2025 Women's Rugby World Cup
Tenth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup
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The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup was the tenth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams, organised by World Rugby. It was held in England between 22 August and 27 September 2025. The opening game took place at the Stadium of Light, while the final was held at Twickenham Stadium. The event returned to its traditional four-year cycle following the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup (as Rugby World Cup), which was postponed until 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. England won the competition, beating Canada 33–13 in the final.
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nation |  England |
| Dates | 22 August – 27 September 2025 |
| No. of nations | 16 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  | England (3rd title) |
Runner-up  |  Canada |
Third place  |  New Zealand |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Attendance | 441,395 (13,794 per match) |
| Tries scored | 294 (average 9.19 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Braxton Sorensen-McGee (69) |
| Most tries | Braxton Sorensen-McGee (11) |
| Points scored | 1,879 (average 58.72 per match) |
← 2021 2029 → | |
It was the second Women's Rugby World Cup to be hosted by England, after the 2010 edition, and the fourth to be hosted in Great Britain. The tournament was expanded to 16 teams, from the previous 12 which participated in the 1991 and 1994 tournaments, and from 2006 to 2021. New Zealand entered the tournament as defending champions following their victory against England in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final. They were eliminated in the semi-finals by Canada, who became the first team to beat them at a World Cup in 11 years.[1]
The tournament broke multiple records for women's rugby. A total of 444,465 tickets were sold across all 32 matches, three times the attendance of the previous Women's Rugby World Cup and the final at Twickenham Stadium drew an attendance of 81,885 spectators, a new world record for any women's rugby match. The tournament generated 147 million global viewing hours, a 336% increase on the previous edition, and yielded an estimated economic impact of £294.7 million for its eight host cities across England.
Host selection
On 13 August 2020, World Rugby announced that the hosting rights to the next two men's and women's World Cups would be selected during the same process.[2] These were the 2027 and 2031 men's tournaments and the 2025 and 2029 women's tournaments. The Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed their intent to bid for the 2025 tournament in October 2021.[3] World Rugby awarded England preferred candidate status for the 2025 tournament in November 2021.[4] England were confirmed as hosts on 13 May 2022.[5]
Venues
In August 2023, eight venues were confirmed for the event.[6][7]
| Twickenham | Sunderland | Brighton and Hove | Bristol | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Twickenham Stadium | Stadium of Light | Ashton Gate | ||
| Capacity: 82,000 | Capacity: 49,000 | Capacity: 31,876 | Capacity: 26,462 | |
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| Exeter | Northampton | Salford | York | |
| Sandy Park | Franklin's Gardens | York Community Stadium | ||
| Capacity: 15,600 | Capacity: 15,249 | Capacity: 11,404 | Capacity: 8,500 | |
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In December 2023, it was announced that hosts England would open the tournament at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, and that the final would be held at Twickenham Stadium in London.[8] In June 2024, World Rugby confirmed that the quarter-finals would be shared between Sandy Park in Exeter and Ashton Gate in Bristol, while Ashton Gate would solely host the semi-finals.[9]
Teams
Qualifying
Sixteen teams competed at the tournament. Four teams automatically qualified by reaching the 2021 Rugby World Cup semi-finals: New Zealand, England, France and Canada. Six of the remaining twelve spots were decided through the 2024 Women's Six Nations Championship, 2024 Pacific Four Series and regional competitions in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and South America, while the 2024 WXV determined the final six places.[10][11]
