Women’s RWC 2025 will be ‘younger, more inclusive, more vibrant’

World Rugby claimed Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 is “the story that we don’t want to stop talking about” as organisers revealed several matches are on course to sell out.

Speaking to journalists at the start of a potentially defining year for both the tournament and women’s participation, World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin suggested it could have a transformative impact on the game as a whole.

“This is definitely the story that we don't want to stop talking about and hopefully no one wants to stop talking about and we certainly shouldn't stop talking about,” Gilpin said.

“It's an event, as you've heard us say before, that we're incredibly excited about for the sport of rugby. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to really inspire a new set of fans.”

He added: “It's not just a breakthrough moment for the women's game. It's definitely a breakthrough moment for rugby, an opportunity to present a different face of rugby next year.

“A younger, more inclusive, more vibrant and definitely more family-oriented audience for our sport. An event that will move the dial probably in many ways that the men's editions of Rugby World Cup either can't or doesn't currently do for us.”

More than 220,000 tickets have already been sold for the showpiece tournament, over half of the total available, meaning it is guaranteed to be the best attended women’s edition by some distance.

Following successful pre-sale and application stages, tickets are next scheduled to go on sale at the end of February, however none will be available for the final and bronze final double header at Twickenham Stadium on September 27.

That is because the full allocation currently available to fans has been snapped up, although organisers cannot yet call it a sell-out as tickets are likely to go back on sale once operational and broadcast requirements are finalised and returns are made.

“We’re really confident of selling out the final, we know that we will,” Managing Director of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, Sarah Massey said.

“We don’t have any concern at all that Twickenham won’t be full for that final day.”

Gilpin added: “I think it’s fair to say if we’d have put all the tickets for the final on sale, it would be sold out.

“The demand has been such and we’ve had such a brilliant reaction to the ticketing strategy from fans that if we’d have put them there, they’d be sold out.

“For good reason we haven’t but there’s full confidence that will be a sold-out game and the beauty of that is it drives fans to buy [tickets to] other games.

“We’re going to see a number of matches sold out across the tournament really early, which is wonderful.”

Massey also revealed that more than half of the tickets had already been sold for the opening match between England and USA at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, which has a usual capacity of around 49,000.

“Given that is an opening match in a non-rugby heartland, we are thrilled with those ticket numbers. That’s probably one of the standout ticket numbers for us,” she said.

“We have worked so closely with the City Council in Sunderland and the venue, and we've done a huge amount of marketing around attracting people to go to that match and it's clearly been working.”

Interest in that opening match, and the tournament as a whole, has only swelled since Bristol Bears announced the short-term capture of American sevens superstar Ilona Maher.

Maher, the most-followed rugby player on social media, signed a three-month deal with the Premiership Women’s Rugby club last month and is due back in Bristol on Thursday to start her stint in earnest.

Bears have already moved this weekend’s match against Gloucester-Hartpury to Ashton Gate due to “unprecedented demand” caused by Maher’s arrival and World Rugby is fully supportive.

“We’ve been a big supporter and fan and hopefully help to Ilona in the last few years,” Gilpin said.

“These brilliant young women who are coming into the game with great, compelling personal stories, with pretty powerful personalities, seeing the game as a great platform to build their own brands as Ilona has actually is a great example for the men's game.

“That's what we need in rugby. We know there's that shift in fandom to fans following individual players in the women's game and certainly the platform we’re going to give them next year in a brilliant women's World Cup actually is the gateway to that.

“So, we're really excited about what Ilona and so many other brilliant women are going to bring next year.”

Gilpin said World Rugby had been “big supporters” of the Rugby Football Union and PWR in their attempts to bring Maher to England “in some challenging circumstances”.

“She’ll be hugely important to us in the runway into women’s World Cup next year,” he added.

It is not only Maher who has committed to attempting the transition from sevens to XVs and Gilpin lauded the potential of Australian star Maddison Levi as the tournament attempts to capitalise on what Massey termed “a summer of women’s sport”.

“There are a whole host of brilliant women who are going to play in this tournament next year,” he said.

“One of the biggest stories in Australian sport right now is that Maddison Levi is going to transition and play in the women's World Cup next year and she is an absolute rock star of women's rugby.

“I mean, one of the most talented female athletes playing sport globally.”