Allianz have been announced as the new title partner for the Premier 15s, the top-flight women’s domestic competition in England ahead of Warriors Women’s league opener at Saracens this Saturday (kick-off 2pm).
Committed to investing in women and girls’ rugby, the wider part of the deal sees Allianz as the new Official Insurance Partner of England Rugby, with all England Rugby teams and the community game being supported.
One of the largest general insurers in the UK, Allianz Insurance has a long history in rugby and is excited about turning its support and attention to the women and girls’ game, which is a strategic priority for the RFU. Together the two organisations will continue the strong growth trajectory of the sport through increased awareness activities and programmes.
“We are really excited to start the season and playing Saracens on the opening day of the season is a big challenge for us,” said Warriors Women Director of Rugby Jo Yapp.
“Saracens have been consistently top of the Premier 15s since the competition started and it’s a great opportunity to see where we are at.
“It has been a tough pre-season, but we are really proud of both the staff and players at Warriors. Everyone has had to be really adaptable to the changes due to Covid-19 and keeping the environment a safe one in which to train has been a priority.
“Allianz as the new sponsor of the Premier 15s is great for the competition and it will definitely help to support the growth of the game.”
After taking on Saracens on the opening weekend of the season, Warriors Women travel to DMP Durham Sharks on Saturday October 17, before hosting Wasps Ladies at Sixways on Saturday October 24. A full fixture list can be found here.
The Allianz Premier 15s is starting under the Government’s Elite Sport Return to Play Guidance. Law variations have been approved** to reduce in game face-to-face contact along with a range of medical and monitoring requirements to mitigate potential transmission risks and to allow competition to start without weekly testing.
All players and support staff are receiving thorough training modules and the choice to opt in to return to competition.
Before seeking approval for adapted laws, the RFU undertook a detailed risk analysis which demonstrated that compared to the Men’s Elite Game there was a higher frequency of scrums, but a lower frequency of high or smother tackles in the Women’s Elite Game (i.e. those with greater face-to-face contact).
A risk mitigation strategy has been agreed for the Allianz Premier 15s which is different to the Men’s Premiership to reflect the different on-field risk as well as recognising the practicalities of weekly testing among players with careers in addition to rugby which would prohibit testing at specific times and locations and would present challenges in terms of self-isolating as a result of false positives.
The focus for Allianz Premier 15s teams is on medical and operational practices including; symptom control, temperature checking, minimum operating standards including risk assessments, enhanced cleaning regimes, high levels of equipment and hand sanitisation and comprehensive medical support.
Transmission risk is also reduced through a prescriptive approach to training practices and an 80% reduction in face-to-face contact as a result of law variations including:
- A play advantage law from a knock-on reducing scrums by over 75%
- Free kicks awarded to the opposition for a forward pass – reducing face-to-face contact by 6%
- Removal of the option for a scrum at a free kick or penalty – reducing face-to-face contact by 7%
- A maul may only have one stop then the ball must be used to reduce the length of the maul
- No players who are not in the start of a lineout can join a maul to reduce the number of players in the maul
- It will only be possible to drive a lineout in 22m to reduce the number of mauls
- Strict social distancing while ball is out of play including set water breaks, named bottles, limited face-to-face warm up
- Game time is reduced to 35 minutes each way to mitigate risk while also recognising the game will be faster with fewer stoppages and thereby supporting player welfare
The opening nine rounds of the season will be played using the adapted law variations for the elite women’s game. The control measures employed will be reviewed and a decision will be made whether to continue with the amendments or revert to standard laws for the second half of the campaign. All matches will be played behind closed doors until further notice.
Nicky Ponsford, Head of Women’s Performance, added: “We’re thrilled to be able to announce the fixtures for the 2020/21 season. After the early ending of the 2019/20 campaign due to Covid-19, it’s been a real whole-game effort to get the Allianz Premier 15s back and I’d like to thank all clubs and departments who have worked together to reach this point.
“The Allianz Premier 15s is set to be the perfect curtain-raiser for an exciting year of women’s rugby.”