The 2026 Super Rugby Women’s draw has been finalised, with the season shifting into the Australian winter and kicking off on June 6 as defending champions the NSW Waratahs open at Leichhardt Oval against the Fijian Drua. The move marks a significant calendar change for the competition, one organisers say is intended to better align the club season with the Wallaroos’ preparation for the WXV global series.
The opening weekend also features the Queensland Reds hosting the ACT Brumbies at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane on June 7, with the Reds expected to be among the favourites as they seek to go one better after last season’s grand final defeat. The Waratahs and Reds will renew their rivalry in a grand final rematch during round five, meeting again at Leichhardt Oval on July 5 — a mouth-watering mid-season fixture ahead of the finals series.
The 2026 regular season includes several fixtures of note for the Fijian Drua, who will play multiple matches in Fiji. The Drua travel to King Charles Park in Nadi to host Western Force on June 13 and the ACT Brumbies on June 20, maintaining the competition’s presence in the Pacific. Other scheduled venues include Viking Park in Canberra (Brumbies v Waratahs, June 14), Palmyra Rugby Club in Perth (Western Force v Waratahs, June 27) and Ballymore again when the Reds host the Drua on June 27.
Finals will be contested across mid- and late July. The top four teams after the regular rounds will qualify for semi-finals scheduled between July 17 and 19, with the Super Rugby Women’s Grand Final set for the weekend of July 24-26. In a new cross-competition showcase, the Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final — pitting the Super Rugby Women’s champion against the winner of New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aupiki — will be staged at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday 1 August, giving the domestic champion a home opportunity to test itself against New Zealand’s best.
Jilly Collins, General Manager Women’s High Performance & Competitions, welcomed the release of the draw, calling it “an exciting milestone for our players, coaches and fans.” Collins said the revised calendar position “is designed to help drive high performance outcomes for our clubs as well as the Wallaroos,” and highlighted the Champions Final in Sydney as a platform to further elevate the women’s game.
Broadcast arrangements have been confirmed: every match of the 2026 Super Rugby Women’s season will be shown live and on demand on Stan Sport, ensuring the full competition is available to Australian viewers. The scheduling change follows seasons previously run earlier in the year — including the 2025 campaign, which featured Drua home fixtures in March — and reflects an ongoing effort by organisers to coordinate domestic competition timing with international commitments for elite Australian players.
With the draw now public, clubs will turn to squad preparation and travel planning for a campaign that spans Fiji, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT before culminating in a trans-Tasman Champions Final on home soil. The full fixture list, including kickoff times and venues for every round, has been released by competition organisers ahead of the June 6 start.
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