Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs awarded Tyrrells Premier 15s status
Sale Sharks and Exeter Chiefs will have representation in England’s elite women’s rugby union tier for the first time from next season after both clubs were awarded a place in the Tyrrells Premier 15s until the 2022-23 campaign.
It is believed Exeter have already spent some £500,000 in setting up its women’s team this season, with the club previously saying it would invest between £1m and £1.5m should it be awarded Premier 15s status. Sale Sharks also said it would be committing £1m over a three-year period to support its “ambitious women’s team.”
Darlington Durham Sharks, who recently merged with Durham University’s women’s side, and Worcester Warriors are the other two teams to have retained their place in the competition following a re-tendering process conducted by the Rugby Football Union.
They will join Saracens, Harlequins, Loughborough, Gloucester-Hartpury, Bristol Bears and Wasps FC Ladies, the six clubs which were automatically invited to join the elite league for the next three campaigns after passing an independent audit which took place during the first half of the 2019-20 season.
Richmond, one of the oldest and most successful women’s rugby clubs in the country who previously claimed there has been an “obvious shift” by the RFU in favouring Premier 15s teams allied to men’s Premiership sides, has been omitted.
There is also no place for struggling northern-based outfit Firwood Waterloo, who were bottom of the Premier 15s table before it was declared null and void last week due to the coronavirus pandemic.
All clubs are required to sign a participation agreement with the RFU and the offers remain conditional until this is received, with any decisions subject to appeal.
Nicky Ponsford, RFU Head of Women’s Performance said: “My thoughts and those of all of us at the RFU are with everyone impacted by COVID-19, both across the country and within our rugby union community.
"I’d like to thank all clubs for their cooperation, especially in recent weeks where even during these unprecedented circumstances, we have managed to adapt and continue to work to original timelines.
“We said from the outset that this process allows us to recognise the input of current clubs but still open up the league to potential new entrants with a geographical spread maintained where possible and that’s reflected in the results. The quality of the applications was very high.
“We’re looking forward to working with those clubs who have been with us since the league launched in 2017 as well as welcome Exeter and Sale, both of whom have exciting plans which will undoubtedly add quality to the division both on and off the field.”
Launched in 2017 with a £2.4 million three-year investment from the RFU, the Tyrrells Premier 15s remains the biggest ever financial investment in domestic women’s club rugby.
The 10 clubs which will form the Tyrrells Premier 15s for the next three years:
Bristol Bears Women
Darlington Mowden Park Sharks
Exeter Chiefs Women
Gloucester-Hartpury Women
Harlequins Women
Loughborough Lightning
Sale Sharks Women
Saracens Women
Wasps FC Ladies
Worcester Warriors Women