In Europe, Ireland reached their eighth World Cup after taking the region's qualifying place by defeating Scotland in the final round of the 2024 Six Nations.[12] In Africa, South Africa qualified for their fifth World Cup after beating Madagascar in the final round of the 2024 Rugby Africa Women's Cup.[13] The United States made their tenth World Cup after New Zealand defeated Australia in the final game of the 2024 Pacific Four Series.[14] In Asia, Japan qualified for their seventh World Cup after beating Kazakhstan in the second game of the 2024 Asia Rugby Women's Championship.[15] Fiji qualified as Oceania 1 after winning the 2024 Oceania Rugby Women's Championship.[16][17] Brazil qualified for their debut World Cup after beating Colombia in the South American qualifying, becoming the first South American team to qualify for the Women's Rugby World Cup.[18]
In WXV 2, Australia, Italy, Scotland and Wales qualified for the World Cup. Samoa and Spain qualified as the top two teams in WXV 3 who had not already qualified via regional competitions.[19]
| Region | Team | Qualification method |
Previous apps |
Previous best result | World Rugby Ranking[N 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa |  South Africa |
Africa 1 | 4 | Tenth place (2010, 2014) | 12 |
| Asia |  Japan |
Asia 1 | 5 | Eighth place (1994) | 11 |
| Europe | England |
Hosts + Top 4 at 2021 RWC | 9 | Champions (1994, 2014) | 1 |
 France |
Top 4 at 2021 RWC | 9 | Third place (seven times) | 4 | |
 Ireland |
Europe 1 | 7 | Fourth place (2014) | 5 | |
 Italy |
2024 WXV 2 (3rd) | 5 | Quarter final (2021) | 7 | |
 Scotland |
2024 WXV 2 (2nd) | 6 | Fifth place (1994) | 8 | |
 Wales |
2024 WXV 2 (5th) | 8 | Fourth place (1994) | 9 | |
 Spain |
2024 WXV 3 (1st) | 6 | Sixth place (1991) | 13 | |
| North America | Canada |
Top 4 at 2021 RWC | 9 | Runners-up (2014) | 2 |
 United States |
P4 1 | 9 | Champions (1991) | 10 | |
| Oceania |  Australia |
2024 WXV 2 (1st) | 7 | Third place (2010) | 6 |
 Fiji |
Oceania 1 | 1 | Pool stage (2021) | 14 | |
| New Zealand |
Top 4 at 2021 RWC | 8 | Champions (six times) | 3 | |
 Samoa |
2024 WXV 3 (2nd) | 3 | Ninth place (2002) | 15 | |
| South America |  Brazil |
Americas 1 | 0 | Debut | 25 |
Notes:
- Post warm-up matches
Squads
Each team could select 32 players for their squads. England head coach John Mitchell criticised this, saying that teams should have been allowed to select an additional player, as is permitted for teams competing in the Men's Rugby World Cup.[20][21]
Draw
The pool draw took place on 17 October 2024, shown live on The One Show in the United Kingdom and on RugbyPassTV worldwide. Gabby Logan, Maggie Alphonsi and Roman Kemp, a presenter from The One Show, hosted the draw.[22][23]
A seeding system was used for the draw, with all 16 allocated a seed based on their world rankings as of 14 October 2024. The top four teams in the world rankings were placed into band 1 and pre-populated into the first position in each pool. The 12 other teams were drawn into bands two, three, and four based on their rankings. The bands were:[23]
- Band 1: Seeds 1 to 4
- Band 2: Seeds 5 to 8
- Band 3: Seeds 9 to 12
- Band 4: Seeds 13 to 16
This meant the 16 qualified teams, qualified were seeded thus (world ranking as of 14 October 2024):[24]
Match officials
On 15 May 2025, World Rugby announced the team of 22 officials from 12 unions for the World Cup, including an all-female team of referees. Nine of the officials had served at the previous World Cup. English official Sara Cox served at her fifth World Cup, while Hollie Davidson was later appointed to referee the final, becoming the first referee to officiate two Women's Rugby World Cup finals.[25][26]
Referees (10)
Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand)
Sara Cox (England)
Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
Ella Goldsmith (Australia)- Natarsha Ganley (New Zealand)
Aurélie Groizeleau (France)
Lauren Jenner (Italy)- Clara Munarini (Italy)
Kat Roche (United States)
Assistant referees (6)
Television Match Officials (6)
Leo Colgan (Ireland)- Rachel Horton (Australia)
- Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
- Matteo Liperini (Italy)
- Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
- Ian Tempest (England)
Preparation
A series of warm up matches were played in the run-up to the tournament.[27]
Opening ceremony
Singer Anne-Marie headlined the opening ceremony at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on 22 August 2025, before the opening match between England and the United States.[28] This opening match saw the highest attendance of any in Women's Rugby World Cup history, with a crowd of 42,723.[29]
Pool stage
Competing countries were divided into four pools of four teams (pools A to D). Teams in each pool played one another in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage.
Points allocation in pool stage
- Four points are awarded for a win.
- Two points are awarded for a draw.
