Who makes the WXV team of the tournament?

England's Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach helped England retain their WXV1 title

The second edition of WXV finished with England successfully defending their crown in the top division of the three-tier competition.

The Red Roses were pushed all the way by Canada in the title decider on the final weekend but have now won 50 of their last 51 matches, the exception being the final of the Rugby World Cup in 2022.

Ireland were the surprise package in WXV1, beating New Zealand and the USA to claim second place. Their revival is definitely on track and, after failing to qualify for the last World Cup, will hope to provide real competition to the top sides at the 2025 tournament.

In WXV2, Australia maintained a 100% record to win the title, beating Wales, South Africa and Scotland.

Spain triumphed in WXV3 and in doing so qualified for the World Cup.

Using the unique Opta Index - which objectively scores each player's performances throughout the campaign - we can select the best XV of the tournament.

We go through each selection and back up their inclusion with some pertinent statistics, giving special mention to the player of the tournament.

Backs

15: Ellie Kildunne (England) – Player of the Tournament

Kildunne scored a brace of tries against the United States in the opening game of WXV1 and followed that with two more against the Black Ferns in game two. This meant she finished as the joint top try-scorer, alongside team-mate Jess Breach and New Zealand’s Katelyn Vaha’akolo.

She also gained 346 metres with ball in hand, 141 more than anyone else, and had a tackle evasion rate of 50%, the second best of the 91 players to face 10 or more tackles in WXV1.

14: Jess Breach (England)

Against New Zealand, England’s back-three combined to score a remarkable seven tries, with Breach accounting for three of those. She also scored against the USA and provided two further try assists. Only Kildunne could match her try involvements tally of six (4 tries, 2 assists). In addition, 19 of her 22 carries saw her cross the gainline (90%), the best rate of any of the 65 players to make 15 or more carries in WXV1.

13: Alev Kelter (USA)

Kelter, one of three Eagles players in this team, made the most carries of any back (38) and was one of just two players to make more than 100 metres in contact (105m). Her tally of 20 defenders beaten was the highest of anyone in WXV1.

12: Ruahei Demant (New Zealand)

Demant was a creative spark in the New Zealand midfield, making seven line break assists, three more than any other player in WXV1, as well as more offloads than anyone else (eight). Ultimately, it was a disappointing tournament for New Zealand, but Demant showed her class.

11: Desiree Miller (Australia)

Both Australian wingers impressed in WXV2 this year, but it is Miller who pipped her team-mate Maya Stewart to a spot in this side. Stewart was the top try-scorer with four to Miller's two, but Miller was the leading metre-maker (449), including a competition high 270 post-contact metres.

10: Faitala Moleka (Australia)

Steering the ship for the Wallaroos, Moleka scored a competition high 27 points and slotted 71% of her shots at goal. Of the 10 players to have eight or more attempts at the sticks, only England's Zoe Harrison (80%) had a better success rate.

9: Pauline Bourdon Sansus (France)

Pauline Bourdon Sansus gained 181 metres in WXV1, almost 150 more than any other scrum-half, and 79 of those were pick-and-go metres. For context, that is 36 more metres of sniping runs than the rest of the scrum-halves combined.

Forwards

1: Hope Rogers (USA)

The Exeter Chiefs prop was one of the standout forwards in WXV1. She crossed for two tries and made plenty of hard yards with ball in hand – her 42 carries were the most of any tight-five forward, while she was the only one to gain over 100 metres (105). It wasn’t just in attack that she had an impact though, with Ireland’s Linda Djougang (44) being the only front rower to make more tackles than the American (42).

2: Emily Tuttosi (Canada)

The Canadian hooker put in an all-action performance during this year’s WXV1, ranking in the top three front rowers for carries (31), tackles (41) and attacking rucks (55). Even when tackled she was a threat for opposition defenders, making four offloads – the joint most of any front row forward - while at the set-piece her tally of 34 successful line-out throws was at least 10 more than any other hooker.

3: Eva Karpani (Australia)

Karpani was the standout front row in WXV, according to the Opta Index, and it’s easy to see why, particularly with ball in hand. From her 26 carries she gained 111 metres, more than twice as many as any other front row, while her tally of three line breaks was as many as every other front row in WXV2 combined. Similarly, her nine defenders beaten was a high for her position in WXV2, while Italy's Silvia Turani was the only front row in the division to match her try tally of two.

4: Zoe Aldcroft (England)

Aldcroft is a player of huge importance to England, owing to her incredible work-rate. The second row is in the top five players in WXV1 for both tackles made per 80 minutes (18.2) and attacking ruck hits per 80 minutes (24). She was a menace at the line-out, stealing three opposition throws despite playing just 180 minutes in total.

5: Laetitia Royer (Canada)

Royer was relentless at the breakdown, hitting more than 20 defensive rucks and winning five turnovers in total – the joint most of any player alongside Ireland's Aoife Wafer and France's Emeline Gros. She was a threat with ball in hand - her two line breaks and six defenders beaten were joint-highs for any second row, while she made the most offloads of any lock (five) and crossed for two tries.

6: Erin King (Ireland)

Ireland’s top try-scorer in WXV1 crossed for more tries than any other back rower in the top division (3). Her defensive numbers were very impressive too. King was one of three players in WXV1 to hit 20 or more defensive rucks, winning four turnovers in the process. At the set-piece she was a key cog in the Irish line-out, winning 13 in total, including one steal.

7: Aoife Wafer (Ireland)

Wafer is fast becoming one of the first names on the Ireland team sheet, with an impressive WXV1 campaign further increasing her stock. The Irish back row beat more defenders than any other forward (25) and also ranked joint-first for turnovers won with five. Her two tries, both in the historic win over the Black Ferns, will live long in the memory of Ireland fans.

8: Rachel Johnson (USA)

If there was an award for the hardest worker in WXV1 it might just go to the USA back row. She made a competition high 54 carries, along with 40 tackles and 80 ruck hits, with her combined tally for all three (174) being the most of any player. From her carries she gained 204 metres, the most of any forward and the second most of any player overall, behind England’s Kildunne.