1. Stat of the round – Kildunne v Big Ben
How well do you know your rugby – and for that matter, how well do you know your architecture?
For those who didn’t know, Ellie Kildunne was the only player from the opening weekend of fixtures to carry for more metres (153m) than the height of Big Ben (96m).
England as a team carried for 546m collectively against USA, 5m more than the tallest building in their opponents’ country (One World Trade Centre Tower).
Click here for our round-up of all the key stats from the first weekend of Rugby World Cup 2025.
2. Ticket sales continue to soar
Speaking of numbers, it has been revealed that 400,000 tickets have been sold for #RWC2025 so far – and that was after a record-breaking attendance of 42,723 at the opening game in Sunderland on Friday.
The numbers are proving what we already knew: this Rugby World Cup is the biggest festival of women’s rugby that the world has ever seen, and it’s only getting bigger.
“Wow, what an opening weekend,” said Women’s RWC 2025 Managing Director Sarah Massey. “We promised a global celebration of women’s rugby and that is exactly what we got and exactly what we are delivering.”
If you’ve not been able to get to a game yet, remember that you can pick up some of the remaining tickets here.
3. Rugby Like Never Before
For those who can’t make it to the games, Asahi are doing all they can to make sure you’re able to watch the action in as many pubs around the UK as possible as part of their Rugby Like Never Before campaign.
The drinks company wants to highlight women’s rugby and its inclusive culture by encouraging partners to screen and amplifying this year’s Rugby World Cup.
Brand ambassador and reigning World Rugby’s Player of the Year Ellie Kildunne said: “With the tournament on home turf this summer, this is a year where women’s rugby will be more popular than ever, and we have a huge opportunity to bring the game to a whole new audience. It is amazing to see the work that Asahi Super Dry are doing to challenge perceptions and inspire more people to connect with the game, and I am proud to be a part of that with them.”
4. Cadana star Schell plays down heroics
While the whole world marvelled at Julia Schell’s incredible individual performance against Fiji in which she scored six tries, the Canadian superstar way typically modest when addressing the media about it on Tuesday, saying a lot of it was ‘right place, right time’.
“I think it was one of those things where you don’t really realise what’s happening until after the fact,” she said. “A lot of them were very much right place at right time, but it is very cool and obviously very happy about it.”
The full-back said the amount of support Canada had at the York Community Stadium on Saturday was incredibly moving.
“I don’t usually get emotional during the anthem because I’m more locked in, but I was tearing up,” she said.
“It felt like we played at one of our stadiums on the west coast. It was so cool to see that many Canadian fans, which just make the whole day that much more special.”
5. RugbyPass reflects on blockbuster opening weekend
It was a thrilling opening weekend of rugby in which Scotland sank Six Nations rivals Wales, while Spain showed unbelievable grit and determination in their game against defending champions New Zealand.
RugbyPass has pulled together all the talking points from the weekend so you can catch up on anything you may have missed.
From the sevens stars who impressed to England’s ability to get over their nerves and Kate Zachary applauding a legend, here’s the full breakdown.
6. ‘Was that good content?’
Scotland showed an impressive skillset as they roared to victory against Wales at the weekend, and it seems they are in no mood to stop.
The players were involved in a few catching challenges, and couldn’t resist bringing out the trick plays. Check out the video below, including an outrageous bit of team-work from Rachel McLachlan and Rhona Lloyd!