- A try bonus point is awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a match.
- A losing bonus point is awarded to teams that lose a match by seven points or fewer.
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 208 | 17 | +191 | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Australia |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 111 | 78 | +33 | 17 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| 3 | United States |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 98 | 100 | −2 | 16 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 8 | |
| 4 | Samoa |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 225 | −222 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 August 2025 | England | 69–7 | United States | Stadium of Light, Sunderland |
| 23 August 2025 | Australia | 73–0 | Samoa | Salford Community Stadium, Salford |
| 30 August 2025 | England | 92–3 | Samoa | Franklin's Gardens, Northampton |
| 30 August 2025 | United States | 31–31 | Australia | York Community Stadium, York |
| 6 September 2025 | United States | 60–0 | Samoa | York Community Stadium, York |
| 6 September 2025 | England | 47–7 | Australia | Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium, Brighton |
Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 147 | 26 | +121 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Scotland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 86 | 63 | +23 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| 3 | Fiji |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 119 | −69 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Wales |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 108 | −75 | 6 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 August 2025 | Scotland | 38–8 | Wales | Salford Community Stadium, Salford |
| 23 August 2025 | Canada | 65–7 | Fiji | York Community Stadium, York |
| 30 August 2025 | Canada | 42–0 | Wales | Salford Community Stadium, Salford |
| 30 August 2025 | Scotland | 29–15 | Fiji | Salford Community Stadium, Salford |
| 6 September 2025 | Canada | 40–19 | Scotland | Sandy Park, Exeter |
| 6 September 2025 | Wales | 25–28 | Fiji | Sandy Park, Exeter |
Pool C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 156 | 27 | +129 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ireland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 81 | +4 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| 3 | Japan |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 125 | −63 | 10 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Spain |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 56 | 126 | −70 | 9 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 24 August 2025 | Ireland | 42–14 | Japan | Franklin's Gardens, Northampton |
| 24 August 2025 | New Zealand | 54–8 | Spain | York Community Stadium, York |
| 31 August 2025 | Ireland | 43–27 | Spain | Franklin's Gardens, Northampton |
| 31 August 2025 | New Zealand | 62–19 | Japan | Sandy Park, Exeter |
| 7 September 2025 | Japan | 29–21 | Spain | York Community Stadium, York |
| 7 September 2025 | New Zealand | 40–0 | Ireland | Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium, Brighton |
Pool D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | France |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 165 | 15 | +150 | 26 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 14 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | South Africa |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 105 | 87 | +18 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 10 | |
| 3 | Italy |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 88 | 56 | +32 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 7 | |
| 4 | Brazil |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 214 | −200 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 August 2025 | France | 24–0 | Italy | Sandy Park, Exeter |
| 24 August 2025 | South Africa | 66–6 | Brazil | Franklin's Gardens, Northampton |
| 31 August 2025 | Italy | 24–29 | South Africa | York Community Stadium, York |
| 31 August 2025 | France | 84–5 | Brazil | Sandy Park, Exeter |
| 7 September 2025 | Italy | 64–3 | Brazil | Franklin's Gardens, Northampton |
| 7 September 2025 | France | 57–10 | South Africa | Franklin's Gardens, Northampton |
Knockout stage
