Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 leaves powerful legacy as reports highlight positive impact on England and the global game

In partnership with key partners and stakeholders, World Rugby has released two landmark publications – the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report and the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report, presenting, for the first time, a unified and comprehensive picture of how the tournament has reshaped women’s rugby locally in England and globally across World Rugby’s 134 member unions and six regional associations.

A complete legacy picture: for the first time, World Rugby has provided a unified view of how Women’s RWC 2025 delivered transformational impact for the game both in England and across World Rugby’s member unions.

A proven return on investment: the tournament’s £294.7 million economic impact demonstrates that hosting Women’s Rugby World Cup is a high‑value investment for governments and host cities, generating long‑lasting economic and civic benefits.

Beyond records: real social change. England 2025 did more than break attendance and viewership records; it actively shifted perceptions of women’s rugby, strengthened gender equity, and showcased rugby as a sport where women and girls truly belong.

Unprecedented reach and visibility elevated women’s rugby’s commercial appeal: RWC 2025 generated a 330 per cent increase in sponsorship revenues and delivered £201 million in media value for its partners, with four out of five Principal Partners extending their commitment to women’s rugby post tournament.

A stronger global ecosystem for the future: Impact Beyond 2025 is already shaping rugby’s long‑term future worldwide by building more capability and expertise within unions, developing career opportunities and leadership pathways, and giving women and girls greater confidence, visibility and opportunity to play.

Together, the reports demonstrate how the most successful Women’s Rugby World Cup in history acted as both a catalyst and a platform: igniting unprecedented momentum and delivering tangible benefits to local communities while driving targeted, measurable development programmes around the world. From record-breaking attendance and economic uplift to transformative participation and leadership pathways for women and girls globally, England 2025 was a defining moment for the sport.

A resounding success at home: record crowds, economic impact and social purpose

Hosted across eight cities (Brighton, Bristol, Exeter, London, Manchester, Northampton, Sunderland and York), Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 delivered exceptional results across every success metric.

A total of 444,465 tickets were sold, making it the most attended Women’s Rugby World Cup in history and tripling the turnout of the previous edition, with 92 per cent of all tickets sold across the tournament. The final at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham drew a record-breaking 81,885 fans, setting a new world record for a women’s rugby match and becoming the second most attended Rugby World Cup final of all time, across both men’s and women’s events. This nationwide surge in attendance was fuelled by deliberate efforts to take the tournament deep into communities across England, with host cities embracing regional activations, tailored engagement programmes and localised media coverage that sparked enthusiasm and mobilised fans far beyond traditional rugby heartlands.

This extraordinary level of engagement translated directly into a £294.7 million economic impact for host cities, a result that reflects not only the historic audience interest but also the bold strategy to distribute major matches and community activity across the country. With more than 80 per cent of the total impact realised outside London, the tournament delivered significant and tangible benefits to local economies nationwide, from increased visitor spending and hospitality uplift to strengthened destination profiles (£54 million of media value) and enhanced civic pride. Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 proved that when world-class sport is brought to more people, more regions share in its success.

These achievements were matched by outstanding fan and player satisfaction. The tournament recorded a Net Promoter Score of +84, placing it above many other major global sporting events and underscoring the world-class experience delivered to supporters. Players mirrored this sentiment, with 82 per cent rating their overall tournament experience as good or excellent, reflecting the high standards set across performance environments, welfare provision and event delivery.

Beyond the numbers, England 2025 championed a bold social purpose. The ‘Where We Belong’ campaign delivered powerful messaging around body confidence, inclusion, and the idea that women and girls not only belong in rugby but can thrive in every part of the sport: on the field, on the sidelines, and as leaders.

The tournament left its mark on spectators, with 96 per cent of them describing the event as inspiring. Out of the 44 per cent of fans who had never been to a women’s rugby match before RWC 2025, 94 per cent said they intended to watch women’s rugby in the future.

The social impact was profound. Seventy-five per cent of women aged 13-25 reported feeling more motivated to be active after engaging with the tournament; thousands of volunteers, including many first-timers, helped deliver a welcoming, accessible tournament atmosphere. These results reflect a tournament that not only broke records, but also broke barriers: redefining visibility, representation and cultural relevance for women’s rugby.

Behind the spectacle: unprecedented reach, growing audiences and a new generation of fans

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 also resonated on a scale never seen before in the women’s game. The event reached new audiences internationally, fuelled by enhanced production, free-to-air coverage in key markets and an innovative digital strategy designed to showcase players’ stories and personalities. The tournament achieved 147 million global broadcast viewing hours (a 336 per cent increase compared with RWC 2021), demonstrating the soaring worldwide interest in women’s rugby and the effectiveness of the tournament’s accessible broadcast approach.

This broadcast success was amplified by exceptional digital impact. Women’s RWC 2025 generated more than one billion social media impressions, elevating players into global icons and creating a substantial new addressable audience for the women’s game. Short-form content, platforms partnerships with Snapchat and TikTok, creator collaborations and player-led storytelling played a pivotal role in expanding rugby’s footprint across younger demographics, driving record engagement and bringing the sport into new markets and communities. These results underline how England 2025 not only thrilled fans inside stadiums but captured the imagination of millions around the world, cementing its status as a breakout moment for the sport.

Alongside its sporting and social achievements, Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 also delivered exceptional commercial value, underlining the tournament’s growing appeal to major global brands. The event generated £201 million in media value for Rugby World Cup commercial partners, reflecting the unprecedented broadcast reach, digital visibility and on‑site engagement opportunities unlocked throughout the tournament.

