The Celtic Challenge is a cross-border women's rugby union competition that will be held annually, launched in 2023. Designed to develop players for the Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the inaugural pilot edition featured a double round robin between three teams, one from each participating union. From 2024 the competition will involve six teams, two from each participating union.[1][2] Beginning with the 2024-25 season, the competition will maintain its six-team setup, transitioning into a full home-and-away round-robin format. The winners will be determined by standings at the end of the season.[3]
Current season, competition or edition: 2023–24 Celtic Challenge | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country |  Ireland Wales Scotland |
| Most recent champion(s) | Wolfhounds (1st title) |
| Most titles | Combined Provinces XV Wolfhounds (one title) |
| Official website | https://celticrugbycomp.com/ |
The three participating unions fund the competition, with further development funding from World Rugby.
Teams
| Team | Established | Titles (last) |
|---|---|---|
| Brython Thunder | 2023 | – (N/A) |
| Clovers | 2023 | – (N/A) |
| Edinburgh Rugby | 2023 | – (N/A) |
| Glasgow Warriors | 2023 | – (N/A) |
| Gwalia Lightning | 2023 | – (N/A) |
| Wolfhounds | 2023 | 1 (2023–24) |
All time
A total of 9 clubs have been involved in since the league's inception in the 2023 season.
Below, the 2023–24 clubs are listed along with the number of full seasons they've competed in. Current clubs are shown in bold. The seasons each club has participated in, including the present one, are displayed in the last column.
| Seasons Competed | Team | Seasons Participated |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brython Thunder | 2023–24 |
| 1 | Clovers | 2023–24 |
| 1 | Combined Provinces XV | 2023 |
| 1 | Edinburgh Rugby | 2023–24 |
| 1 | Glasgow Warriors | 2023–24 |
| 1 | Gwalia Lightning | 2023–24 |
| 1 | The Thistles | 2023 |
| 1 | Wales Development XV | 2023 |
| 1 | Wolfhounds | 2023–24 |
History
2023 competition
The inaugural year of the competition in 2023 consisted of three teams:[2]
| Union | Ireland | Scotland | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Combined Provinces XV | The Thistles | Wales Development XV |
The first edition consisted of six matches in a double round robin:[4][5]
| Matchday | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Thistles | 27–29 | Wales Development XV | Scotstoun Stadium | 22 January 2023 | [1][6][7][8] |
| 2 | Wales Development XV | 26–27 | Combined Provinces XV | Cardiff Arms Park | 29 January 2023 | [9][10][11] |
| 3 | Combined Provinces XV | 45–12 | The Thistles | Kingspan Stadium | 4 February 2023 | [12][13][14] |
| 4 | Wales Development XV | 7–21 | The Thistles | Cardiff Arms Park | 11 February 2023 | [2][15][16][17] |
| 5 | Combined Provinces XV | 19–0 | Wales Development XV | Kingspan Stadium | 18 February 2023 | [18][19][20] |
| 6 | The Thistles | 26–33 | Combined Provinces XV | DAM Health Stadium | 25 February 2023 | [3][21][22] |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Combined Provinces XV (C) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 124 | 64 | +60 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | The Thistles | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 86 | 114 | −28 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 3 | Wales Development XV | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 62 | 94 | −32 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Rules for classification: 1) competition points; 2) match points difference; 3) match points for
(C) Champion
2023–24 competition
In November 2023 it was announced that for the second season, the competition would expand to six teams.[23]
In December it was announced that the 2023–24 competition will run from December to March 2024 and will be contested by six teams:
- 2 teams from Ireland, the Clovers and the Wolfhounds.[24]
- 2 teams from Wales, Brython Thunder and Gwalia Lightning.[25]
- 2 teams from Scotland, Edinburgh Rugby and Glasgow Warriors[26]
The teams will play each other once, either home or away, across five rounds before play-offs to decide a champion in March 2024.[27]