2025 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool C

Pool C of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup began in August 2025. The pool includes Ireland, Japan, Spain, and defending champions New Zealand.^[1]

Teams

The draw for the pool stage took place on 17 October 2024 in London.^[2] A seeding system was used for the draw, with teams allocated a seed based on their World Rugby Women's World Rankings as of 14 October 2024. The top four teams in the rankings were placed into band 1 and prepopulated into the first position in each pool. The remaining 12 teams were drawn into bands 2, 3, and 4 based on their rankings and drawn one by one.^[2]

More information Pos., Team ...

Pos.	Team	Band	Confederation	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Apps.	Last	Previous best performance	World Rugby Rankings^[3]
Pos.	Team	Band	Confederation	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Apps.	Last	Previous best performance	14 October 2024^{[N 1]}	18 August 2025^{[N 2]}
C1	New Zealand	1	Oceania	Top 4 at 2021 RWC	29 October 2022	9th	2021	Winners (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017, 2021)^[4]^[5]	3	3
C2	Ireland	2	Europe	Europe 1	27 April 2024	8th	2017	Fourth place (2014)^[4]^[6]	7	5
C3	Japan	3	Asia	Asia 1	27 May 2024	6th	2021	Quarter-finals (1994)^[4]^[7]	11	11
C4	Spain	4	Europe	2024 WXV 3	12 October 2024	7th	2017	Quarter-finals (1998, 2002)^[4]^[8]	13	13

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Standings

More information Pos, Team ...

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	Pts
1	New Zealand	3	3	0	156	27	+129	24	4	3	15	Advance to knockout stage
2	Ireland	3	2	1	85	81	+4	13	13	2	10	Advance to knockout stage
3	Japan	3	1	2	62	125	−63	10	19	1	5
4	Spain	3	0	3	56	126	−70	9	20	1	1

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Source: World Rugby^[9]

Matches

The match schedule was confirmed by World Rugby on 22 October 2024. Ireland vs Japan will be the first game of pool C.^[10]

Ireland vs Japan

24 August 2025
12:00 BST (UTC+1)

(1 BP) Ireland	42–14	Japan
Try: Costigan 5' c Jones 10' c Parsons 24' c Tuite 37' c Higgins 53' c Breen 63' c Con: O'Brien (6/6) 6', 11', 25', 38', 54', 64'	Report^[11]	Try: Hirotsu 29' c Kawamura 43' c Con: Ōtsuka (2/2) 30', 44'

Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
Attendance: 13,053
Referee: Clara Munarini (Italy)^[12]




FB	15	Stacey Flood
RW	14	Béibhinn Parsons
OC	13	Aoife Dalton
IC	12	Eve Higgins		61'
LW	11	Amee-Leigh Costigan		61'
FH	10	Dannah O'Brien
SH	9	Aoibheann Reilly		74'
N8	8	Brittany Hogan		74'
OF	7	Edel McMahon (cc)		76'
BF	6	Fiona Tuite
RL	5	Sam Monaghan (cc)
LL	4	Ruth Campbell		61'
TP	3	Linda Djougang	69'
HK	2	Neve Jones		61'
LP	1	Niamh O'Dowd		61'
Replacements:
HK	16	Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald		61'
PR	17	Ellena Perry		61'
PR	18	Sadhbh McGrath
SR	19	Eimear Corri Fallon		61'
BR	20	Grace Moore		74'
SH	21	Emily Lane		74'
CE	22	Enya Breen		61'
WG	23	Anna McGann		61'
Coach:
Scott Bemand


FB	15	Sora Nishimura	61'
RW	14	Misaki Matsumura
OC	13	Mana Furuta
IC	12	Haruka Hirotsu
LW	11	Komachi Imakugi	68'
FH	10	Ayasa Ōtsuka
SH	9	Moe Tsukui	61'
N8	8	Seina Saito	61'
OF	7	Iroha Nagata (c)
BF	6	Masami Kawamura
RL	5	Otoka Yoshimura	51'
LL	4	Yuna Sato
TP	3	Wako Kitano	50'
HK	2	Asuka Kuge	64'
LP	1	Sachiko Kato	61'
Replacements:
HK	16	Kotomi Taniguchi	64'
PR	17	Manami Mine	61'
PR	18	Nijiho Nagata	50'
SR	19	Ayano Sakurai	51'
BR	20	Kyoko Hosokawa	61'
SH	21	Megumi Abe	61'
FH	22	Minori Yamamoto	61'
CE	23	Sakurako Hatada	68'
Coach:
Lesley McKenzie

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2025 Rugby World Cup (Women) - Ireland vs Japan.

