Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Smashes Records on Opening Weekend across England

Over 85,000 fans flocked to stadiums across the weekend, setting a new tournament record for an opening round. The standout was the Sunderland opener, where 42,723 fans created an electric atmosphere for England vs USA, surpassing the famous Eden Park RWC Final of 2022 and becoming the biggest-ever crowd for a Women’s Rugby World Cup match.

Television audiences also surged. In the UK, coverage on BBC1 drew an average of 1.5 million viewers, peaking at 2.4 million, while in France, 3.2 million fans tuned in on TF1, marking a national record for women’s rugby.

The excitement wasn’t confined to stadiums and TV screens. Across digital platforms, the tournament has already seen 77 million video views and 3.6 million engagements, eclipsing the totals from the entire previous edition. The official Rugby World Cup website also reported over 1 million sessions in the past week alone, underlining the global appetite for the women’s game.

Ticket sales are booming too, with 400,000 tickets already sold, reflecting the growing demand to witness world-class women’s rugby live across the host venues. The Red Roses got the action underway against the USA in Sunderland's Stadium of Light, with England set to now take on Samoa in Northampton's Franklin's Gardens, and then Australia in the American Express Community Stadium to close out the pools. The knock-out stages will be hosted at Ashton Gate in Bristol and Sandy Park in Exeter, before the final and bronze final arrives at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on Saturday, 29th September.

The scale of these achievements not only sets a new benchmark for the Women’s Rugby World Cup but also demonstrates the sport’s rapid growth on a global stage. With the tournament only just underway, the trajectory suggests more records will fall before the champions are crowned.

Women’s rugby has never been stronger, and 2025 is shaping up to be its most defining year yet.