Utrecht Shield

Last updated

Utrecht Shield
Awarded forRugby Union Lineal Title
History
First award 13 June 1982; 43 years, 98 days ago
First winner France
Most recent England 12 October 2024; 342 days ago
Website raeburnandutrechtshields.com

The Utrecht Shield is a prestigious trophy in Women's rugby union, awarded to the current lineal champion. Unlike traditional tournament trophies, the Shield can only change hands when the holder is defeated in a sanctioned international match - similar in concept to boxing world titles or New Zealand’s Ranfurly Shield. [1]

Contents

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Named after the city of Utrecht, where the first-ever women’s international rugby match between the Netherlands and France took place on 13 June 1982, the Shield celebrates the roots of the Women’s international game. [2] Being a lineal title, the shield winners at that first match would have been France who would have held it until they were beaten. It would then be held by the winners of that match until they were beaten themselves, and so on. This unique title does not belong to a tournament; instead, it is held by the team that most recently it, adding an extra layer of excitement to every match they play. [3]

The shield itself was first conceived by New Zealander; David Algie [1] in 2008 and was fabricated by an Edinburgh-based woodworker [2] and ex-Watsonian Women head coach Freddie Main. [4] Since then the shield challenges have become part of match reports by major news outlets, such as the BBC. [5]

Men's rugby union has its own version; the Raeburn Shield. Both of these shields have been highlighted by RugbyPass owned by World Rugby. [2]

List of shield holders

List of every successful challenge
MatchDefenderScoreChallengerDateSDTenure
1 Netherlands 0-4 [6] Flag of France.svg  France 13 June 1982--
2Flag of France.svg  France 0-10 [7] Netherlands 1 May 198631418d (3y10m18d)
3 Netherlands 3-22 [8] Flag of France.svg  France 31 May 19871395d (1y30d)
4Flag of France.svg  France 0-13 [8] Great Britain [Note 1] 4 March 19894643d (1y9m4d)
5Flag of England.svg  England 6-19 [9] United States 14 April 19916771d (2y1m10d)
6 United States 6-17 [10] Flag of England.svg  England 8 June 19931786d (2y1m25d)
7Flag of England.svg  England 15-17 [8] Flag of France.svg  France 23 February 1997171356d (3y8m15d)
8Flag of France.svg  France 10-15 [11] Flag of England.svg  England 4 April 1997140d (1m12d)
9Flag of England.svg  England 0-67 [8] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 13 August 19971131d (4m9d)
10Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 17-22 [12] Flag of England.svg  England 16 June 2001131403d (3y10m3d)
11Flag of England.svg  England 17-22 [13] Flag of France.svg  France 1 March 20022258d (8m13d)
12Flag of France.svg  France 0-30 [14] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 21 May 2002481d (2m20d)
13Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 3-10 [15] Flag of England.svg  England 21 November 2009192741d (7y6m)
14Flag of England.svg  England 10-13 [16] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 5 September 20109288d (9m15d)
15Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 0-10 [17] Flag of England.svg  England 26 November 20110447d (1y2m21d)
16Flag of England.svg  England 0-25 [18] Ireland 9 February 201315441d (1y2m14d)
17 Ireland 10-17 [19] Flag of England.svg  England 22 February 20145378d (1y13d)
18Flag of England.svg  England 0-13 [20] Wales 8 February 20158351d (11m17d)
19 Wales 7-28 [21] Flag of France.svg  France 27 February 2015119d
20Flag of France.svg  France 12-17 [22] Italy 14 March 2015015d
21 Italy 0-39 [23] Flag of France.svg  France 6 February 20161329d (10m23d)
22Flag of France.svg  France 8-10 [24] Wales 28 February 2016122d
23 Wales 13-20 [25] Flag of England.svg  England 12 March 2016013d
24Flag of England.svg  England 12-17 [26] Flag of France.svg  France 18 March 201606d
25Flag of France.svg  France 13-17 [27] Flag of England.svg  England 5 July 20161109d (3m17d)
26 England  Flag of England.svg20-25 [28] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 19 November 20163137d (4m14d)
27 New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg21-29 [29] Flag of England.svg  England 17 June 20174210d (6m29d)
28 England  Flag of England.svg32-41 [30] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 26 August 2017470d (2m9d)
29 New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg27-30 [31] Flag of France.svg  France 17 November 20184448d (1y2m22d)
30 France  Flag of France.svg26-41 [32] Flag of England.svg  England 10 February 2019185d (2m24d)
31 England  Flag of England.svg13-28 [33] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 14 July 20196154d (5m4d)
32 New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg12-43 [34] Flag of England.svg  England 31 October 20212840d (2y3m17d)
33 England  Flag of England.svg31-34 [35] Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 12 November 202216377d (1y12d)
34 New Zealand  Flag of New Zealand.svg17-18 [36] Flag of France.svg  France 21 October 20234343d (11m9d)
35 France  Flag of France.svg20-29 [37] Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 28 October 202307d
36 Australia  Flag of Australia (converted).svg14-33 [33] Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 11 May 20241196d (6m13d)
37 Canada  Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg12-21 [34] Flag of England.svg  England 12 October 20243154d (5m1d)
38 England  Flag of England.svgOngoing9 (as of 22nd August 2025)Ongoing


Most shield defences

Most shield defences by each team
TeamTotalChal.Cons.
1 England 901317
2 New Zealand 42619
3 France 1584
4 Ireland 515
5 Canada 313
6 Wales 121
7 Italy 111
8 Netherlands 111
9 United States 111
10 Australia 111
Highest consecutive shield defences
No.TeamStartDef.ScoreEndScoreChal.Tenure
19 New Zealand 21 May 2002 France 0-30 [14] 21 November 20093-10 [15] England 2741d (7y6m)
17 England 8 June 1993 United States 6-17 [10] 23 February 199715-17 [8] France 1356d (3y8m15d)
16 England 31 October 2021 New Zealand 12-43 [34] 12 November 202231-34 [35] New Zealand 377d (1y12d)
15 England 26 November 2011 New Zealand 0-10 [17] 9 February 20130-25 [18] Ireland 441d (1y2m14d)
13 New Zealand 13 August 1997 England 0-67 [8] 16 June 200117-22 [12] England 1403d (3y10m3d)

See also

Notes

  1. Great Britain was replaced by England, Scotland, and Wales. For the purposes of this trophy England are the team that act as the defender.

References

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  2. 1 2 3 Gallan, Daniel (25 April 2024). "The Simple Way to Prove Boks Also Hold the 'Unofficial World Title'". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  3. Hardy, Matt (25 November 2021). "The Raeburn and Utrecht Shields: The Newest, Oldest Trophies in Rugby?" . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  4. "The Utrecht Shield - Celebrating over 40 years of women's International Rugby". Oak and Black. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  5. "Reaction: England make statement before World Cup with 40-6 thrashing of France". BBC Sport. 9 August 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
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