West Park Leeds miss out on Tyrells Premier 15s but vow to keep on developing

The Rugby Football Union has confirmed the ten clubs invited to participate in the elite women’s competition for the 2020/21 to 2022/23 seasons.

Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks are the two new names to join at the expense of Richmond and Firwood Waterloo but West Park Leeds Ladies missed the cut for the ring-fenced league.

Having won the Championship North for the last three seasons, the Bramhope-based club had hoped to earn a three-year franchise.

Captain Vicki Pinks said: “Obviously, we are disappointed as we’d worked hard to get our bid in.

“It’s disappointing there’s no side from Yorkshire in the Tyrrells Premier 15s.

“But for the girls it’s now about moving forward; we’ll obviously be locked out for the next three years so we know we’ll be in the Championship for the next three.

“Now we just want to build as a team and we’re looking forward to playing again whenever that may be.”

On their Twitter feed, West Park Leeds Ladies also said: “We are sad to announce we have not secured a place in the Tyrrells Premier 15s for next year.

“We gave it our best shot but we are excited for another year in the Championship. We would like to thank the RFU for the opportunity to tender for a place.

“It was a long process but it has taught us a lot about the professional game and ways we can improve the player experience moving forward.

“We would like to thank our fellow Yorkshire clubs for their support throughout the process.

“We look forward to all our local derbies next season and hope to see Sheffield Ladies (relegated) again soon.”

An independently verified audit assessed clubs on a combination of their ability to deliver the competition’s minimum operating standards and their on-pitch performance.

Bristol Bears Women, Gloucester-Hartpury Women, Harlequins Women, Loughborough Lightning, Saracens Women and Wasps FC Ladies were the top-six ranked.

The bottom-four ranked teams were invited to re-tender for a place and applications for tender were also opened.

RFU Head of Women’s Performance Nicky Ponsford said: “We said from the outset this process allows us to recognise the input of current clubs but still open up the league to potential new entrants with a geographical spread maintained where possible and that’s reflected in the results.

“The quality of the applications was very high.”

Meanwhile, the Tyrrells Premier 15s Development League has been axed.

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