Lionesses set to grace new World Rugby event in 2023 – The Star, Kenya

Kenya Lionesses will benefit from newly introduced annual World Rugby womens 15's competition model and international playing windows that will supercharge the womens game.

Lionesses, who are chasing a maiden appearance at next year's World Cup in New Zealand, will fancy their chances of qualifying for the inaugural event slated for 2023.

Supported by an initial Sh896 million World Rugby investment, the three WXV competitions will feature 16 teams and will be hosted within a new September-October global competition window, except in a Rugby World Cup year.

Teams will qualify annually into the WXV competitions courtesy of their finishing positions within the respective existing annual regional competitions, such as the Womens Six Nations. These regional competitions, played within a new regional window, must be completed by June each year.

To support the implementation of the WXV competitions, a new annual cross-region competition, will be established to act as one of the principle qualification routes for the top tier .

This will feature Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. This represents a huge step forward, providing a regular annual international competition, which never used to exist, for these teams.

The first model of WXV will consist of six teams and will be played in a cross-pool format at a standalone tournament in a location, which will be determined on an year-by-year basis.

Participating teams will include the top three teams from the Womens Six Nations (Europe) and the top three teams of the cross-regional tournament featuring Australia, Canada, New Zealand and USA (Oceania/Rugby Americas North (RAN)). Each team will play three matches. There will be no promotion or relegation in the first cycle of WXV 1.

The second model will equally consist of six teams and will be played in a cross-pool format, as a standalone tournament in one location on an year-by-year basis.

Participating teams for 2023 will include two teams from Europe, the fourth-placed team from the cross-regional tournament featuring Australia, Canada, New Zealand and USA (Oceania/RAN) alongside one team from Oceania, Asia and Africa.

Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) director in charge of women's rugby, Moses Ndale welcomed the new tournament observing that it represents a good opportunity for Kenyans to test themselves against the top women playing nations in the world.

"It's a good opportunity for us to feature in a big event and play the top women teams outside the World Cup, he added.

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Lionesses set to grace new World Rugby event in 2023 - The Star, Kenya