Everything you need to know about Women’s Elite Rugby

The GIST: A hot new bombshell has entered the villa women’s sports space: Women’s Elite Rugby (WER). Before the league’s inaugural season (literally) kicks off tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET, let’s maul over everything you need to know.

The context: Women’s rugby isn’t new to North America. In fact, the Women’s Premier League (WPL), a player-run and -operated amateur league, has existed in the U.S. since 2009. However, the WPL’s pay-to-play model was deemed unsustainable, ushering in a new era of professional women’s rugby in the U.S.

• And their goal is simple: keep American talent at home. WER is hoping to follow in the footsteps of leagues like the NWSL and Unrivaled by creating domestic opportunities for women athletes to be paid. Already hooked.

How it works: The league’s six teams — the Boston Banshees, NY Exiles, Chicago Tempest, Twin Cities Gemini, Denver Onyx, and Bay Breakers — will play from tomorrow through June 29th. The regular-season slate includes 30 games total (all of which you can watch for free), with each team playing the other squads once at home and once on the road.

• Unlike the Olympics where teams compete in “Rugby Sevens,” WER is traditional 15-a-side rugby, meaning the games are slower paced and significantly longer (80 minutes vs. 14).

Zooming out: As the first pro women’s 15s rugby league in the U.S., WER’s debut has been a long time coming, especially given the WPL’s lengthy history. But the timing couldn’t be better: The Women’s Rugby World Cup will be hosted by England later this summer.

• And the global women’s rugby boom is undeniable. From strong North American showings in Rugby Sevens at the Paris Olympics, to 2023’s most-attended women’s 15s match of all time, to fan fave Ilona Maher’s new podcast, the appetite for the sport is prop-elling it to new heights.