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What we now know about women’s rugby and SVNS’ symbiosis
Covering sport can be a strange beast, not just because of analysing the wins and losses, and the micro-decisions and factors that determine why the result went the way it did.
What happens on a sports field holds significance in nearly every country; it’s nearly universal: it’s a place where power dynamics shift, and acts upon it can stir uproar and inspiration that will be talked about for generations. It’s an arena where representation matters.
On Tuesday, World Rugby released its impact report on the growth of women’s rugby following the successful 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, and its results indicate that a huge shift is afoot in global rugby.
Women’s team sports in general have experienced a huge surge over the last decade, originally being spearheaded by the exponential growth of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, with 2023 becoming the most-attended edition of the competition in its 35-year history.
Now, the results shown by the 2025 Rugby World Cup indicate a seismic shift in growth, the impact report detailing, among other records, a monster 444,000 tickets sold (nearly four times the number of tickets sold in 2021), record attendances and broadcast numbers for the Grand Final, and a 92% attendance across the tournament.
The event also brought in significant economic investment, generating a 330 per cent increase in sponsorship revenues and reportedly bringing in £294.7 million into the UK economy.
Then, there is the online footprint, with over 1.1 billion tournament social impressions, 850 million views online and a 37% increase in the top 40 players’ social following, all contributing to the event being the second-most socially engaged Rugby World Cup ever.
While the larger format of the game flourished in 2025, its increased integration with the Women’s SVNS also had a lot to do with its success.
Since turning professional, the HSBC SVNS Women’s series has been a quiet achiever in the global context of women’s sporting events, becoming a popular staple in the Summer Olympics and often being the first fully professional pathway for female players in multiple countries.
With professionalism comes improved athletes, and with that, the rising tide lifts all ships.
As multiple countries began to integrate their Sevens programs with their XVs programs, their injection has proved enormous at supercharging the larger version of the women’s game.
There is no surprise that the 2025 Rugby World Cup’s biggest stars, including the USA’s Ilona Maher, New Zealand’s Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, or England’s Ellie Kildunne and Abby Dow, all got their career starts and/or played extensive time in their respective nation’s Sevens programs.
The success of the Women’s SVNS over many years and the 2025 Rugby World Cup is now translating to more girls picking up a rugby ball, trying to replicate their favourite stars on the field. It’s representation in action in real time.
The shift now moves towards Australia in 2029, the event coming at a good time with the Australian Women’s Sevens one of the strongest sides in the World Series, and the Wallaroos a rapidly developing team in the longer format of the women’s game.
Increasing integration between the Australian XVs and Sevens sides has yielded strong results, with Tia Hinds and Charlotte Caslick enjoying successful stints for the Wallaroos, while Maya Stewart made an outstanding debut at the Singapore Sevens earlier this year.
With a focus now on having 3.4 million women playing rugby globally by 2029, the momentum isn’t going away on the back of the Rugby World Cup, and it’s now up to each member union to make sure they catch the wave of growth in both forms of the game.
Seeing comparisons in other sports, the 2023 FIFA World Cup supercharged the profile of the Matildas in Australia, with the side still breaking crowd records three years after the tournament ended.
The venues are filled with families, multiple generations watching together, and an excitable energy that is infectious.
The success of the 2025 Rugby World Cup wasn’t just about one moment, one tournament, or the success of one team: it was the convergence of many years of development in both formats of the women’s game, and its success shows how high the ceiling is for women’s rugby.
If this is the start of the future, bring it on.
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