Thu, August 21, 2025
World Cup final to be the most attended women’s rugby match in history
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 organisers have announced that the tournament’s final on September 27 will be the most attended women’s rugby match in history with 82,000 attendees expected in Twickenham, England. In comparison, there were 66,000 women’s rugby spectators at a single match during the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The current record for a women's international is 58,498 at the same stadium in Twickenham for England v France in the 2023 Six Nations. The 2021 Rugby World Cup final, where England narrowly lost to New Zealand 34-31, was played in front of 42,579 at Eden Park.
More than 375,000 tickets of the 470,000 available have been sold across all 32 games during the women’s tournament, three times the number sold during the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. This number is also more than ten times the 30,000 sold for the last World Cup in England in 2010. Ticket prices are relatively accessible; they start at £10 for adults and £5 for children.
Chair of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Gill Whitehead, expressed: “The final we are very confident will be the most attended women’s rugby match in history, easily surpassing the 66,000 crowd that we saw in Paris 2024…
I can confirm the final at Allianz Stadium will be sold out. The last time England hosted the Women’s Rugby World Cup [in 2010], the girls played at the Stoop around the corner to a crowd of 13,000…
I started playing women’s rugby 30 years ago and the prospect of girls running out of the tunnel, playing to the three tiers of Allianz packed to the rafters, is something perhaps I never hoped or thought I would see and it’s certainly what girls’ dreams are made of.”
World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby, Sally Horrox, voiced: “The sport has grown significantly over the last three years but it’s hugely important now that we make the very most of this opportunity right in front of us over the next six weeks.”
Managing Director of the tournament, Sarah Massey, stated: “We’re ready to break records in attendances, viewership and engagement. This is going to be the biggest global celebration of women’s rugby that we have ever seen. We’ve now sold 375,000 tickets across all those matches, surpassing all our initial ticket targets…
That’s also three times the number of tickets that were sold for the last Women’s Rugby World Cup. You’re going to see thrilling action, electric atmospheres, and be quick because those remaining tickets are really selling up fast.”
England are entering the tournament as favourites having won 57 of their last 58 games. The first match, England v United States, will take place at 19:30 BST on Friday 22 August.
Additional positive news includes the fact that the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 will introduce flashing mouthguards for its players which will flash red to signal potentially concussive impacts. This news is also well received in the wake of a recent UK study which highlighted that sexism remains deep-seated within sport.