The knockout stage consisted of three single-elimination rounds, culminating in a final and a third-place playoff. In the case of a tie in regulation time, two 10-minute periods of extra time would be played to determine a winner. If the scores are tied at the end of extra time, an additional 10-minute "sudden death" period would be played, with the first team to score any points being the winner. If the score still remains tied, a kicking competition would ensue.[34][35]
Quarter-finals were split between Exeter's Sandy Park, and Bristol's Ashton Gate, while the latter hosted both semi-finals. The tournament concluded with a double-header of the Bronze Final and World Cup Final at Twickenham in London on 27 September 2025.[36]
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 13 September – Exeter | ||||||||||
| New Zealand | 46 | |||||||||
| 19 September – Bristol | ||||||||||
| South Africa | 17 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 19 | |||||||||
| 13 September – Bristol | ||||||||||
| Canada | 34 | |||||||||
| Canada | 46 | |||||||||
| 27 September – Twickenham | ||||||||||
| Australia | 5 | |||||||||
| Canada | 13 | |||||||||
| 14 September – Exeter | ||||||||||
| England | 33 | |||||||||
| France | 18 | |||||||||
| 20 September – Bristol | ||||||||||
| Ireland | 13 | |||||||||
| France | 17 | |||||||||
| 14 September – Bristol | ||||||||||
| England | 35 | Bronze final | ||||||||
| England | 40 | |||||||||
| 27 September – Twickenham | ||||||||||
| Scotland | 8 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 42 | |||||||||
| France | 26 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 13 September 2025 13:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| New Zealand | 46–17 | South Africa |
| Try: Setefano 25' m Sorensen-McGee (2) 29' m, 44' m Holmes (2) 41' m, 65' c Olsen-Baker (2) 47' m, 54' c Vaha'akolo 80' c Con: Holmes (1/6) 55' Sorensen-McGee (2/2) 66', 80+1' | Report[37] | Try: Latsha 20' m Ngwevu 40+2' m Makua 76' c Con: Dolf (1/3) 77' |
| Sandy Park, Exeter Attendance: 12,116[38] Referee: Sara Cox (England)[39] |
| 13 September 2025 16:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| Canada | 46–5 | Australia |
| Try: Hogan-Rochester 2' m Corrigan (2) 14' m, 20' c de Goede 17' c Hunt 38' c Forteza 50' c Paquin 77' m Con: de Goede (4/6) 18', 21', 40', 51' Pen: Tessier (1/2) 72' | Report[40] | Try: Miller 7' m |
| Ashton Gate, Bristol Attendance: 16,571[38] Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)[39] |
| 14 September 2025 13:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| France | 18–13 | Ireland |
| Try: Escudero 59' c Grisez 67' m Con: Bourgeois (1/2) 60' Pen: Bourgeois (2/2) 48', 76' | Report[41] | Try: Djougang 6' m Flood 24' m Pen: O'Brien (1/1) 38' |
| Sandy Park, Exeter Attendance: 11,618[42] Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)[39] |
| 14 September 2025 16:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| England | 40–8 | Scotland |
| Try: Clifford (2) 12' c, 40' c Talling 15' c Dow 31' m Cokayne 46' c Aitchison 64' c Con: Aitchison (5/6) 13', 16', 40+1', 47', 65' | Report[43] | Try: Lloyd 80+2' m Pen: Nelson (1/1) 4' |
| Ashton Gate, Bristol Attendance: 25,295[44] Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (France)[39] |
Semi-finals
| 19 September 2025 19:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| New Zealand | 19–34 | Canada |
| Try: Kalounivale 26' c Mikaele-Tu'u 56' c Sorensen-McGee 65' m Con: Holmes (1/1) 27' Sorensen-McGee (1/2) 57' | Report[45] | Try: Pelletier 8' c Hogan-Rochester 11' m Symonds 24' m de Goede 35' c Tessier 43' c Con: de Goede (3/5) 9', 36', 44' Pen: de Goede (1/1) 74' |
| Ashton Gate, Bristol Attendance: 24,592[46] Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)[47] |
| 20 September 2025 15:30 BST (UTC+1) |
| France | 17–35 | England |
| Try: Konde (2) 24' m, 73' m Arbey 52' c Con: Bourgeois (1/3) 53' | Report[48] | Try: Kildunne (2) 5' c, 69' c Cokayne 46' c Ward 59' c Jones 79' c Con: Harrison (5/5) 6', 47', 60', 70', 80' |
| Ashton Gate, Bristol Attendance: 25,478[49] Referee: Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand)[47] |
Bronze final
| 27 September 2025 12:30 BST (UTC+1) |
| New Zealand | 42–26 | France |
| Try: Demant 14' c Brunt 32' c Holmes 37' c Bayfield 40' m Sorensen-McGee (2) 46' m, 60' m Con: Holmes (3/6) 15', 33', 38' Pen: Holmes (2/2) 55', 80' | Report[50] | Try: Bourdon Sansus 10' c Champon 62' c Vernier 66' c Boulard 72' m Con: Arbez (1/1) 11' Tuy (2/3) 63', 67' |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 50,000[51] Referee: Ella Goldsmith (Australia)[26] |
Final
| 27 September 2025 16:00 BST (UTC+1) |
| Canada | 13–33 | England |