Player of the Match:
Brittany Hogan (Ireland)^[13]

Assistant referees:
Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe)
Amelia Luciano (United States)
Television match official:
Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Foul play review officer:
Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

New Zealand vs Spain

24 August 2025
17:30 BST (UTC+1)

(1 BP) New Zealand	54–8	Spain
Try: Miller (2) 13' c, 17' c Mikaele-Tu'u 24' c Leti-I'iga (2) 46' c, 58' m Ponsonby 50' c Woodman-Wickliffe 61' c Setefano 73' c Con: Holmes (7/8) 14', 18', 25', 47', 51', 62', 74'	Report^[14]	Try: Antolínez 80+2' m Pen: Argudo (1/1) 35'

York Community Stadium, York
Attendance: 7,458
Referee: Ella Goldsmith (Australia)^[12]




FB	15	Renee Holmes
RW	14	Braxton Sorensen-McGee	51'
OC	13	Amy du Plessis	41'
IC	12	Theresa Setefano
LW	11	Ayesha Leti-I'iga		63'
FH	10	Kelly Brazier
SH	9	Iritana Hohaia	41'
N8	8	Liana Mikaele-Tu'u
OF	7	Jorja Miller	41'
BF	6	Layla Sae
RL	5	Chelsea Bremner
LL	4	Alana Bremner (cc)	41'
TP	3	Amy Rule	47'
HK	2	Vici-Rose Green	47'
LP	1	Awhina Tangen-Wainohu	47'
Replacements:
HK	16	Georgia Ponsonby	47'
PR	17	Chryss Viliko	47'
PR	18	Tanya Kalounivale	47'
SR	19	Laura Bayfield	41'
BR	20	Kaipo Olsen-Baker	41'	54'
SH	21	Risi Pouri-Lane	41'
FH	22	Ruahei Demant (cc)	41'
WG	23	Portia Woodman-Wickliffe	51'
Coach:
Allan Bunting


FB	15	Lea Ducher	57'
RW	14	Tecla Masoko	66'
OC	13	Clàudia Peña
IC	12	Zahía Pérez
LW	11	Clara Piquero
FH	10	Amàlia Argudo
SH	9	Anne Fernández de Corres
N8	8	Alba Capell
OF	7	Nerea García	75'
BF	6	Victoria Rosell	54'
RL	5	Lourdes Alameda
LL	4	Mónica Castelo
TP	3	Sidorella Bracic	54'
HK	2	Cristina Blanco	61'
LP	1	Laura Delgado (c)	41'
Replacements:
HK	16	Nuria Jou	61'
PR	17	Inés Antolínez	41'
PR	18	Mireia De Andres	54'
SR	19	Anna Puig	75'
BR	20	Lia Piñeiro	54'
SH	21	Maider Aresti		69'
CE	22	Alba Vinuesa	57'	69'
CE	23	Claudia Pérez	66'
Coach:
Juan González Marruecos

Player of the Match:
Liana Mikaele-Tu'u (New Zealand)^[15]

Assistant referees:
Kat Roche (United States)
Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales)
Television match official:
Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Foul play review officer:
Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)

Notes:

Maia Joseph was originally named to start for New Zealand but she was withdrawn due to an injury; she was replaced in the starting line-up by Iritana Hohaia.^[16]
No replacements were made for Ayesha Leti-I'iga or Kaipo Olsen-Baker; as a consequence, New Zealand finished the match with 13 players.^[17]

