The world champion Black Ferns will face old foes France and England in rematches of their blockbuster World Cup clashes at the inaugural WXV 1 tournament in October.
Six teams will battle over three weekends, with the best of the Pacific Four - New Zealand, Canada and Australia - taking on the cream of the Six Nations in England, France and Wales.
A year after lifting the World Cup, the Black Ferns will play three of the teams they beat on the way to the title on home soil.
After locking horns with France at Wellington on October 21, they'll take on Wales at Dunedin on October 28, then England in a World Cup final rematch at Auckland on November 4.
The competition kicks off with England against Australia at the capital on Friday, October 20, followed by a Saturday doubleheader involving Canada and Wales, then the NZ women against the French.
The tournament will follow that same Friday/Saturday format for three successive weekends, moving to Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium on October 27/28, then Auckland's Go Media Mt Smart Stadium on November 3/4.
The Black Ferns' World Cup semi-final and final contests against France and England respectively were two of the best matches of last year's tournament, each coming down to the final play in nailbiting circumstances.
Last month, the back-to-back world champions went unbeaten through the Pacific Four series against Australia, Canada and USA. Their win over the Jillaroos clinched the trans-Tasman O'Reilly Cup, with one test left to play at Hamilton on September 30.
New Black Ferns coach Allan Bunting is looking forward to putting his team to the test against the best teams the world has to offer.
"For us to play at home against the best in the world is great for women's rugby," said Bunting. "We have already seen, since last year's Rugby World Cup, the game has continued to evolve and we have seen the growth in the teams during the qualification tournaments.
"It is a special event to have the top teams in the world once again back here in Aotearoa and it's an opportunity for us to test the depth in our squad."