| Try: Hogan-Rochester (2) 5' m, 53' m Pen: de Goede (1/1) 34' | Report[52] | Try: Kildunne 8' c Cokayne 19' c Matthews (2) 26' c, 69' c Ward 50' m Con: Harrison (4/5) 9', 20', 27', 70' |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,885[53] Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)[26] |
Statistics
Points scorers
|
Try scorers
|
Broadcasting rights
The tournament generated 147 million global viewing hours, a 336% increase on the previous Women's Rugby World Cup, making it the most-watched women's rugby tournament ever staged.[55] In the United Kingdom, the BBC held exclusive broadcast rights, covering every match on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app, with home nations fixtures and all knockout matches also shown on BBC One or BBC Two.[56]
The opening match between England and the United States drew a peak UK audience of 2.4 million on BBC One, with a further 600,000 watching on iPlayer, surpassing the total audience for the entire 2021 tournament in a single weekend.[57] The final between England and Canada achieved a record peak UK audience of 5.8 million viewers across BBC linear and streaming platforms, making it the most-watched women's rugby match and the most-watched rugby match of any kind in the United Kingdom in 2025.[58] Across the full tournament, BBC audiences watched 57 million hours of coverage, with 10.5 million digital streams on iPlayer and BBC Sport.[59]
In France, broadcaster TF1's coverage of the semi-final between France and England reached a peak of 4.4 million viewers.[59] Globally, 15 countries broadcast all 32 matches, with viewing hour increases of 470% in Europe, 403% Africa and the Middle East, and 217% in the Americas compared with the previous edition.[59]
Broadcasting rights
| Territory | Rights holder | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Australia |
Nine Network Stan Sport |
[60] |
 Austria |
ProSieben | [61] |
| Canada |
TSN RDS |
[62][63] |
 Czechia |
Nova Pro TV |
[61] |
| Fiji |
Fiji Television | [61] |
| France |
TF1 France Télévisions |
[64][65] |
 Georgia |
Georgian Public Broadcaster | [61] |
 Germany |
ProSieben | [61] |
 Ireland |
RTÉ TG4 |
[61][66] |
| Italy |
RAI | [61] |
| Japan |
J Sports | [61] |
| Middle East and North Africa | Starz | [61] |
 Netherlands |
Ziggo | [61] |
| New Zealand |
Sky New Zealand | [67] |
 Portugal |
Sport TV | [61] |
 Romania |
Nova Pro TV |
[61] |
 Slovakia |
Nova Pro TV |
[61] |
| South and Central America | ESPN Disney+ |
[61][68] |
| Southeast Asia | beIN Sports | [61] |
| Spain |
Teledeporte Movistar + |
[69] |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | SuperSport | [61] |
 Switzerland |
ProSieben | [61] |
 Taiwan |
ELTA | [61] |
 United Kingdom |
BBC[n 1] | [56][70] |
| United States |
CBS Sports Paramount+ |
[71][72] |
| Rest of the world | RugbyPass TV | [61] |
Notes:
- Select games shown on linear channels, all games to be shown on BBC iPlayer.
Attendance and impact
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup broke multiple records, prompting World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin to describe it as the greatest Rugby World Cup of all time.[73]
Attendance
A total of 444,465 tickets were sold across 32 matches, 92% of all available tickets and more than three times sold at the previous Women's Rugby World Cup held in New Zealand.[74] Supporters travelled from 133 countries to attend matches and 53% of supporters were women.[75]
The opening match between England and the United States at the Stadium of Light drew 42,723 spectators, at that point a new record for a Women's Rugby World Cup match. The final at Twickenham attracted 81,885 fans, the largest crowd in the history of women's rugby and the second-highest attendance for any Rugby World Cup final across the men's and women's game, surpassed only by the 2003 Rugby World Cup final (82,957).[53][76] When England last hosted the Women's Rugby World Cup in 2010, the final at the Twickenham Stoop had drawn a crowd of only 13,253.[75][77]
Economic impact
World Rugby published the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report and the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report, which together documented the tournament's domestic and international legacy. The tournament generated an estimated £294.7 million in economic impact for its eight host cities. Direct expenditure totalled £176.3 million, including £41.4 million for the UK accommodation sector and £24 million for the hospitality sector.[74][59]
