The numbers that emphasise the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup's success

The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup was always going to be a game changer for women’s sport.

Today the release of World Rugby’s Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report and the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report, has underlined how significant last year’s tournament was.

Brett Robinson, World Rugby Chair, 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.”

Here are some key numbers from the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report…

£294.7 MILLION

In total there was an economic impact of £294.7m generated to the eight host cities.

Direct expenditure totalled £176.3m, which when broken down saw £41.4m generated for the UK accommodation sector, £24m generated for the hospitality sector, £94m was generated from England-based fans from outside host cities and £18.2m was generated by international visitors.

Some 47,000 people enjoyed host city fan zones, including 17,000 that attended the Sunderland fan zone ahead of the opening match between England and the USA Women’s Eagles.

In showcasing so much of England, 73 per cent of attendees at matches said they would recommend England as a holiday destination, with 86 per cent recommending York.

444,465

That is how many tickets were sold for the tournament. Three times more than were sold three years prior for the delayed 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

This was 92 per cent of the total number of tickets available and equated to 24 per cent of all revenue generated by the tournament.

Of course this overall record attendance culminated in the world record attendance of 81,885 people that were present at Allianz Stadium for the final as England beat Canada 33-13.

44 per cent of spectators were attending their first game of women’s rugby and 20 per cent of ticket purchasers attended more than one game.

Fan feedback has also established the tournament as the best-ever edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

With a +84 Net Promoter Score (which is used as an indicator of event satisfaction) this has surpassed the scores of the past two major women’s sports events held in England, the UEFA Women’s Euros 2022 (+73) and Netball World Cup 2018 (+81).

1.1 BILLION

Across social media there were 1.1 billion social media impressions. This included a 272 per cent increase in video views from the 2021 tournament and 121 per cent more social engagements.

It is the second most engaged Rugby World Cup in men’s and women’s history.

A significant catalyst for the growth of women’s rugby, social media was a key focus for World Rugby heading into last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.

 

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With a strategy focussed on authentic storytelling and putting players at the forefront, rugby’s outreach was expanded with an inclusive voice.

Player-led content generated a total of 270 million views and 17.7 million engagements.

Over the tournament a number of players saw their social media following sky-rocket. Hannah Botterman (England) saw her following increase by 332 per cent, Anna McGann (Ireland) saw an increase of 297 per cent, Aseza Hele’s (South Africa) saw an increase of 244 per cent and Julia Schell’s (Canada) saw an increase of 234 per cent.

147.8 MILLION

Last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup has broken plenty of records. Global broadcast viewing hours are a major one of those.

This is over four times the previous tournament high and saw dramatic uplifts in target markets. This included a 470 per cent average increase in viewing hours in Europe, 403 per cent average increase across Africa and the Middle East, and a 217 per cent average increase in the Americas.

Globally 15 countries broadcast all matches. TF1’s broadcast of France’s 35-17 semi-final loss to England hit a peak of 4.4 million viewers. France had the second-most viewing hours (56 million) behind the United Kingdom.

In total the BBC saw its audience watch 57 million hours and 10.5 million streams. To really underline how engaged people were in the competition, the average UK watch time was three hours and 24 minutes.

91 PER CENT

Of girls and women aged 13-25, that is how many agreed that the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup will inspire more of them to play rugby.

96 per cent described the tournament as inspiring, 74 per cent branded it as inclusive, 98 per cent called it entertaining and 93 per cent called it empowering. Another 96 per cent even expressed a high likelihood that they would attend women’s rugby union matches again in the future.

All of these numbers speak to World Rugby’s claim that the tournament was the ‘most accessible and widely watched women’s rugby event ever staged’.

There may have also been long-term impact too with a huge shift in attitudes toward the sport and created a new demand for equal opportunity in the process.

In total 97 per cent of women, and 93 per cent of men, agreed the tournament showcased rugby as a sport as much for women and girls as it is for men and boys.

Additionally, of the 13-25 group sampled, 83 per cent said the tournament made them feel that rugby is not just a sport for men and 85 per cent reported that the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup made them feel hopeful about the future of women’s sport.