Records tumble at #RWC2025
There were some big numbers rolled out at yesterday’s Tournament Weekly Conference. Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director Sarah Massey revealed that there have been 440,00 tickets sold for what has been the biggest celebration of women’s rugby in history!
The number of tickets sold is 100,000 more than the original objective laid out by World Rugby – and three times more than the number sold for a delayed Rugby World Cup 2021 only three years ago.
“It’s an extraordinary milestone that surpasses even our best expectations,” Massey said.
“When we look back at Rugby World Cup attendances through recent history, it’s clear: we are witnessing a generational moment, and the trajectory of women’s rugby is only moving upwards.”
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World Rugby’s nominees unveiled
At Saturday’s final there will also be a chance to celebrate some of the stars of the game, with the winners of the Women’s Player of the Year award and the 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year to be announced on the night.
Canada’s Sophie de Goede and England’s Megan Jones are both in with a chance of winning the Rugby World Cup and being crowned Women’s Player of the Year on the same day, while Jorja Miller is the third player nominated in that category as well as also being named as one of three Breakthrough Player of the Year nominees.
For the latter award Miller is up against team-mate and try-scoring sensation Braxton Sorensen-McGee as well as Fiji’s Josifini Neihamu. Who gets your vote?
Jones only has one thing on her mind
While Meg Jones received the news of her nomination amidst an emotional reception from her team-mates, she is clearly more interested in the team trophy that is on offer this Saturday rather than the individual accolade.
“We’ve had to fight for every second of game time in this tournament. We’ve earned the right to be here,” the centre said.
“To run out at Allianz Stadium, knowing the stories we all carry, the communities we represent, and the history we’re creating — that’s massive. That’s what makes this final week so powerful.”
Waaka proud as Black Ferns go down swinging
Though New Zealand were beaten by a slick Canada outfit in their Bristol semi-final on Friday, there was plenty for New Zealand’s Stacey Waaka to smile about after the final whistle. Despite time being up and the Black Ferns having no chance of changing the result, they kept the game alive by never dropping their heads and giving up.
Canada last touched the ball with 78:22 on the clock, and the final whistle went at 83:03. The Kiwis had kept the ball for nearly five whole minutes in their pursuit of just one more point.
“Anyone that represents their country knows that you fight right until the end no matter what the score,” Waaka said.
“You have to be resilient. You have to show humility. You can’t give up, never give up. When you’re wearing that jersey, you fight to the death, for your family, for your friends, for your country.
“That was the game plan, to speed it up to try and score on a high. We knew we weren’t going to win, but we were just trying to win amazing moments and memories out there.”
What we learned from #RWC2025 semi-finals
Saturday’s World Cup showpiece will be played at a sold-out Allianz Stadium and will be contested by the undisputed two best teams on the planet.
England and Canada came into this tournament as the number one and number two-ranked teams respectively, and as the only two unbeaten teams left in the tournament, those rankings have held firm.
Over the weekend they booked their spots in the big dance with dominant performances that has fans beside themselves with excitement about what lays ahead on Saturday.
As a reminder of how the two teams got there, here’s RugbyPass’ feature on what we learned from the two Bristol semi-finals.