Rugby World Cup 2025 - Round 3 top performers

Half of the 16 teams competing at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 may have gone home following their elimination at the pool stage, but many of their players have left an indelible mark on the tournament.

Here are the top performers, according to data supplied by Opta, from round three.

Tries

1 Freda Tafuna (USA) – 4
2= Braxton Sorensen-McGee (New Zealand) – 3
2= Francesca Granzotto (Italy) – 3
2= Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi (Italy) – 3

USA’s players clocked up some impressive numbers in various categories across the first two rounds, and round three was no different, with Freda Tafuna’s four tries in the rout of Samoa the most by any individual player. Fittingly, her first, which was run-in from halfway, started with a brilliant offload from their standout player, Ilona Maher. Elsewhere, Braxton Sorensen-McGee scored her second consecutive hat-trick as New Zealand nilled Ireland and Italy duo, Francesca Granzotto and Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, also bagged three tries apiece.

Try assists

1. Sara Mannini (Italy) – 3
2= Multiple players

Having scored Italy’s first try against Brazil, inside centre Sara Mannini set up three more for team-mates. Her pinpoint floated pass for replacement Gaia Buso’s second try of the match was the pick of the bunch.

Carries

1. Sophie de Goede (Canada) – 19
2= Hope Rogers (USA) – 17
2= Alex Callender (Wales) – 17

It sounds simple, but one of the keys to a team performing to its full potential is getting the ball in the hands of its best players as much as possible, and the two North American countries, Canada and the USA, adhere to that principle very well.

Canada’s all-action No.8 Sophie de Goede topped the carry charts in round two with 20, and one week on, she was without peers again in the win over Scotland. She was also top for offloads (five) and kicked three goals.

USA prop Hope Rogers was joint third with 19 in round two and secured her place in the top three this time around with another busy display against Samoa.

Metres Carried

1. Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi (Italy) – 228
2. Freda Tafuna (USA) – 191
3. Joanna Grisez (France) – 173

Given the wide open spaces available to Italy in the mismatch with Brazil, it is hardly a surprise to see one of their players at the top of this category. Azzurre hat-trick scorer Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi was the only player in round three to clock up more than 200 metres, and her tally of 228 is the second highest in the tournament so far for a single match. Only Canada’s Julia Schell has run more metres (237), on her way to six tries in round one.

Defenders Beaten

1. Josivini Naihamu (Fiji) – 10
2. Kayleigh Powell (Wales) – 9
3= Multiple players – 7

Attack won over defence in the Fiji-Wales cliffhanger in York, with a player from either side occupying the top two places in the defenders beaten category. Fiji’s Josivini Naihamu led the way, scoring two tries and leaving a multitude of defenders trailing in her wake in a brilliant display.

Line Breaks

1. Braxton Sorensen-McGee (New Zealand) – 5
2= Multiple players – 4

Braxton Sorensen-McGee is loving life. A second hat-trick in as many matches underlined the 18-year-old’s ability to not only out-gas opponents but also beat them through a change of direction. She produced an outrageous sidestep for her first try without a hint of changing pace. Sheer class from the youngster.

Successful Tackles

1. Charlotte Escudero (France) – 28
2. Sui Tauasa Pauaraisa (Samoa) – 20
3= Multiple players – 19

Evie Gallagher’s incredible 35 tackles for Scotland in round two remain unchallenged, but France’s Charlotte Escudero came up with the next highest tally in Les Bleues’ 57-10 win over South Africa. France had to make 198 tackles in the match despite their dominance, and the No.8, who also got on the scoresheet, was at the heart of their defensive effort.

Turnovers Won

1= Tabua Tuinakauvadra (Australia) – 3
1= Georgie Perris-Redding (USA) – 3
1= Sinazo Mcatshulwa (South Africa) – 3

Three players share the accolade this week, all of them replacements.

USA flanker Georgie Perris-Redding had the best turnover rate, with her three coming from just 26 minutes of game time. That said, Tabua Tuinakauvadra was only on the pitch for 34 minutes and Sinazo Mcatshulwa was on for 36.

Lineout Catches

1. Abbie Ward (England) – 12
2. Masami Kawamura (Japan) – 10
3- Multiple players – 7

England’s lineout was far from perfect against the Wallaroos (81%), but whenever they needed to secure possession, the Red Roses knew they could rely on Abbie Ward to rule the skies. In the first two rounds, not one player got into double figures for lineout takes, but we had two in round three, with Japan’s Masami Kawamura claiming 10.