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The Allianz Cup is an English women's rugby union knockout cup competition for teams that compete in Premiership Women's Rugby. It was created in 2021 to act as Premiership Women's Rugby, then Premier 15s, equivalent to the men's Premiership Rugby Cup.[1] It typically takes place in the international windows, giving more opportunities to inexperienced players.[2]
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Allianz Cup | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2021 |
| Administrator | RFU |
| No. of teams | 9 |
| Country |  England |
| Most recent champion(s) | Saracens (1st title) (2023–24) |
| Most titles | Exeter Chiefs (2 titles) |
| Related competitions | Premiership Women's Rugby |
| Official website | www |
The Allianz Cup uses a format where Premiership Women's Rugby clubs are divided into two pools based on their previous season's finishing positions. Over five rounds, each team played every other team once, with a combination of two home games, two away games, and one bye week.
The top two teams from each pool progressed to the semi-finals, which were hosted at the venues of the highest-ranked clubs. These semi-finals are accompanied by a third-place play-off and a grand final. The grand final took place at the home venue of the club with the most significant points difference.
The bottom four ranked teams participated in fifth, seventh, and ninth-place play-offs. The venues for these play-offs were determined by the league tables.[3]
For the 2023–24 competition, with the withdrawal of Worcester Warriors Women reducing the participating teams to nine,[4][5] the nine teams were divided into a pool of four and a pool of five. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the semi-finals, the semi-finals are accompanied by a third-place play-off and a grand final, while the third-place team from each pool progressed to a two-legged 5th-6th place play-off, with the winner determined by aggregate score. The fourth-placed team from the pool of four and the fourth and fifth-placed teams from the pool of five advanced to a 7th-9th place play-off, utilizing a round-robin format to determine the finishing order of the three teams.[6]
| Ed. | Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Venue | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2021–22 | Exeter Chiefs | 57–12 | Harlequins | Sandy Park, Exeter | [7][8] |
2 | 2022–23 | Exeter Chiefs | 29–19 | Saracens | Sandy Park, Exeter | [9][10] |
3 | 2023–24 | Saracens | 31–17 | Bristol Bears | Shaftesbury Park, Bristol | [11] |
List of champions
| # | Team | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exeter Chiefs | 2 | 2021–22, 2022–23 |
| 2 | Saracens | 1 | 2023–24 |
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