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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did the Utrecht Shield say? "I've got you covered.

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Utrecht Shield
SportRugby Union
Awarded forLineal Championship
History
First award13 June 1982; 44 years, 54 days ago
First winner France
Most recent England 12 October 2024; 1 year, 298 days ago
Websiteraeburnandutrechtshields.com

The Utrecht Shield is an unofficial rugby union lineal championship contested in international women's rugby union. The title follows a "title holder" system - similar to a boxing world title[1] or New Zealand’s Ranfurly Shield,[2] where the holder of the Shield defends it in each subsequent international match they play. If the holder loses, the winning team becomes the new holder.[3]

Named after the city of Utrecht, where the first women's rugby union test match, between the Netherlands and France, took place on 13 June 1982,[3] the Shield celebrates the roots of the Women’s international game.[4] France's victory in that match is treated as the first championship win, and the title is considered to have passed between national teams through successive Test matches since then.

The Utrecht Shield is not an official competition organised by World Rugby, but rather a statistical and historical concept used by rugby historians and fans to track a continuous lineal champion. A men's version of the trophy, the Raeburn Shield, follows the same format. Both of these shields have been highlighted by RugbyPass, owned by World Rugby.[4]

As of 14 March 2026, England are the current holders following their victory over Canada in the 2024 WXV tournament.

Concept

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The Utecht Shield operates on a lineal championship system. The team holding the shield defends it in every international Test match they play. If the holder wins or draws the match, they retain the shield. If the holder loses, the opposing team becomes the new holder.[5]

Because the title does not belong to a tournament; instead, it is held by the team that most recently it and changes hands only when the current holder is defeated, it can be won outside of major tournaments and may change hands during any international fixture, adding an extra layer of excitement to every match they play. This format has led to the shield occasionally being held by teams that have not won major competitions.

Red Roses players, Ellie Kildunne and Claudia Moloney-MacDonald with the Utrecht Shield

History

[edit]

The concept of a lineal championship in women's rugby was first conceived by New Zealander and former Harbour Hawks tighthead prop[6]; David Algie[2] in 2008.[7] The concept emerged from discussion on an online rugby forum, where Algie and others suggested applying a "winner-stays-on" championship model to Test rugby results.

Since its creation, the Utrecht Shield has been a fan-driven title maintained and promoted by supporters rather than official rugby governing bodies, and shield challenges have become part of match reports by major news outlets, such as the BBC.[8]

The physical shield was fabricated by an Edinburgh-based woodworker[4] and ex-Watsonian Women head coach Freddie Main.[7]

The Utrecht Shield's lineage begins with the first women's rugby union test match played between the Netherlands and France on 13 June 1982. The match was arranged as part of the 50th anniversary of the Dutch Rugby Union celebrations, when the Dutch invited the then French women's rugby governing body, the Association Française de Rugby Féminin (AFRF), to send a women's national team to play against the Dutch women's national team. The match was covered by reporter Henk Hansen of the Dutch news magazine Panorama.[9] France won against the Netherlands in that first match 4-0. At a match between the two teams at Enschede on 1 May 1986, France were defeated 10–0, ending the first Utrecht Shield run.

List of shield holders

[edit]
List of every successful challenge
Match Defender Score Challenger Date SD Tenure
1  Netherlands 0-4[10]  France 13 June 1982 - -
2  France 0-10[11]  Netherlands 1 May 1986 3 1418d (3y10m18d)
3  Netherlands 3-22[12]  France 31 May 1987 1 395d (1y30d)
4  France 0-13[12]  Great Britain[Note 1] 4 March 1989 4 643d (1y9m4d)
5  England 6-19[13]  United States 14 April 1991 6 771d (2y1m10d)
6  United States 6-17[14]  England 8 June 1993 1 786d (2y1m25d)
7  England 15-17[12]  France 23 February 1997 17 1356d (3y8m15d)
8  France 10-15[15]  England 4 April 1997 1 40d (1m12d)
9  England 0-67[12]  New Zealand 13 August 1997 1 131d (4m9d)
10  New Zealand 17-22[16]  England 16 June 2001 13 1403d (3y10m3d)
11  England 17-22[17]  France 1 March 2002 2 258d (8m13d)
12  France 0-30[18]  New Zealand 21 May 2002 4 81d (2m20d)
13  New Zealand 3-10[19]  England 21 November 2009 19 2741d (7y6m)
14  England 10-13[20]  New Zealand 5 September 2010 9 288d (9m15d)
15  New Zealand 0-10[21]  England 26 November 2011 0 447d (1y2m21d)
16  England 0-25[22]  Ireland 9 February 2013 15 441d (1y2m14d)
17  Ireland 10-17[23]  England 22 February 2014 5 378d (1y13d)
18  England 0-13[24]  Wales 8 February 2015 8 351d (11m17d)
19  Wales 7-28[25]  France 27 February 2015 1 19d
20  France 12-17[26]  Italy 14 March 2015 0 15d
21  Italy 0-39[27]  France 6 February 2016 1 329d (10m23d)
22  France 8-10[28]  Wales 28 February 2016 1 22d
23  Wales 13-20[29]  England 12 March 2016 0 13d
24  England 12-17[30]  France 18 March 2016 0 6d
25  France 13-17[31]  England 5 July 2016 1 109d (3m17d)
26  England 20-25[32]  New Zealand 19 November 2016 3 137d (4m14d)
27  New Zealand 21-29[33]  England 17 June 2017 4 210d (6m29d)
28  England 32-41[34]  New Zealand 26 August 2017 4 70d (2m9d)
29  New Zealand 27-30[35]  France 17 November 2018 4 448d (1y2m22d)
30  France 26-41[36]  England 10 February 2019 1 85d (2m24d)
31  England 13-28[37]  New Zealand 14 July 2019 6 154d (5m4d)
32  New Zealand 12-43[38]  England 31 October 2021 2 840d (2y3m17d)
33  England 31-34[39]  New Zealand 12 November 2022 16 377d (1y12d)
34  New Zealand 17-18[40]  France 21 October 2023 4 343d (11m9d)
35  France 20-29[41]  Australia 28 October 2023 0 7d
36  Australia 14-33[33]  Canada 11 May 2024 1 196d (6m13d)
37  Canada 12-21[34]  England 12 October 2024 3 154d (5m1d)
38  England Ongoing 13 (as of 27th September 2025) Ongoing