Ireland vs Spain

31 August 2025
12:00 BST (UTC+1)

(1 BP) Ireland	43–27	Spain (1 BP)
Try: O'Brien 7' c Costigan 18' m Higgins 35' c McGann (2) 38' m, 70' c Moore (2) 46' m, 56' c Con: O'Brien (3/6) 8', 35', 57' Breen (1/1) 70'	Report^[18]	Try: Pérez 23' m Román 28' c Peña 43' m Alameda 60' m Blanco 80+1' m Con: Argudo (1/4) 29'

Franklin's Gardens, Northampton
Attendance: 8,834^[19]
Referee: Kat Roche (United States)^[12]




FB	15	Stacey Flood
RW	14	Anna McGann
OC	13	Aoife Dalton	62'
IC	12	Eve Higgins
LW	11	Amee-Leigh Costigan
FH	10	Dannah O'Brien	62'
SH	9	Molly Scuffil-McCabe	52'
N8	8	Grace Moore
OF	7	Claire Boles
BF	6	Fiona Tuite	71'
RL	5	Sam Monaghan (c)	24'
LL	4	Eimear Corri Fallon
TP	3	Linda Djougang	62'
HK	2	Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald	62'
LP	1	Ellena Perry	62'
Replacements:
HK	16	Neve Jones	62'
SR	17	Siobhán McCarthy	62'
PR	18	Sadhbh McGrath	62'
SR	19	Ruth Campbell	71'
BR	20	Brittany Hogan	24'
SH	21	Emily Lane	52'
CE	22	Enya Breen	62'
CE	23	Nancy McGillivray	62'
Coach:
Scott Bemand


FB	15	Amàlia Argudo	66'
RW	14	Claudia Pérez
OC	13	Clàudia Peña
IC	12	Claudia Cano
LW	11	Clara Piquero
FH	10	Zahía Pérez
SH	9	Anne Fernández de Corres	71'
N8	8	Valentina Pérez
OF	7	Ana Peralta
BF	6	Lia Piñeiro	68'
RL	5	Elena Martínez	52'
LL	4	Lourdes Alameda (cc)	71'
TP	3	Eider García	44'
HK	2	Marieta Román	56'
LP	1	Gemma Silva	59'
Replacements:
HK	16	Cristina Blanco	56'
PR	17	Laura Delgado (cc)	59'
PR	18	Mireia De Andres	44'
SR	19	Anna Puig	71'
SR	20	Mónica Castelo	52'
BR	21	Nerea García	68'
SH	22	Bingbing Vergara	71'
CE	23	Lea Ducher	66'
Coach:
Juan González Marruecos

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2025 Rugby World Cup (Women) - Ireland vs Spain.

Player of the Match:
Ellena Perry (Ireland)^[20]

Assistant referees:
Clara Munarini (Italy)
Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales)
Television match official:
Matteo Liperini (Italy)
Foul play review officer:
Ian Tempest (England)

Notes:

Linda Djougang (Ireland) earned her 50th test cap.^[21]

New Zealand vs Japan

31 August 2025
14:00 BST (UTC+1)

(1 BP) New Zealand	62–19	Japan
Try: Woodman-Wickliffe 13' m Miller (2) 16' c, 68' m Vahaakolo 25' c Sorensen-McGee (3) 31' m, 50' m, 70' c Tukuafu 35' c Pouri-Lane 39' c Holmes 72' c Con: Sorensen-McGee (4/6) 17', 26', 36', 40' Holmes (2/4) 71', 73'	Report^[22]	Try: Hatada 4' m Tsukui 47' c Penalty try 67' Con: Ōtsuka (1/2) 48'

Sandy Park, Exeter
Attendance: 13,902^{[N 3]}
Referee: Aurélie Groizeleau (France)^[12]




FB	15	Braxton Sorensen-McGee
RW	14	Portia Woodman-Wickliffe
OC	13	Stacey Waaka			40'	41'
IC	12	Sylvia Brunt			40'
LW	11	Katelyn Vaha'akolo
FH	10	Ruahei Demant (cc)				41'
SH	9	Risi Pouri-Lane			41'
N8	8	Layla Sae			53'
OF	7	Jorja Miller
BF	6	Kennedy Tukuafu			41'
RL	5	Alana Bremner (cc)
LL	4	Maia Roos
TP	3	Tanya Kalounivale			46'
HK	2	Georgia Ponsonby			51'
LP	1	Chryss Viliko			51'
Replacements:
HK	16	Atlanta Lolohea			51'
PR	17	Kate Henwood			51'
PR	18	Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu			46'
SR	19	Laura Bayfield	43'	67'	41'
BR	20	Liana Mikaele-Tu'u			53'
SH	21	Maia Joseph			41'
FB	22	Renee Holmes			40'
CE	23	Theresa Setefano			40'
Coach:
Allan Bunting


