UK (Commonwealth) _ The opening game of the Women’s Rugby World Cup next year will pit England against the USA.
On August 22, the Red Roses will kick off the competition in Sunderland’s Stadium of Light.
The schedule also includes Scotland and Wales playing Australia and Samoa in a doubleheader in Pool B at the Salford Community Stadium.
On September 7, Ireland will play world champions New Zealand in their last Pool C match in Brighton.
The tournament’s organizers hope it will have the same effect on women’s rugby in England that the Lionesses’ 2022 home European Championship victory had on women’s football.
Sarah Massey, managing director of RWC2025, has called the competition a “showcase” of “the very best of women’s rugby.”
For the first time since 2002, there will be 16 teams competing in the 10th Women’s Rugby World Cup, with Brazil being the first South American nation to earn a spot in the competition.
The Red Roses have been drawn in Pool A. Following their first game against Sunderland, they will travel to Northampton to play Samoa in their second game on August 30. On September 6, they will play Australia in Brighton in their group final.
Six locations will host a total of 24 pool matches, including six doubleheaders in Northampton, Salford, and Exeter.
Bristol and Exeter will host the semi-finals and quarterfinals, respectively.
Due to contractual restrictions, the tournament’s organizers are unable to utilize its new “Allianz Stadium” moniker during the World Cup, so the final and bronze-medal match will be the sixth doubleheader and take place at Twickenham.
In 2022, New Zealand hosted the final World Cup and defeated England in a thrilling final in front of a record-breaking 42,579 spectators at Eden Park for a women’s match.
2025 home nations fixtures
Pool A for England
USA vs. Sunderland, Friday, August 22, 19:30 BST
vs. Samoa, Northampton, Saturday, August 30, 17:00 BST
vs. Australia, Brighton, Saturday, September 6, 17:00 BST
Pool B: for Scotland
vs. Wales, Manchester, Saturday, August 23, 14:45 BST
vs. Fiji, Manchester, Saturday, August 30, 14:45 BST
vs. Canada, Exeter, Saturday, September 6, 12:00 BST
Pool B: for Wales
Scotland vs. Manchester, Saturday, August 23, 14:45 BST
vs. Canada, Manchester, Saturday, August 30, 12:00 BST
vs. Fiji, Exeter, Saturday, September 6, 14:45 BST
Pool C: for Ireland
vs. Japan: Sunday, August 24, 12:00 BST, Northampton
vs. Spain: Sunday, August 31, 12:00 BST, Northampton
vs. New Zealand, Sunday, September 7, 14:45 BST, Brighton
A new selection procedure was introduced for games leading up to the 2026 World Cup. Stuart Barlow, the head coach, selected the Lancashire and Yorkshire teams for regional training in Lancashire and Yorkshire prior to an Origin match. Performance in these practices and games would determine national team selection.
The women’s rugby world cup, which is organized by World Rugby and is a quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams, will enter its tenth edition in 2025. England will host the event from August 22, 2025, to September 27, 2025. Twickenham Stadium will host the final, while the Stadium of Light will host the first game.
Following the 2010 tournament, this will be England’s second time hosting the women’s Rugby Union World Cup. The British Isles will host the sixth event.
The competition will now include 16 teams instead of the 12 that participated in 2021.
New Zealand, who defeated England in the 2021 Rugby World Cup Final, enters the competition as the reigning champions.
On August 13, 2020, World Rugby announced that they would use the same procedure to choose the hosts of the upcoming men’s and women’s world cups. These were the women’s tournaments in 2025 and 2029, and the men’s tournaments in 2027 and 2031. In October 2021, the RFU reaffirmed their intention to submit a proposal for the 2025 tournament.
In November 2021, World Rugby designated England as a preferred candidate for the 2025 competition. England officially announced their hosting role on May 13, 2022.
