Women's Rugby League is the female-only version of the game rugby league football. There are currently clubs for female-only participation running in Australia, Great Britain, and New Zealand which are overseen by the various individual organisations of those separate countries and internationally by the Women & Girls Rugby League. At international level Australia, France, England and New Zealand compete on a regular basis with a Women's Rugby League World Cup held at a regular interval after first being established in 2000.
Governing Bodies
Women's & Girls Rugby League
The Women & Girls Rugby League is the international governing body of women's rugby league and was established in 2000 in conjunction with the first Women's Rugby League World Cup. The organisation currently oversees the running of the international game for women's rugby league and helps organize rugby league domestically in several countries.
The RFL Women's Rugby League is the governing body of female rugby league in the United Kingdom; although some activity is run by the independent Women's Amateur Rugby League Association, originally established in 1985. With summer rugby becoming increasingly popular, the appeal of WARLA has waned, with the RFL running the largest women's rugby league competition in the world. At the beginning of the 2006 season there were between thirty and forty female only rugby league clubs running in England not including clubs that have teams of both sexes. The majority of these clubs are located in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The RFL Women's Rugby League is a competition for female rugby league teams. The Women's Super League began in 2017 as the elite women's rugby league competition in the United Kingdom. At international level the Women's England side is commonly referred to as the Great Britain Lionesses In 2006, the RFL announced that after the 2007 All Golds Tour the Great Britain team would no longer compete on a regular basis, and that players would be able to represent England, Wales and Scotland at Test level. It is planned that the Great Britain team will come together in future only for occasional tours.
Women's rugby league in New Zealand is controlled by the New Zealand Rugby League. The national side is called the Kiwi Ferns. The NZRL Women's National Tournament is a competition for female rugby league teams. Women have been playing rugby in New Zealand since the 19th century.
Australian active competitions
Each state has their own games and competitions. One of the most anticipated games on a national level is the State of Origin. This series is played by Queensland and New South Wales. The series only consists of three matches. Each match is played at a different ground including, Sydney ANZ stadium and, Queensland Suncorp stadium. The team who wins two of the three games wins the State of Origin cup.
International
The following international teams compete on a regular basis. The following is a list of nations that compete internationally in women's rugby league.
The Women's Rugby League World Cup was first held in Great Britain during 2000 to coincide with men's Rugby League World Cup with Australia, France, Great Britain and New Zealand competing. The World Cup is played every 4 years. The next World Cup will be held in 2017 in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea and will be played alongside the Men's tournament. In the 2013 World Cup, the Australian Jillaroos’ won the cup breaking New Zealand’s 13 year winning streak.