Most shield defences

[edit]
Most shield defences by each team
Team Total Chal. Cons.
1  England 100 13 17
2  New Zealand 46 7 19
3  France 15 9 4
4  Ireland 5 1 5
5  Canada 3 1 3
6  Wales 1 2 1
7  Italy 1 1 1
7  Netherlands 1 1 1
7  United States 1 1 1
7  Australia 1 1 1
  • Total: Times a team kept hold of the shield.
  • Chal.: Times a team took hold of the shield from another team.
  • Cons.: Maximum length of consecutive shield defences.
Highest consecutive shield defences
No. Team Start Def. Score End Score Chal. Tenure
19  New Zealand 21 May 2002  France 0-30[18] 21 November 2009 3-10[19]  England 2741d (7y6m)
17  England 8 June 1993  United States 6-17[14] 23 February 1997 15-17[12]  France 1356d (3y8m15d)
16  England 31 October 2021  New Zealand 12-43[38] 12 November 2022 31-34[39]  New Zealand 377d (1y12d)
15  England 26 November 2011  New Zealand 0-10[21] 9 February 2013 0-25[22]  Ireland 441d (1y2m14d)
13  New Zealand 13 August 1997  England 0-67[12] 16 June 2001 17-22[16]  England 1403d (3y10m3d)
13  England 12 October 2024  Canada 12-21[34] Ongoing Ongoing

See also

[edit]

Notes

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  1. ↑ Great Britain was replaced by England, Scotland, and Wales. For the purposes of this trophy England are the team that act as the defender.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Judd, Will (17 March 2026). "The Raeburn Shield: Rugby Union's unknown honour". The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  2. 1 2 Young, Wendy (14 May 2024). "The Circle of Champions: Tracing the Utrecht Shield's Journey in Women's Rugby". Your Scrumhalf Connection - Women's Rugby News.
  3. 1 2 Sharpe, Katharine (14 November 2025). "Ask Me Anything - What are the Raeburn and Utrecht shields?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Gallan, Daniel (25 April 2024). "The Simple Way to Prove Boks Also Hold the 'Unofficial World Title'". Rugby Pass. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Hardy, Matt (25 November 2021). "The Raeburn and Utrecht Shields: The Newest, Oldest Trophies in Rugby?". Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Julian, Adam (26 January 2026). "Uncovering the oldest treasure in women's rugby". Newsroom. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  7. 1 2 "The Utrecht Shield - Celebrating over 40 years of women's International Rugby". Oak and Black. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Reaction: England make statement before World Cup with 40-6 thrashing of France". BBC Sport. 9 August 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "13th June 1982: The day it all began". www.scrumqueens.com. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  10. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  11. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Scrum Queens (26 April 2021). "Results Dashboard | Scrum Queens". www.scrumqueens.com. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  13. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  14. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  15. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  16. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  17. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  18. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  19. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 23 February 2025. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  20. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  21. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  22. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  23. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  24. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  25. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  26. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  27. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  28. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  29. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  30. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  31. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  32. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  33. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  34. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  35. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  36. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  37. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  38. 1 2 world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  39. 1 2 world.rugby (25 February 2025). "World Rugby". www.world.rugby. Archived from the original on 12 November 2022.
  40. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby.
  41. ↑ world.rugby. "World Rugby". www.world.rugby.
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