THE IRFU IS aiming to set the wheels in motion for four contracted women’s provincial teams by the start of the 2026/27 season.
The union confirmed its intention to move towards four contracted provincial women’s sides competing in “cross-border, season-long tournaments” in its strategic plan last year and has now revealed a target timeline.
Currently, two Irish teams compete in the Celtic Challenge, but the IRFU hopes to have four in an expanded version of that competition with Welsh and Scottish sides by 2026.
“We would like the provinces to start to take their first step towards that in the 26/27 season, and that’s the project we’re working on at the moment,” said IRFU head of women’s strategy Lynne Cantwell, a former Ireland player who joined the union earlier this year.
“That won’t look all bells and whistles. Even if we look to PWR [Premiership Women's Rugby], PWR started in 2017 and it’s 2025 and it’s still building and it still hasn’t got fully-contracted players by any stretch, but it has a daily training environment that you have 20 hours a week where players are training, have access to full-time coaches, S&C, and competitive games, and that’s what we’re trying to build.
“So we want the provinces to take that first step on building that from 26/27 onwards.
“We’re not too sure we’re going to get there. We want to do it responsibly and sustainably – that’s the two words we’re working on.”
Last year, the IRFU positioned women’s rugby as a priority in its strategic plan up until 2028, with the appointment of Cantwell a key part of that.
Capped 86 times by Ireland, Cantwell was an influential figure in the team that won the 2013 Grand Slam and reached the 2014 World Cup semi-finals.
Cantwell was also one of the most prominent names to sign a letter to the Irish government in 2021 from a group of former and current players expressing their loss of all trust and confidence in the IRFU.
At that time, Cantwell had started working as the women’s high performance manager for the South African Rugby Union and she has also been a board member in Sport Ireland in recent years.
Cantwell speaking last week. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Since joining the Irish union in January, she has been leading the rollout of the IRFU’s strategy to take women’s rugby to another level in the coming years.
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Getting the four contracted provincial teams off the ground will be a big measure in furthering the encouraging progress of the Ireland national team over the past two seasons ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
Irish players are still being lured abroad to England, as shown by this year’s Six Nations player of the championship, Aoife Wafer, signing for Harlequins for the 2025/26 season.
“I’m delighted for Aoife in a way,” said Cantwell of that move. “The Irish system has created her and it’s great that you have the player of the Six Nations an Irish player and that’s been created by Ireland.
“But if you’ve got an aspirational player while you still have flexibility within your contracting model and you just have the PWR across the water and you have an opportunity there to play with the best teams in the world after a World Cup year, I’m completely in support of her. What she will bring back is lots of IP and drive standards nationally.
“She’ll obviously be missed from the two Celtic Challenge teams. But I understand while it’s still evolving, if that opportunity knocks on your door to be able to do it, but you’re right, you want more of those players to be playing in the Celtic Challenge over the coming years.”
Women’s rugby is in a major period of development, with unions across the world investing more and new competitions popping up. Cantwell said next year will bring a more formal version of the women’s U20 Six Nations.
The hope is that sponsors will continue an increased appetite to get involved. The IRFU currently spends around €9 million on women’s rugby, with €2 million of revenues coming in, so there is a big gap to make up in the coming years.
“It’s really significant now, the investment going into the game, especially over the last three years,” said Cantwell. “It’s nearly a 300% increase in the last three years.
“It’s significant that there’s €2 million coming in from a sponsorship point of view, that’s really significant. What we have to do is build out the commercial portfolio to be able to attract more sponsors, get them on board and connect with the growth story and try and increase revenues over the next couple of years to try and close that delta.
“Although there’s been more significant investment, there’s so much more to go. We recognise it’s a really competitive market. The opportunity is it’s coming in at a low base and there’s so much room to grow.”
Cantwell believes the upcoming World Cup, which kicks off in August, will be game-changing for the women’s game, particularly in Ireland.
“It’s on your doorstep,” she said. “It’s going to break every record under the sun and Ireland have the potential to feel that bounce.”
