Wasps Women are a women's

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

based in Acton, London, England. They were founded in 1984 and play in the

Premier 15s The Premier 15s, currently known for sponsorship purposes as the Allianz Premier 15s, is the top tier of the women's English rugby union domestic league system run by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The league was created mainly from teams in t ...

. They are the women's team of Wasps FC, who are affiliated to

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

team

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

. They play their home matches at Wasps FC's Twyford Avenue Sports Ground.

History

Wasps Women was founded in 1984 by Sue Martineau and have played in the top flight of English women's rugby union since 1991 as they were not involved in the first season of the Women's Premiership in 1990. In 1992, they won the Women's National 7s title. They have won league titles including three consecutive wins between 2001 and 2004, including a league and cup double in 2004. Aside of their local rivalries with fellow London clubs

Saracens Women Saracens Women (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsærəsənz/) are a women's rugby union club based in Hendon, London, England. They were founded in 1989 and currently play in the Premier 15s, the top level competition of Women's rugby union, women's rugby ...

and

Richmond Women Richmond Women, formally Finchley RFC, is a women's rugby union team based in Richmond, London, England. They were founded in 1986 and played in the Women's Premiership. They are also the women's team of Richmond F.C. History Richmond Women were ...

, Wasps Women also have a rivalry with

Bristol Bears Women Bristol Bears Women, formerly Clifton Ladies RFC, then Bristol Ladies, is a women's rugby union team based in Bristol, England. They are a standalone, independent rugby club, running in partnership with the Bristol Bears (formerly Bristol Rugby) s ...

, formally Clifton Ladies. Wasps Women run two teams with Wasps Women II playing in Championship 2 South West after being relegated from Championship 1 South in 2013. Being affiliated to Wasps, Wasps Women have played matches at the Coventry Building Society Arena in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

and Wasps' former home ground,

Adams Park Adams Park is an association football stadium in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1990, it is the home ground of the local Wycombe Wanderers in League One. It was also leased from 2002 to 2014 to the rugby union club London Was ...

in High Wycombe,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

. Wasps Women also take part in charity games, including playing against Guernsey Ladies in Sark. In July 2021; in line with a company wide rebrand, the team were rebranded Wasps Women having previously been called Wasps Ladies.

Notable players

Wasps Women have provided a number of players for international teams.

Sue Day Susan Day (born 29 October 1972) is an English female rugby union footballer who played fullback for London Wasps Ladies and for England. Career Day made her debut versus in 1997. She was selected for the 2006 Six Nations Squad. She appear ...

and

Shelley Rae Shelley Rae (born 1 June 1976) is a former English female rugby union player. She represented at the 2002 and 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup. Rae retired from international rugby in 2008. She scored her first try in 2001 when beat 22-17 in Auck ...

played for both Wasps Women and the England women's national rugby union team.

Stephanie Te Ohaere-Fox Stephanie Te Ohaere-Fox (born 6 April 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She competed for New Zealand at the 2010 and 2014 Rugby World Cup's. She played for Matatū in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition and provincially for Canterbury. ...

played for both Wasps Women and the

New Zealand women's national rugby union team The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournamen ...

References

{{Premier 15s Women's rugby union teams in England Rugby clubs established in 1984 Women's sports teams in London