Allianz Cup (women's rugby union)

Last updated

Allianz Cup
Current season, competition or edition:
Rugby football current event.svg 2023–24 Allianz Cup
Sport Rugby union
Founded2021;3 years ago (2021)
Administrator RFU
No. of teams9
Country Flag of England.svg England
Most recent
champion(s)
Saracens (1st title)
(2023–24)
Most titles Exeter Chiefs (2 titles)
Related
competitions
Premiership Women's Rugby
Official website www.thepwr.com

The Allianz Cup is an English women's rugby union knockout cup competition for teams that compete in Premiership Women's Rugby. It was created in 2021 to act as Premiership Women's Rugby, then Premier 15s, equivalent to the men's Premiership Rugby Cup. [1] It typically takes place in the international windows, giving more opportunities to inexperienced players. [2]

Contents

Format

The Allianz Cup uses a format where Premiership Women's Rugby clubs are divided into two pools based on their previous season's finishing positions. Over five rounds, each team played every other team once, with a combination of two home games, two away games, and one bye week.

The top two teams from each pool progressed to the semi-finals, which were hosted at the venues of the highest-ranked clubs. These semi-finals are accompanied by a third-place play-off and a grand final. The grand final took place at the home venue of the club with the most significant points difference.

The bottom four ranked teams participated in fifth, seventh, and ninth-place play-offs. The venues for these play-offs were determined by the league tables. [3]

For the 2023–24 competition, with the withdrawal of Worcester Warriors Women reducing the participating teams to nine, [4] [5] the nine teams were divided into a pool of four and a pool of five. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the semi-finals, the semi-finals are accompanied by a third-place play-off and a grand final, while the third-place team from each pool progressed to a two-legged 5th-6th place play-off, with the winner determined by aggregate score. The fourth-placed team from the pool of four and the fourth and fifth-placed teams from the pool of five advanced to a 7th-9th place play-off, utilizing a round-robin format to determine the finishing order of the three teams. [6]

Finals

Ed.YearWinnerScoreRunner-upVenueRef
1
2021–22 Exeter Chiefs 57–12 Harlequins Sandy Park, Exeter [7] [8]
2
2022–23 Exeter Chiefs 29–19 Saracens Sandy Park, Exeter [9] [10]
3
2023–24 Saracens 31–17 Bristol Bears Shaftesbury Park, Bristol [11]

List of champions

#TeamWinsYears
1 Exeter Chiefs 2 2021–22, 2022–23
2 Saracens 1 2023–24

Related Research Articles

Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby union system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saracens F.C.</span> English rugby union club, based in North London

Saracens Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England, currently playing in Premiership Rugby, the highest level of competition in English rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harlequin F.C.</span> English rugby union club, based in Twickenham

Harlequins is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Ashton</span> England dual-code rugby international footballer

Christopher John Ashton is a retired English rugby union and former rugby league footballer, and one of the few players who have represented England in both rugby codes. Ashton primarily played wing and secondarily played fullback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnet Copthall</span> Sports complex

Barnet Copthall is a sports venue on the Hendon-Mill Hill borders in London, which houses several complexes, including a local authority-owned swimming pool and gymnasium facilities, a golf-driving range with 9 hole pitch and putt run by Metro Golf. The main stadium is a multi-use venue which is home of rugby union Premiership side Saracens. The stadium is currently known as StoneX Stadium for sponsorship reasons and has also previously been the home field of the London Broncos as well as hosting American football events such as the BritBowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exeter Chiefs</span> English rugby union club, based in Exeter

Exeter Chiefs is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie George</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Jamie Edward George is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Premiership Rugby club Saracens and captains the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Rugby Champions Cup</span> Annual rugby union tournament

The European Rugby Champions Cup is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a predominantly European league. Clubs qualify for the Champions Cup via their final positions in their respective national/regional leagues or via winning the second-tier Challenge Cup; those that do not qualify are instead eligible to compete in the second-tier Challenge Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saracens Women</span> Rugby union club in London

Saracens Women (/ˈsærəsənz/) are an English women's rugby union club based in Hendon, London. They were established in 1989 and currently play in Premiership Women's Rugby, the top level competition of women's rugby in the country. Saracens are the most successful team in the history of the Premier 15s, having won the league a record three times – in 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2021–22. They are also the women's team of Saracens Amateurs, who themselves are affiliated to men's Premiership club Saracens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premiership Women's Rugby</span> Womens rugby union club competition in England

Premiership Women's Rugby, officially known as Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby or The Allianz PWR, is an annual semi-professional women's rugby union club competition at the highest level of the English rugby union system, and is run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). It is contested by nine clubs who play two series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. It began play in the 2017–18 season, superseding the former Women's Premiership, and introducing elements of professionalism in the sport's highest level. In its first six seasons, the competition was known as the Premier 15s. Gloucester-Hartpury are the current champions, while Saracens have won the most championships (3).

