"England vs Scotland Quarter-Final" - Women's Rugby World Cup: Pool Permutations ahead of Knock-Out stage

Wednesday, 03 September 2025 at 10:47

byTom Sansom

With one round of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 pool phase still to play, seven teams; England, Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, Ireland, France and South Africa, have already booked their place in the last eight. That leaves just one spot remaining, with either Australia or the USA battling to survive Pool A and reach the knock-out stages.

Here’s how the pools stack up heading into the final weekend, and how the quarter-finals are taking shape ahead of the incoming quarter-finals. We've also made our predictions as to who we expect to see progress in the Winners and Runners-Up spots from each Pool, with rivalries reignited as we approach the quarter-finals of the Women's Rugby World Cup.

Pool A

England are safely through having racked up two massive bonus-point wins over the USA and Samoa, and also following Saturday’s dramatic draw between USA and Australia. The Red Roses sit clear on 10 points and will face the loser of Canada vs Scotland in the quarter-finals. That leaves the Wallaroos and Eagles chasing the final ticket to the last eight.

Australia Qualify: All the Wallaroos need is 1 point from Saturday's match against England. A losing bonus-point would seal their quarter-final spot.

USA Qualify: USA Must beat Samoa with maximum 5-point win and hope Australia come away empty-handed from the match against England. Points difference would be decisive should both USA and Australia then finish on eight points, with Australia at +73 to USA’s –62, the Wallaroos are in the driving seat ahead of the final round of pool matches.

Likely outcome: England top the pool, Australia edge into the last eight.

Pool B

Canada and Scotland are both through, leaving Saturday’s clash between them as a straight shoot-out for top spot in Pool B.

Winner: Tops the pool and avoids England.

Loser: Faces the daunting task of tackling the Red Roses in the quarter-finals.

Wales vs Fiji - Playing for pride only

Likely outcome: Canada to top Pool B, Scotland to face England.

Pool C

Both New Zealand and Ireland have qualified, and Sunday’s meeting decides the order of Pool C.

Winner: Tops Pool C and gets Pool D’s runner-up, expected to be South Africa

Loser: Finishes second and faces Pool D’s winner, expected to be France

Japan vs Spain: Playing for pride only.

Likely outcome: New Zealand shade Ireland to top the pool, leaving Ireland a dangerous runner-up.

Pool D

Another shoot-out awaits here. France and South Africa are locked in, with their clash set to determine the pool winner.

Winner: Faces Pool C runner-up, either Ireland or New Zealand

Loser: Draws the Pool C winner, whether it is the Black Ferns or Emerald Islanders

Italy and Brazil: Out of contention and playing for pride.

Likely outcome: France take top spot, South Africa finish second.

Predicted Quarter-Finals

QF 1: New Zealand (Pool C winner) vs South Africa (Pool D runner-up)
QF 2: Canada (Pool B winner) vs Australia (Pool A runner-up)
QF 3: France (Pool D winner) vs Ireland (Pool C runner-up)
QF 4: England (Pool A winner) vs Scotland (Pool B runner-up)