[2] Since the RFUW took over and Professionalism was permitted in 1996, the university teams were gradually replaced by women's clubs associated with professional and semi-professional men's clubs as they were able to give the women's team the funding to be able to compete.
[3] Promotion and relegation in the Women's Premiership is determined by the lowest placed team playing against the winner of the Championship 1 North-South playoff.
It is noted that promoted teams often fail to win during the regular league season during their first season in the Women's Premiership, including Old Albanians Ladies and Thurrock T-Birds,[5] who were relegated in 2013 after losing to Aylesford Bulls Ladies in the 2013 playoff.
[6] For the 2017–18 season the RFU Council proposed to create a Super League, the Premier 15s with up to ten teams.
[7] Seven of the eight Premiership teams were accepted into the Super Rugby competition (Lichfield being excluded), together with Gloucester-Hartpury, Firwood Waterloo and Loughborough Students (Lightning).