Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025: When and where is it taking place?
With venues spanning the length and breadth of England, the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 will be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever.
Sunderland’s Stadium of Light will host the opening game on August 22, while Twickenham will stage the final on September 27.
The 10th edition of the tournament will host the world’s 16 best teams, with 10 teams having already secured qualification.
With six places remaining, it will all to be play for in WXV 2024 in September with the top six ranked non-qualified teams at the end of the tournament heading to the World Cup.
Next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup is already being billed as a ‘generational moment’ for the sport and there are hopes the tournament can spark similar levels of interest to the Lionesses’ transformational 2022 Euros win.
Which teams have already qualified for the 2025 Women’s World Cup?
South Africa, Japan, England, Ireland, Canada, France, New Zealand, Fiji, USA and Brazil have all qualified for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.
Brazil will be making their Rugby World Cup debut after beating Colombia 34-13 in the South American play-off. It was their first victory over their regional rivals in seven attempts.
👀 Ones to watch! 👀
Do you agree with @sarah_hunter8's teams to watch at the next Women's Rugby World Cup? 💬#RWC2025 pic.twitter.com/BkyTJusUf7— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) December 11, 2023
WXV, the global competition which launched in October, along with other regional competitions will act as qualifying events for the remaining positions. A total of 16 teams will take part in the tournament – an increase from the 12 nations that took part in last year’s World Cup in New Zealand.
Which cities are hosting the tournament?
Eight cities across England will stage the tournament. In a measure of the Rugby Football Union’s ambition to spread the game around the country, York, Manchester, Bristol, Exeter and Northampton will all host matches.
Four of the venues are already home to English rugby teams, including Bristol Bears at Ashton Gate, Northampton Saints’ Franklin’s Gardens, Exeter Chiefs’ Sandy Park and Sale Sharks at the Salford Community Stadium (commonly known as AJ Bell Stadium).
After opening their World Cup campaign in Sunderland, the Red Roses will play their remaining two pool matches Northampton and Brighton.
Ashton Gate will share the quarter-finals with Exeter’s Sandy Park, which hosted the Premiership Women’s Rugby final last week.
When can I watch the Red Roses next?
Having beaten France 38-19 at Kingsholm and New Zealand 24-12 at Twickenham, England head to Canada for the WXV1 tournament. They play the United States (Sept 29), New Zealand (Oct 6) and Canada (Oct 13), with matches live on BBC iPlayer.
They will next play at home during the 2025 Women’s Six Nations, which includes a match against France at Twickenham at the end of April.
World Cup tickets: Prices and how to get them
More than 400,000 tickets will available for the tournament, which kicks off at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on August 22.
Ticket prices will range from from £5 to £95, with over 60 per cent of tickets under £25.
Fans will be able to snap up child tickets for England’s tournament opener for as little as £5, while a family of four will pay £30 to watch the Red Roses open their World Cup campaign in the north east.
Top tickets for the final at Twickenham, which the Rugby Football Union is hoping to sell out, will be priced at £95, with lower-priced options available for adults starting at £30.
Fans can register their interest via the Women’s Rugby World cup 2025 website, to enter the presale, which takes place from September 24 until October 8.
How can I watch the World Cup?
BBC Sport will broadcast exclusive coverage of the tournament across linear channels, with every match also available to watch live on BBC iPlayer and the Sport website and app.
Live audio commentary will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra.
Fans will be able to listen to 5 Live coverage on BBC Sounds, DAB radio and the BBC Sport website.
The exclusive coverage deal means there will also be content across BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland.