PRESS RELEASE — Women’s Elite Rugby (WER) is thrilled to announce New York, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Twin Cities will be joining Boston, Chicago and Denver as the first six markets in the United States to host a professional women’s rugby team when WER’s inaugural season gets underway in March 2025. All six cities are homes to the existing Women’s Premier League teams.

WER, the first American professional women’s rugby league, is committed to take women’s rugby in the United States to new heights as it provides a space that enables athletes to pursue their rugby goals while being compensated for their dedication to elite performance. WER will also deliver younger players a pipeline to a professional league, helping to increase and promote the next generation of women’s rugby athletes.

Team names and stadium details for all markets will be announced at a later date. Teams will have approximately 30 players per team. The majority of the league’s founding players will be announced after a selection process in January 2025.

“We are thrilled to take world-class women’s rugby to the next level across the United States and delighted by the welcoming of our six generous host cities,” said WER President Dr. Jessica Hammond-Graf. “Each chosen market has a unique, storied history with the sport of rugby and we’re proud to continue building upon that legacy and expanding opportunities for the future generations of athletes.”

WER is also proud to announce Jamie Burke has been appointed as the league’s Director of Rugby. In Burke’s new position, she will be responsible for providing quality leadership, direction and delivery of WER’s on-field product with the directive of creating a world class, dynamic and entertaining brand of rugby built with the American consumer in mind.

The Director of Rugby will establish the culture and standards of the coaching and player personnel in the WER, with the aim of becoming the top domestic women’s rugby competition in the world.

Burke has represented the game in many capacities, first on the pitch as a USA Eagle and currently the women’s record-holder for most test match caps. She has since coached the game from the youth level in Colorado to the USA National Team, while also serving on the Board of Directors and USA Rugby International Athlete Council since September of 2020.

Burke was also recently named as a participant in the Capgemini Women in Rugby Leadership Program in 2024 and 2025, which drives visibility of female leaders from within the rugby family and helps to accelerate the development of the women and girls’ game, on the road to Rugby World Cup 2025. Burke is the fourth American to earn the scholarship, following Jillion Potter (2018), Jenn Heinrich (2020) and Jessica Dombrowski in 2022.

“We are at an incredible inflection point in both the women’s sports space and women’s rugby, specifically,” Burke said. “I am thrilled about the vision of Women’s Elite Rugby and getting the opportunity to be a crucial pillar of an organization that is driving the future of women’s rugby in the United States. We have the opportunity to define a unique brand of WER rugby that is dynamic, exciting and allows our athletes to showcase their skills, athleticism, and creativity for both the American rugby fan and the sports fans across the globe.”

New York

The first woman to coach a U.S. men’s professional rugby team was Karameli Faʻaeʻe when she took the position as assistant coach with Rugby United New York, a Major League Rugby expansion team. A decorated international player, Faʻaeʻe was a member of the USWNT from 2015-2017. In 2017, she captained the Eagles in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, where the US finished fourth. In 2014 and 2017, Faʻaeʻe was also the team captain of the New York Rugby Club.

Faʻaeʻe is currently serving as the Director of Rugby at New York Rugby Club.

San Francisco Bay Area

Founded in 1973 by Jeanie Salisbury, the Eleanors of Pasadena, CA was the first recorded team in California and was among the first five teams in the country. In 1977, Rochelle Law, a wing for UCLA women’s rugby appeared on the cover of Life Magazine, a momentous moment as rugby captured the resilient and revolutionary spirit of young women at the time.

In 1981 National Club Championship Final between Beantown and eventual champion Belmont Shore (Long Beach, CA).

In 1987, the first U.S. Women’s selection camp was held at Stanford University in preparation for the US Women’s National Team vs Canada match. Barb Bond, co-captain of the 1991 Rugby World Cup-winning U.S team, came from the Bay Area She Hawks (BASH). BASH won four National Championships from 1985 to 1988.

In 2007, Dana Teagarden became the first woman to referee a men’s tournament in the Sevens World Series in San Diego.

Twin Cities

The Twin Cities produced the first, and still only, women president of USA Rugby, Anne Barry. She served USA Rugby as its president from 1998-2002 and as treasurer from 1990-1998 and continued on the USA Rugby Board until 2005.

Barry was also the first woman inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame back in 1979. Barry was among seven other 2014 inductees. Barry has been involved in rugby as a player and administrator since joining her first team in 1983 at age 26. Barry began her rugby career as a player for the Twin Cities Amazons.

“We are thrilled to welcome Women’s Elite Rugby to Minnesota,” said Minnesota Sports and Events President and CEO Wendy Blackshaw. “A national leader in high school girls’ sports participation, home to WNBA, PWHL, and USL W teams, and host to sellout crowds at the 2022 NCAA Women’s Final Four and 2024 Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, Minnesota is a top destination for women’s sports. We look forward to growing rugby in our state and giving opportunities for women to play at the highest level.”