Harlequins and Saracens meet in Ealing on Sunday to contest the inaugural Tyrrells Premier 15s final, with organisers hoping it will act as a springboard to bigger and better things for the fledgling league.
Launched in the wake of England's run to the Women's Rugby World Cup final last August, and amid the controversy of Lichfield's omission, the primary objectives of the first season were to ensure that all 10 clubs complied with the league's minimum standards while producing a competitive product on the pitch.
Although the Worcester Valkyries finished the 18-game regular season without a victory, those involved with the Premier 15s remain confident those targets are in hand and that the quality of the competition will only improve.
Certainly the players feel that while the league remains amateur, a more professional approach off the field -- especially in terms of strength and conditioning coaching -- has contributed to a more intense experience on it.
"The coaching support that all the teams get now means that tactically and technically we're better on the pitch," Harlequins captain, and England centre, Rachael Burford told ESPN. "The standard as a whole has really improved and you go into games and you've got to perform to win those games."
Sunday's final comes at the end of a busy 12 months for Burford. She was part of the England engine room as the Red Roses lost out to New Zealand in the World Cup final in Belfast and was again a pivotal member of the side that finished as runners-up in this year's Women's Six Nations.
Her England commitments meant that she was absent as a record crowd for a British women's club match of 4,542 watched Harlequins beat Richmond at the Stoop last month. But the ability to draw such numbers without their international players -- Burford was in France playing in front of a Six Nations record 17,440 supporters -- hints at the potential of women's rugby in the UK.
"It shows that there is an appetite for women's sport, especially rugby," she said. "It's so exciting for the players. Most of those girls would never have played in front of a crowd like that."
It is hoped that a similar atmosphere can be generated in Ealing this Sunday. Around 2,000 fans are expected at Trailfinders Sports Ground in west London, while thousands more will be able to watch the action live on television, as the competition's two standout teams go head-to-head.
Saracens captain Charlotte Clapp, who leads her side into the final at the end of her first season as skipper, has noticed an increase in support as the campaign has gone on. A number of the club's male stars -- including Brad Barritt, Schalk Brits, Jamie George and Maro Itoje -- tweeted their encouragement ahead of the semifinal win over Gloucester-Hartpury and have done so again for the showpiece game.
But it is the number of young female faces that have started appearing at Saracens' Allianz Park that has most pleased Clapp. "I didn't really know about women's rugby until I was at least 14 or 15," she said.
"So, to see a lot younger girls -- eight-year-olds, nine-year-olds -- come in to watch the girls play and knowing that girls can play rugby, it's great that we can be that inspiration, motivation to say that they can do it and they can do it well."
It is a similar story for Burford, who admits that she grew up playing the game without a female player to look up to. "When I was growing up Mickey Skinner was my role model and he's certainly no lady," she said, laughing.
"But now I do coaching and I speak to a lot of girls, and they're like 'Oh my god, I want to be like so-and-so, and I want to run like Jess Breach and I want to tackle like Shaunagh Brown'.
"That's the legacy, and that's where we want to get to that young girls look up and go 'You know what? I want to be like that person, I want to play for Harlequins and I want to play for England'. Hopefully we continue to inspire, and hopefully this weekend we'll give that another boost."
Just wanted to wish the @SaracensWomen the best of luck for the inaugural Premier 15's final tomorrow!
— Brad Barritt (@bradbarritt) April 28, 2018
Enjoy the moment and the whole @Saracens family will be supporting you!
There have been casualties along the way as Lichfield can attest, but as the league looks to build on its opening season there have been conversations with those running other high-profile women's sports -- football, hockey and netball -- to see how further progress can be made.
Professionalism remains a goal for Premier 15s but while Netball's Superleague, with its mix of university and club teams, appears to offer the most enticing blueprint on the path to achieving it, the league is in no rush.
"Netball is moving in that direction with a number of players that are paid as part of their contract and I think that's the direction ultimately it will go," Nicky Ponsford, head of performance at the Rugby Football Union (RFU), said. "At what point that happens I don't know, we have to make sure that whatever happens it's sustainable and clubs are sustainable."
Supporters of Harlequins and Saracens need only look at the fate of their male teams to know how important that message is. Of the 12 clubs in the Aviva Premiership only Exeter Chiefs made a profit during the 2016-17 season, despite investment unparalleled in the women's game.
"What we're seeing [in the Premier 15s] is that there's a very sensible discussion going on about the commercial side of things," RFU director of professional rugby Nigel Melville said. "How many people you get through the gate, what sponsors have you got? What broadcast [deal] have you got?
"At the moment the revenues aren't there but the signs are that there will be revenues there going forward that you can then start allocating revenues to wages at some point and base those wages on revenues coming in, not on speculative [numbers]."
As Harlequins and Saracens run out in Ealing on Sunday all involved will hope those lessons have been heeded.