This commercial momentum translated into a 330 per cent increase in sponsorship revenues compared with the previous edition, attracting a wider portfolio of fan‑facing, purpose‑aligned brands eager to invest in the women’s game. Their activations, from immersive fan experiences to high‑impact digital campaigns, not only enhanced the tournament atmosphere but also reinforced the compelling proposition that Women’s Rugby World Cup now represents for partners, host cities and investors alike.

View the Women’s RWC 2025 Impact Report >>

A global influence: Impact Beyond 2025 delivers worldwide progress

In parallel with the local legacy, World Rugby’s Impact Beyond 2025 programme ensured the tournament’s influence extended far beyond England. Designed as a multi-year global strategy, the programme partnered with unions and regional associations worldwide to deliver practical, scalable initiatives spanning participation, leadership, coaching, officiating, mental health, digital growth and women’s health.

Central to this effort was a dramatic expansion of opportunities for women and girls: more than 35,500 teenage girls took up rugby through Rugby Rising Play grants delivered in 42 unions, including emerging rugby nations such as Laos, Nigeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Cook Islands.

Impact Beyond also invested heavily in capability building, with more than 100 women from 56 countries enrolling on the Careers programme and reporting strong increases in confidence, professional networks and awareness of career pathways in rugby. The Gallagher High Performance Academy supported 47 female coaches, contributing to a record 32 per cent female coach representation at the tournament, up from 15 per cent in 2021.

The programme also advanced player welfare and safeguarding in unprecedented ways. This included the most comprehensive mental health support ever implemented at a Rugby World Cup, supported by a pioneering network of 37 former internationals who provided confidential peer-to-peer guidance to teams and match officials. In the digital space, World Rugby’s social media protection service analysed over 440,000 potential abusive posts and reported 1,189 posts or comments to platforms and authorities, creating a safer environment for players, match officials and their families and setting a new standard for athlete protection in women’s sport.

At union level, Impact Beyond 2025 strengthened long-term foundations for growth. More than 50 unions attended Regional Summits across Africa, Asia and Europe, and over 90 unions benefitted from World Rugby’s first-ever fundraising training programme, enabling them to unlock new sources of funding to grow the game. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 women leaders participated in the ChildFund Rugby Grassroots to Global series, developing action plans to grow female participation and leadership within their own communities.

Taken together, the Impact Beyond 2025 results show how a stronger, more connected women’s rugby ecosystem is now positioning unions worldwide to capitalise on the rising global demand for women’s sport.

View the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report >>

Unified legacy: a tournament that changed the game

By publishing the two reports together, World Rugby has underlined a single, cohesive message: Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 was both an iconic event and a global development engine.

The local and global legacies reinforce one another. High profile, record-breaking events elevate the sport’s visibility and commercial value; development programmes ensure that visibility translates into genuine growth across participation, pathways, and capabilities worldwide.

It is a model that World Rugby intends to build on through the next cycle of pinnacle events with Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 and Women’s RWC 2029 in Australia, Men’s RWC 2031 and Women’s RWC 2033 in the USA.

Women’s rugby is experiencing rapid growth in audiences, participation, commercial interest and cultural influence and World Rugby is committed to ensuring that this moment becomes a movement. With strategic investment in events such as the WXV Global Series, stronger pathways and a global community energised by the success of 2025, the women’s game is entering a new era. The lessons learnt and legacies captured in these two reports will guide the sport as it builds towards Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029 and beyond.

World Rugby Chair, Brett Robinson, said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 was a phenomenal celebration of our sport. The impact reports show just how transformative it was, for players, for fans, for communities, for the host cities across England and for our global rugby ecosystem. The economic and social impact speaks for itself, but what makes me most proud is how the tournament changed perceptions of women’s rugby. It inspired new audiences, set new benchmarks for excellence, and proved what our game can deliver when we invest boldly in women’s sport. This was a defining moment, and its legacy will shape rugby for generations.”

World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby, Sally Horrox, said: “Our Impact Beyond 2025 programme demonstrates the true power of a global legacy programme. Working with 134 unions and our six regional associations, we have seen tangible progress in participation, leadership, pathways and player welfare. From teenage girls picking up a rugby ball for the first time to women stepping into coaching and leadership roles, this programme is changing lives and strengthening the foundations of our sport worldwide. The momentum generated by RWC 2025 is only the beginning, and together with our partners, we are building a stronger, sustainable and more inclusive future for the women’s game.”

Women’s RWC 2025 Independent Chair, Gill Whitehead, said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 showed what can be achieved when ambition is matched with meaningful investment and genuine collaboration. Together with World Rugby, the RFU, UK Sport and our many partners, we brought new audiences into the game at scale, delivering 147 million television viewing hours, more than four times the growth of the previous tournament, and over one billion social media impressions.

“We reached communities right across England, with over 80 per cent of the £294 million economic impact generated going to host cities outside of London. It is evident from this impact report that RWC 2025 was a complete game changer. Thanks to these partners and the tournament Board, to Sarah Massey and her leadership team, to all colleagues for their belief and commitment, and to the players and fans – you have all helped to ensure women’s rugby is forever changed.”

Stephanie Peacock MP, Minister for Sport UK Government, commented: “We set out to make Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 the biggest ever and as a nation we delivered. It’s incredible to see the groundbreaking impact the tournament had in communities all over England – and will continue to have long into the future.

“From unprecedented attendances and viewing figures, to once again showcasing the huge commercial potential of women’s sport, this Rugby World Cup fundamentally changed the way that women’s rugby is perceived and will leave a lasting legacy for generations.

“As a Government, we were proud to support the tournament and will continue to champion women’s sport, whether that’s by funding grassroots facilities for women and girls’ teams, or hosting more of the biggest events in women’s sport.”