Key to Irish rugby capitalising on the World Cup bounce is developing the game below the high-performance level.
Ireland back row Aoife Wafer. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
This is perhaps the key project for Cantwell in her role. That huge upturn in investment in the women’s game has led to a dramatic improvement at the top of the chain, but there is a lot of work to be done in the grassroots.
Cantwell has been spending much of her initial time in the role getting a greater understanding of where the Irish women’s pathway stands.
“How do we elevate the game profile-wise so that more girls pick up a rugby ball, that they go to their local rugby club and have a positive experience, that there’s a game for them and a pathway for them doesn’t stop when they’re 12 and come back at 16, that there’s hygienic facilities and kit that fits them, a competition and a coach that teaches them the game?” said Cantwell.
Already, she is seeing positive signs.
“Where the women’s game in Ireland is really showing up is in non-traditional areas, places like Wicklow, Ballincollig, Clonakilty, Barnhall, Enniskillen, non-traditionally thriving clubs.”
Yet, as things stand, only 23 clubs in Ireland have a full pathway for girls and women’s rugby from minis up to senior rugby. 163 of all 217 clubs in Ireland have a women’s or girls’ team, while there is only 15% female representation on all club boards.
In this sense, the IRFU has set a target of 200 new girls and women’s teams launching in the coming years, mainly within clubs to fill in those holes in pathways.
“We’ve seen in our retention stats is if you have a full pathway, girls won’t drop out,” said Cantwell. “If you have more girls within your section, girls won’t drop out or will drop out at a lower pace.
“So a lot of that work is in clubs – how do we work with clubs on understanding where you recruit from? How do you have an inclusive experience? How do you get more volunteers so that the girls are catered for? How do you have a competition?”
There are other holes. Just 8% of all medical research in the sporting world is about female athletes, explains Cantwell, so there are lots of questions to be answered in that regard.
Cantwell is determined to get the answers and see the game grow.
“We’re in a young space, absolutely we are, Irish rugby and just globally as well we are, but wouldn’t it be a wonderful place to be when we understand those things in the next 20 years.”
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IRFU aims to launch contracted women's provinces by 26/27
THE IRFU IS aiming to set the wheels in motion for four contracted women’s provincial teams by the start of the 2026/27 season.
The union confirmed its intention to move towards four contracted provincial women’s sides competing in “cross-border, season-long tournaments” in its strategic plan last year and has now revealed a target timeline.
Currently, two Irish teams compete in the Celtic Challenge, but the IRFU hopes to have four in an expanded version of that competition with Welsh and Scottish sides by 2026.
“We would like the provinces to start to take their first step towards that in the 26/27 season, and that’s the project we’re working on at the moment,” said IRFU head of women’s strategy Lynne Cantwell, a former Ireland player who joined the union earlier this year.
“That won’t look all bells and whistles. Even if we look to PWR [Premiership Women's Rugby], PWR started in 2017 and it’s 2025 and it’s still building and it still hasn’t got fully-contracted players by any stretch, but it has a daily training environment that you have 20 hours a week where players are training, have access to full-time coaches, S&C, and competitive games, and that’s what we’re trying to build.
“So we want the provinces to take that first step on building that from 26/27 onwards.
“We’re not too sure we’re going to get there. We want to do it responsibly and sustainably – that’s the two words we’re working on.”
Last year, the IRFU positioned women’s rugby as a priority in its strategic plan up until 2028, with the appointment of Cantwell a key part of that.
Capped 86 times by Ireland, Cantwell was an influential figure in the team that won the 2013 Grand Slam and reached the 2014 World Cup semi-finals.
Cantwell was also one of the most prominent names to sign a letter to the Irish government in 2021 from a group of former and current players expressing their loss of all trust and confidence in the IRFU.
At that time, Cantwell had started working as the women’s high performance manager for the South African Rugby Union and she has also been a board member in Sport Ireland in recent years.
Since joining the Irish union in January, she has been leading the rollout of the IRFU’s strategy to take women’s rugby to another level in the coming years.
