Australia to send more players to England's PWR
Tabua Tuinakauvadra will join Leicester Tigers from ACT Brumbies in Australia
- Published
Australia will send more of their top players to feature in England's Premiership Women's Rugby next season in an attempt to ensure they are competitive at the next World Cup.
Governing body Rugby Australia described the official link-up as "invaluable" to achieving its goals of "competing on the final weekend at the Rugby World Cup in 2029".
Australia, ranked ninth in the world, will host the 2029 tournament.
They reached the quarter-finals in 2025 but were beaten 46-5 by eventual finalists Canada.
The first player to sign up for Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) under the partnership is reigning Wallaroos' Player of the Year Tabua Tuinakauvadra, 23, who will join Leicester Tigers.
Peter Horne, Rugby Australia's director of high performance, said: "With a home Rugby World Cup on the horizon, Rugby Australia is committed to exposing the Wallaroos to world-class competition wherever possible.
"Gaining experience in a competition like the PWR will be invaluable for the players' development."
Rugby Australia said Tuinakauvadra's contract would run to the end of April 2027. She would return to Australia for international tests in the Pacific Four Series, then their Super Rugby Women domestic competition.
Barring a format change to PWR, this indicates that any Wallaroos would not be available to sides for the final round of PWR matches next season, and would miss any play-offs.
Australia have made the link-up official, but are not the first nation to understand and make use of the value of PWR to its international stars - so too have Wales, Scotland, Canada and the USA.
After the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England, significant numbers of New Zealand's top players sought contracts with PWR sides to make up for a lack of playing opportunities at home.
This included Black Ferns captain Ruahei Demant, who has indicated she would like to return to the league after a short contract with Bristol Bears Women this season.
With the league's concept originally based on being a pathway for future England players to develop, another influx of international talent could raise further questions around the number of England-qualified players teams have to field in matchday squads.
