Celtic Challenge: Wales, Scotland and Ireland to launch new women's rugby competition

Natalia John of Wales is tackled by Nicole Cronin and Dorothy Wall of Ireland during the Six Nations meeting last March

A new women's rugby competition for development teams from Wales, Scotland and Ireland is to start in 2023.

The pilot competition, called the Celtic Challenge, will initially feature one team from each nation playing home and away fixtures.

The aim is to increase the number of teams to six in 2024, with two teams from each nation.

The 2023 competition begins in January and will conclude a month before the Women's Six Nations starts.

Wales' representatives will be a Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) Development XV, who will be led by Wales forwards coach Mike Hill with Liza Burgess and Rhys Pritchard as assistants.

The WRU says the squad will feature a mix of young, emerging players and club players.

"We are very excited by this new opportunity to develop players on the female performance pathway," said WRU performance director Nigel Walker said.

"This is very much a starting point with one team per country in this pilot year, but the training programme and matches will provide an invaluable experience for Welsh players with ambitions to play international rugby to improve and test themselves in a performance environment."

Ireland will be represented in 2023 by a Combined Provinces XV led by Greg McWilliams and John McKee and play their home fixtures at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast.

Scotland's team, the Thistles, will include players from the Scottish Futures programme and Tennent's Premiership, alongside home-based contracted players. Their coaching team is to be confirmed in the new year.

Gillian McDarby, the Irish Rugby Football Union's (IRFU) head of women's performance and pathways, said: "It is vital at this stage of the sport's development that we establish sustainable competition models that bridge the gap between the player pathway and the international game."

Gemma Fay, Scottish Rugby's head of women and girls' strategy, said: "I'm delighted we are working together with IRFU and WRU to progress the women's game and we are excited to learn as much as we can from this pilot year, which will allow us to develop the Celtic Challenge moving forward."

Fixture details with locations and kick-off times will be fully confirmed by the respective home unions when these are finalised.

Celtic Challenge fixtures

The Thistles v WRU Development XV - Saturday, 21/Sunday, 22 January, 2023 - location TBC

WRU Development XV v Combined Provinces XV - Sunday, 29 January, 2023 - Cardiff Arms Park

Combined Provinces XV v The Thistles - Saturday, 4 February, 2023 - Kingspan Stadium

WRU Development XV v The Thistles - Saturday, 11 February, 2023 - Cardiff Arms Park

Combined Provinces XV v WRU Development XV - Saturday, 18 February, 2023 - Kingspan Stadium

The Thistles v Combined Provinces XV - Saturday, 25 February, 2023 - location TBC