Getting the four contracted provincial teams off the ground will be a big measure in furthering the encouraging progress of the Ireland national team over the past two seasons ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
Irish players are still being lured abroad to England, as shown by this year’s Six Nations player of the championship, Aoife Wafer, signing for Harlequins for the 2025/26 season.
“I’m delighted for Aoife in a way,” said Cantwell of that move. “The Irish system has created her and it’s great that you have the player of the Six Nations an Irish player and that’s been created by Ireland.
“But if you’ve got an aspirational player while you still have flexibility within your contracting model and you just have the PWR across the water and you have an opportunity there to play with the best teams in the world after a World Cup year, I’m completely in support of her. What she will bring back is lots of IP and drive standards nationally.
“She’ll obviously be missed from the two Celtic Challenge teams. But I understand while it’s still evolving, if that opportunity knocks on your door to be able to do it, but you’re right, you want more of those players to be playing in the Celtic Challenge over the coming years.”
Women’s rugby is in a major period of development, with unions across the world investing more and new competitions popping up. Cantwell said next year will bring a more formal version of the women’s U20 Six Nations.
The hope is that sponsors will continue an increased appetite to get involved. The IRFU currently spends around €9 million on women’s rugby, with €2 million of revenues coming in, so there is a big gap to make up in the coming years.
“It’s really significant now, the investment going into the game, especially over the last three years,” said Cantwell. “It’s nearly a 300% increase in the last three years.
“It’s significant that there’s €2 million coming in from a sponsorship point of view, that’s really significant. What we have to do is build out the commercial portfolio to be able to attract more sponsors, get them on board and connect with the growth story and try and increase revenues over the next couple of years to try and close that delta.
“Although there’s been more significant investment, there’s so much more to go. We recognise it’s a really competitive market. The opportunity is it’s coming in at a low base and there’s so much room to grow.”
Cantwell believes the upcoming World Cup, which kicks off in August, will be game-changing for the women’s game, particularly in Ireland.
“It’s on your doorstep,” she said. “It’s going to break every record under the sun and Ireland have the potential to feel that bounce.”
Key to Irish rugby capitalising on the World Cup bounce is developing the game below the high-performance level.
This is perhaps the key project for Cantwell in her role. That huge upturn in investment in the women’s game has led to a dramatic improvement at the top of the chain, but there is a lot of work to be done in the grassroots.
Cantwell has been spending much of her initial time in the role getting a greater understanding of where the Irish women’s pathway stands.
“How do we elevate the game profile-wise so that more girls pick up a rugby ball, that they go to their local rugby club and have a positive experience, that there’s a game for them and a pathway for them doesn’t stop when they’re 12 and come back at 16, that there’s hygienic facilities and kit that fits them, a competition and a coach that teaches them the game?” said Cantwell.
Already, she is seeing positive signs.
“Where the women’s game in Ireland is really showing up is in non-traditional areas, places like Wicklow, Ballincollig, Clonakilty, Barnhall, Enniskillen, non-traditionally thriving clubs.”
Yet, as things stand, only 23 clubs in Ireland have a full pathway for girls and women’s rugby from minis up to senior rugby. 163 of all 217 clubs in Ireland have a women’s or girls’ team, while there is only 15% female representation on all club boards.
In this sense, the IRFU has set a target of 200 new girls and women’s teams launching in the coming years, mainly within clubs to fill in those holes in pathways.
“We’ve seen in our retention stats is if you have a full pathway, girls won’t drop out,” said Cantwell. “If you have more girls within your section, girls won’t drop out or will drop out at a lower pace.
“So a lot of that work is in clubs – how do we work with clubs on understanding where you recruit from? How do you have an inclusive experience? How do you get more volunteers so that the girls are catered for? How do you have a competition?”
There are other holes. Just 8% of all medical research in the sporting world is about female athletes, explains Cantwell, so there are lots of questions to be answered in that regard.
Cantwell is determined to get the answers and see the game grow.
“We’re in a young space, absolutely we are, Irish rugby and just globally as well we are, but wouldn’t it be a wonderful place to be when we understand those things in the next 20 years.”
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