The 2017–18 Aviva Premiership was the 31st season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the eighth and final one to be sponsored by Aviva. The reigning champions entering the season were Exeter Chiefs, who had claimed their first title after defeating Wasps in the 2017 final. London Irish had been promoted as champions from the 2016–17 RFU Championship at the first attempt.

The 2018–19 Premiership Rugby Cup was the 47th season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the first under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format following the disbanding of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at the end of the 2017–18 season due to the withdrawal of the Welsh Pro14 regions. Although there are no stipulations on player selection, the cup was seen by many clubs as a development competition, and games took place during the Autumn International window and during the Six Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sara Cox (referee)</span> English rugby union referee

Sara Louise Cox is an English rugby union referee and former rugby union footballer. In 2016, she became the world's first professional female rugby union referee, and in 2018 she became the first woman to referee a Premiership Rugby Cup match. On 25 September 2021, she became the first woman to referee a Premiership Rugby Union Match when she took centre field for a fixture between Harlequins and Worcester Warriors at the Stoop.

The 2019–20 Gallagher Premiership was the 33rd season of the top flight English domestic rugby union competition and the second one to be sponsored by Gallagher. The reigning champions entering the season were Saracens, who had claimed their fifth title after defeating Exeter Chiefs in the 2019 final. London Irish had been promoted as champions from the 2018–19 RFU Championship at the first attempt.

The 2019–20 Premiership Rugby Cup was the 48th season of England's national rugby union cup competition and the second under the new Premiership Rugby Cup format following the disbanding of the Anglo-Welsh Cup at the end of the 2017–18 season due to the withdrawal of the Welsh Pro14 regions. Although there were no stipulations on player selection, the cup was seen by many clubs as a development competition, and games took place during the 2019 Rugby World Cup and during the Six Nations.

The 2021–22 Premier 15s is the 5th season of the Premier 15s, of the top flight of English domestic women's rugby union competition and the second to be sponsored by Allianz. Incorporated in the season also was the inaugural Allianz Cup, a women's equivalent of the Premiership Rugby Cup.

The 2022–23 Premier 15s is the 6th season of the Premier 15s, the highest tier of English domestic women's rugby union competition, and the 3rd to be sponsored by Allianz.

The 2023–24 Premiership Women's Rugby is the seventh season of Premiership Women's Rugby, the top-flight domestic women's rugby union club competition in England. Sponsored by Allianz for the fourth consecutive season, it is the first season under the rebranded banner of Premiership Women's Rugby, succeeding six seasons under Premier 15s branding.

References

  1. "Premier 15s: 2021-22 season to include new Allianz Cup competition". BBC Sport. 6 August 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
  2. "All you need to know about the Allianz Cup". Rugbyworld.com. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  3. "Let the Allianz Cup begin!". Rugbypass.com. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  4. "Allianz Cup Pool Tables Updated Following the Withdrawal of Warriors Women". Premiership Women's Rugby. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  5. "Worcester Warriors Women pull out of league & cup". BBC Sport. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  6. "Allianz Cup Moves Into Overdrive As Knockout Rounds Are Confirmed". Premiership Women's Rugby. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  7. "Match Centre - Exeter Chiefs Women v Harlequins Women". Rugby Football Union . Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  8. "Allianz Cup: Exeter Chiefs' victory a 'stepping stone' to 'next chapter'". BBC Sport. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  9. "Match Centre - Exeter Chiefs Women v Saracens Women". Rugby Football Union . Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  10. "Allianz Cup: Exeter Chiefs boss praises young squad after retaining trophy". BBC Sport. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  11. "Saracens defeat Bristol to claim Allianz Cup". BBC Sport. 28 April 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2024.