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WXV Global Challenger Series coming to Hong Kong in 2026

An aerial view of the Kai Tak Main Stadium, which will host the 2025 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, on March 28-30. Photo: Ike Li / Ike Images

World Rugby have confirmed that Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Sports Park will host the WXV Global Series Challenger competition in September 2026.

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The second-tier WXV Global Series competition will see teams ranked 13-17 in the world go head-to-head in a centrally-hosted tournament across three triple-header matchdays from 13-26 September 2026.

Fiji, Hong Kong China, the Netherlands, Samoa, Spain and Brazil are the six teams that will compete in the WXV Global Series Challenger.

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Funded by World Rugby the competition allows unions to more consistently compete in high-quality international competition.

Rankings for the Series were set at the conclusion of WXV 2024 and will remain fixed through the 2026 to 2028 cycle. Crossover fixtures will take place in 2027 around the British & Irish Lions Women’s tour.

The WXV Global Series features the world’s top 18 national teams, with the top 12 ranked teams – Australia, Canada, England, France, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, USA and Wales – competing in a cross-regional touring model across an eight week window spanning September and October.

“Confirming the WXV Global Series calendar, with more than 100 international fixtures for the world’s top 18 unions across 2026-28, is a huge step forward for women’s rugby,” Sally Horrox, World Rugby’s Chief of Women’s Rugby, said.

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“With Hong Kong China set to host the Challenger in September, we are providing unions with the opportunity to play more consistent, high-quality competition, while the top 12 teams compete in an exciting home-and-away series.

“This new hybrid model, developed in partnership with the participating unions, delivers more meaningful competition, strengthens player pathways, and gives fans around the world even more opportunities to engage with women’s rugby.”

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The WXV Global Series is integrated with 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup qualification. Australia have already qualified for the competition along with 2025 semi-finalists England, Canada, New Zealand and France.

Eight more teams will qualify through regional competitions staged in 2027 and the top two non-qualified teams will get places awarded via the World Rugby rankings at the end of the 2027 international window.

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The final team will be determined at the 2028 WXV Global Series Challenger, which will double up as the Final Qualification Tournament.

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