FB	15	Sora Nishimura		1'
RW	14	Sakurako Hatada
OC	13	Mana Furuta
IC	12	Haruka Hirotsu	39'	66'
LW	11	Komachi Imakugi
FH	10	Ayasa Ōtsuka
SH	9	Moe Tsukui		53'
N8	8	Seina Saito		53'
OF	7	Iroha Nagata (c)
BF	6	Masami Kawamura
RL	5	Otoka Yoshimura		53'
LL	4	Yuna Sato
TP	3	Wako Kitano		69'
HK	2	Asuka Kuge		58'
LP	1	Sachiko Kato		58'
Replacements:
HK	16	Kotomi Taniguchi		58'
PR	17	Manami Mine		58'
PR	18	Nijiho Nagata		69'
SR	19	Ayano Sakurai		53'
BR	20	Jennifer Nduka		53'
SH	21	Megumi Abe		53'
FH	22	Minori Yamamoto		1'
CE	23	Kanako Kobayashi		66'
Coach:
Lesley McKenzie

Player of the Match:
Braxton Sorensen-McGee (New Zealand)^[24]

Assistant referees:
Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa)
Jess Ling (Australia)
Television match official:
Leo Colgan (Ireland)
Foul play review officer:
Quinton Immelman (South Africa)

Notes:

With her 50th international try, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe became New Zealand's top try scorer – male or female – in test history, surpassing the previous record of 49 set by Doug Howlett.^[25]

Japan vs Spain

7 September 2025
12:00 BST (UTC+1)

(1 BP) Japan	29–21	Spain
Try: Nishimura 6' m Nagata 45' c Kitano 57' m Imakugi 61' m Nduka 69' c Con: Ōtsuka (1/4) 46' Yamamoto (1/1) 70'	Report^[26]	Try: Blanco 11' c Castelo 38' c Rosell 78' c Con: Argudo (2/2) 12', 39' Peña (1/1) 79'

York Community Stadium, York
Attendance: 3,779
Referee: Sara Cox (England)^[12]




FB	15	Sora Nishimura	65'
RW	14	Misaki Matsumura	19'
OC	13	Mana Furuta
IC	12	Haruka Hirotsu		65'	77'
LW	11	Komachi Imakugi
FH	10	Ayasa Ōtsuka
SH	9	Megumi Abe	41'
N8	8	Jennifer Nduka	57'	65'	77'
OF	7	Iroha Nagata (c)
BF	6	Masami Kawamura
RL	5	Otoka Yoshimura	61'
LL	4	Yuna Sato
TP	3	Wako Kitano	70'
HK	2	Asuka Kuge	65'
LP	1	Sachiko Kato	57'
Replacements:
HK	16	Kotomi Taniguchi	65'
PR	17	Manami Mine	57'
PR	18	Nijiho Nagata	70'
SR	19	Ayano Sakurai	61'
BR	20	Seina Saito	57'
SH	21	Moe Tsukui	41'
FH	22	Minori Yamamoto	65'
WG	23	Mele Yua Havili Kagawa	19'
Coach:
Lesley McKenzie


