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A $90 million injection into grassroots rugby will create new women’s leagues and expand existing competitions to help the sport compete with cross code rivals ahead of the 2029 World Cup on home soil.
While the federal government funding will not specifically target the top-flight Super Rugby Women’s, a beefed-up grassroots product shapes as a crucial building block towards growing the competition in the future.
The Super Rugby Women’s season of just four rounds with a two-week finals system pales in comparison to countries such as England, where the Premiership Women’s Rugby is played over 20 weeks with nine teams. This has helped England feature in nine of 10 World Cup finals.
Rugby Australia has increased the Test program to at least 10 fixtures a year from 2026, but it has still grappled with player defections to the ever-growing NRLW, including Rugby 7s star Teagan Levi (Gold Coast Titans) and former Test squad member Caitlin Urwin (Brisbane Broncos).
The early program rollouts of the Australian Legacy funding into rugby have already generated an 8 per cent increase in female participation. Minister for Sport Anika Wells said a long-term legacy beyond the World Cup will be created from the initiative.
“The Albanese government’s $90 million investment will get more women, girls and grassroots players into rugby, growing the sport in Australia and the Pacific and leaving a lasting legacy from these major competitions,” Wells said.
“The benefits of these tournaments will be felt well beyond the final whistle, encouraging Australians – especially women and girls – to pick up a ball and get involved.”
The funding will also go towards women’s facility upgrades and the creation of courses to help more women and girls become coaches, referees and officials.
According to an AusPlay survey funded and led by the Australian Sports Commission, 39 per cent of Australians aged 15 and over who participated as a sports official in 2025 were women. However, that figure is not represented across the higher levels.
Of the 44 clubs in the four women’s football codes – Super Rugby Women’s, NRLW, AFLW and A-League Women’s – only five head coaches are female: Karyn Murphy (Titans), Tamara Hyett (Western Bulldogs), Lisa Webb (Fremantle Dockers), Daisy Pearce (West Coast Eagles), and Natalie Wood (Essendon Bombers).
The federal government said the funding would also help deliver both Rugby World Cups – with the men’s 2027 showcase in Australia expected to generate more than $2 billion – while continuing to aid the Pacific Legacy program, which now operates in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
“This is another way we are working with our Pacific neighbours to grow and strengthen our ties through sport,” Wells said.
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