| Union | Rugby Australia New South Wales Rugby Union | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | ||
| Location | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | ||
| Region | New South Wales | ||
| Coach(es) | Michael Ruthven | ||
| League(s) | Super W | ||
| 2024 | Champions (5th title) | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| waratahs | |||
The New South Wales Waratahs Women are an Australian rugby union team that represents New South Wales in the Super Rugby Women's competition. They are the most successful team so far, having won five titles.
In 2017, Rugby Australia announced that a national women's rugby competition would commence in March 2018, with the New South Wales Waratahs to have a women's team. [1] [2] The announcement was made on the same day that Rugby Australia outlined its intentions to bid for the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup. [2] [3]
The Waratahs Women were hosted by the Queensland Reds Women at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane for the season’s opener. It was a double header with the Super Rugby match between the Queensland Reds and the Bulls. [4]
On 20 April 2018, the women's New South Wales Waratahs made history by winning the first season of women's 15-a-side rugby, with captain Ashleigh Hewson kicking the winning penalty goal in the ninety-second minute. New South Wales Waratahs Women's were victorious over the Queensland Reds 16–13 at Stadium Australia. [5] [6]
The Waratahs Women went undefeated throughout the entire season before beating the Fijian Drua in the final to win their fifth Super Rugby title. [7] [8] Desiree Miller scored a hat-trick and Maya Stewart scored a double in their sides first title win since 2021. [8] [9]
On 20 February 2024, the squad for the 2024 Super Rugby Women's season was announced. [10] [11]
| Waratahs Super W squad | ||
|---|---|---|
Props
Hookers
Locks
| Loose forwards
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
| Centres
Outside Backs
|
| (c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped and ST indicated short-term cover. | ||
| Year | Position | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | BP | Pts | Play-offs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 224 | 88 | +136 | 4 | 24 | Defeated Fijiana Drua in final |
| 2023 | 1st | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 158 | 48 | +110 | 0 | 24 | Defeated by Fijiana Drua in Semi-final |
| 2022 | 2nd | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 185 | 70 | +115 | 4 | 20 | Defeated by Fijiana Drua in final |
| 2021 | 1st (Pool A) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 97 | 64 | +33 | 2 | 10 | Defeated Reds in final |
| 2020 | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 21 | +110 | 3 | 19 | Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 |
| 2019 | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 138 | 24 | +114 | 3 | 19 | Defeated Reds in final |
| 2018 | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 131 | 15 | +116 | 2 | 18 | Defeated Reds in final |
The New South Wales Waratahs, referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, are represented by the Brumbies, who are based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
The Fijian Drua is a professional rugby union team based in Fiji that competes in the Super Rugby. The team was created by the Fiji Rugby Union and launched in August 2017, shortly before the 2017 National Rugby Championship. The team previously competed in the Australian National Rugby Championship competition between 2017 and 2019, when the tournament was disbanded.
Super Rugby Women's is an annual professional women's rugby union club competition organised by Rugby Australia. It is contested by five clubs from Australia and one club from Fiji, who play a single series of round-robin matches to determine the four participants of a single-elimination tournament. The competition replaced the representative National Women's Championship with five teams owned by the Australian Super Rugby franchises, and began play in the 2018 season as an amateur league known as the Super W. The 2022 season saw the addition of a team from Fiji, and the introduction of salaries for players. The league adopted its current name in the 2024 season. Fijiana Drua are the current champions, while the New South Wales Waratahs have won the most championships (4).
The 2018 National Rugby Championship was the fifth season of the top flight of Australian domestic rugby union. The competition began on 1 September and concluded on 27 October. Matches were broadcast on Fox Sports and the championship featured eight professional teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji.
Mark Nawaqanitawase is an Australian professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Super Rugby club the Waratahs and the Australia national team.
Kennedy Cherrington is an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer who plays as a prop for Parramatta Eels in the NRL Women's Premiership and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NSWRL Women's Premiership.
The 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season is the 27th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the previous seasons were replaced with Super Rugby Unlocked, Super Rugby Aotearoa and Super Rugby AU in 2020, and Super Rugby Aotearoa, Super Rugby AU, and Super Rugby Trans-Tasman in 2021. The 2022 edition will revert to a 12-team competition, with a single pool replacing the geographical conference system, as well as introducing a new name for the reformatted competition. The season is expected to run from 18 February, with the final to be played on 18 June - culminating before the start of the mid-year international window.
The Fijian Drua Women are a Fijian rugby union team based in Fiji. They compete in the Super Rugby Women's competition. They were crowned champions in their inaugural season in 2022, and successfully defended their title in 2023.
Joma Rubuti is a Fijian rugby union player.
Akosita Ravato is a Fijian rugby union player. She plays for Fiji internationally and for the Fijiana Drua in the Super W competition.
Raijieli Victoria "Rachel" Laqeretabua is a Fijian rugby union player. She has played for Richmond and Saracens in the Premier 15s. She made her test debut for Fiji in 2022 and competed at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup. She also played for the Fijiana Drua before joining the Western Force in the Super W competition.
Merewalesi Rokouono is a Fijian rugby league, rugby union and sevens player. She competed for both Fiji in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup at rugby league and for Fiji in rugby union at the 2021 Rugby World Cup. She signed with the North Queensland Cowboys for the 2023 NRL Women's season.
Sereima Leweniqila is a Fijian rugby union player. She captained Fiji at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
Merevesi Fuga Ofakimalino is a Fijian rugby union player. She plays for Suva in the ANZ Marama Championship and for Fiji at an international level.
Bitila Tawake is a Fijian rugby union player. She competed for Fiji at the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup. She also plays for the Fijiana Drua in the Super W competition.
The 2023 Super W season is the sixth edition of the competition. The season kicked off on 24 March, with the final played on 6 May. In a historic first, defending champions, Fijiana Drua, got to play in front of their home crowd in Nadi against the Brumbies on 25 March.
The 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Season is the 28th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and a combined team from Samoa, Tonga and other Pacific Island nations. The defending champions are the Crusaders, who won their 11th title in 2022.
Alana Elisaia is an Australian rugby union player. She plays for the Wallaroos at international level and for the Queensland Reds in the Super W competition.
The 2024 Super Rugby Women's season will be the seventh edition of the competition. The season is expected to begin on 15 March, with the Grand final taking place on 28 April.
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