FB	15	Amàlia Argudo		52'
RW	14	Claudia Pérez				70'
OC	13	Clàudia Peña		29'	41'
IC	12	Lea Ducher
LW	11	Clara Piquero		65'
FH	10	Zahia Pérez
SH	9	Anne Fernández de Corres	65'
N8	8	Alba Capell
OF	7	Nerea García
BF	6	Ana Peralta		65'
RL	5	Lourdes Alameda (c)		54'
LL	4	Mónica Castelo
TP	3	Sidorella Bracic		57'
HK	2	Cristina Blanco		65'
LP	1	Inés Antolínez		65'
Replacements:
HK	16	Marieta Román		65'
PR	17	Gemma Silva		65'
PR	18	Mireia De Andres		57'
SR	19	Victoria Rosell		54'
BR	20	Valentina Pérez		65'
SH	21	Bingbing Vergara		52'
WG	22	Tecla Masoko		29'	41'	70'
WG	23	Ana Cortés		65'
Coach:
Juan González Marruecos

Player of the Match:
Sora Nishimura (Japan)^[27]

Assistant referees:
Holly Wood (England)
Amber Stamp-Dunstan (Wales)
Television match official:
Ian Tempest (England)
Foul play review officer:
Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Notes:

Sara Cox became the first female official to referee 50 test matches.^[28]

New Zealand vs Ireland

7 September 2025
14:45 BST (UTC+1)

(1 BP) New Zealand	40–0	Ireland
Try: Waaka 15' c Viliko 20' m Sorensen-McGee (3) 37' c, 58' c, 79' c Joseph 80+1' c Con: Holmes (5/6) 16', 38', 59', 80', 80+2'	Report^[29]

Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium, Brighton
Attendance: 30,017^[30]
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)^[12]




FB	15	Renee Holmes
RW	14	Braxton Sorensen-McGee
OC	13	Stacey Waaka
IC	12	Sylvia Brunt	69'
LW	11	Portia Woodman-Wickliffe	52'
FH	10	Ruahei Demant (cc)
SH	9	Risi Pouri-Lane	63'
N8	8	Liana Mikaele-Tu'u
OF	7	Jorja Miller
BF	6	Layla Sae	55'
RL	5	Alana Bremner	26'	34'	55'
LL	4	Maia Roos
TP	3	Tanya Kalounivale	31'
HK	2	Georgia Ponsonby	67'
LP	1	Chryss Viliko	55'
Replacements:
HK	16	Vici-Rose Green	67'
PR	17	Kate Henwood	55'
PR	18	Amy Rule	31'
SR	19	Laura Bayfield	26'	34'	55'
BR	20	Kennedy Tukuafu (cc)	55'
SH	21	Maia Joseph	63'
CE	22	Theresa Setefano	69'
WG	23	Ayesha Leti-I'iga	52'
Coach:
Allan Bunting


FB	15	Stacey Flood	34'
RW	14	Béibhinn Parsons	45'	74'
OC	13	Aoife Dalton
IC	12	Eve Higgins		74'
LW	11	Amee-Leigh Costigan
FH	10	Dannah O'Brien
SH	9	Aoibheann Reilly	61'
N8	8	Brittany Hogan
OF	7	Edel McMahon (cc)	45'
BF	6	Grace Moore
RL	5	Sam Monaghan (cc)	61'
LL	4	Ruth Campbell
TP	3	Linda Djougang	61'
HK	2	Neve Jones	50'
LP	1	Niamh O'Dowd	61'
Replacements:
HK	16	Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald	50'
PR	17	Siobhán McCarthy	61'
PR	18	Sadhbh McGrath	61'
SR	19	Eimear Corri Fallon	61'
SR	20	Claire Boles	45'
SH	21	Emily Lane	61'
CE	22	Nancy McGillivray	34'
WG	23	Anna McGann	45'
Coach:
Scott Bemand

Player of the Match:
Sylvia Brunt (New Zealand)^[31]

Assistant referees:
Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe)
Amelia Luciano (United States)
Television match official:
Quinton Immelman (South Africa)
Foul play review officer:
Matteo Liperini (Italy)

Notes

[1]
The rankings of 14 October 2024 were used for seeding for the draw.
[2]
The final rankings before the tournament started
[3]
This fixture was sold under a single ticket with the France vs Brazil Pool D match. The recorded attendance corresponds to the France vs Brazil game.^[23]

2025 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool C

Teams

Standings

Matches

Ireland vs Japan

New Zealand vs Spain

Ireland vs Spain

New Zealand vs Japan

Japan vs Spain

New Zealand vs Ireland

Notes

References

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