries Ladies | 2003-2017 |
Dates are the year the season ended.
|
| Season |  Champions | Final | Runners–up | Relegated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 | Wasps Ladies | |||
| 2003-04 | Wasps Ladies | |||
| 2004-05 | Wasps Ladies | |||
| 2005-06 | Saracens Women | |||
| 2006-07 | Saracens Women | |||
| 2007-08 | Saracens Women | |||
| 2008-09 | Saracens Women | |||
| 2009-10 | Richmond Women | |||
| 2010-11 | Richmond Women | |||
| 2011-12 | Richmond Women | |||
| 2012-13 | Worcester Valkyries | |||
| 2013-14 | Richmond Women | |||
| 2014-15 | Saracens Women | |||
| 2015-16 | Richmond Women | |||
| 2016-17 | Aylesford Bulls Ladies |
| # | Team | Champions | Years as champions | Runners-up | Years as runners-up | Top of league table |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond Women | 5 | 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2015-16 | |||
| Saracens Women | 2005-5, 2006-7, 2007-8, 2008-9, 2014-15 | |||||
| 3 | Wasps Ladies | 3 | 2002-3, 2003-4, 2004-5 | |||
| 4 | Worcester Valkyries Ladies | 1 | 2012-13 | |||
| Aylesford Bulls Ladies | 2016-17 |
