England Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – What We Learned from Week 2

The tournament continues – we look back at the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Week 2 fixtures and some of the key highlights and takeaways as we head into the final round of pool games. We also hear more about the shape of the women’s game based on data from the games so far.

Sarah Massey, Managing Director, Rugby World Cup 2025, added, “The entertainment, for me, is what is so compelling. The points, the scores, don’t tell the whole story. We are enjoying ourselves, the fans are enjoying themselves, and they’re showing that in the way they’re buying tickets and turning up is hugely important. It’s also important that you see progress on the pitch. What we’ve got here is a full package.”

• 145,000 fans have not attended matches at RWC 2025.
• 410,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament
• World Rugby social media views have surpassed 205 million
• Based on fan surveys, 30 per cent who attended had never been to a rugby match before, and more than 90% said they would go again

Image Source – World Rugby

On the field, there were also several milestones in the second round of matches:

• Samoa scored their first points at RWC 2025
• Brazil scored their first-ever Rugby World Cup try
• First draw of the tournament as the USA and Australia shared the spoils
• South Africa’s first win over Italy meant they qualified for their first-ever quarterfinal at the Women’s Rugby World Cup
• Jess Breach 50th try for England.
• 100 caps for Italy’s Sofia Stefan
• 50 tries scored by Portia Woodman-Wicklliffe as she becomes the first New Zealander to reach the milestone and only the sixth woman and the first outside of England’s Red Roses to reach the figure.

Results – England Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Week 2

Shape Of The Women’s Game – RWC 2025 Data Shows The Game Is Moving Forward

Nicky Ponsford, Director of High Performance at World Rugby, and a former player with 50 caps, commented on there being more closely contested games in the second round of pool games, saying, “What is great is we’re seeing a range [of results], aren’t we?

We’re seeing that the teams that are really strong against some of those up-and-coming teams. But the fans just love it, cheering both teams on. Then to see some more competitive matches is also great. And I’m sure heading into this weekend, we’re only going to see more of that. [The tournament] just continues to capture the imagination.”

In summary, she said that the data indicated there was more good and an improving quality of rugby being played compared to RWC 2021, with more tries, better discipline, fewer tap penalties, and teams were more confident in kicking for touch.

Image Source – World Rugby

Online Abuse Directed Towards RWC 2025 Players And Officials

A second question answered was about the partnership with Signify, as a few women’s players this week had taken to social media to address trolls and comments from some directed towards them.

Dominic Rumbles, World Rugby Chief Communications Officer, said of any abuse on social media and how the players and officials have been protected, “We’re providing support where required. But so far, any activity that meets that threat threshold of threatening behaviour has been escalated to law enforcement agencies in the country where that abuse originates from. We’ll update on that at the end of the tournament in a full report.”

Yvonne Nolan, Competition Director for Rugby World Cup 2025, commented, “Look, it’s part of that connection that we’ve talked about, and it’s one of the reasons why this sport is so successful, that engagement with fans and that authentic viewpoint that players are putting out there. So these players are going to be the highest profile of all time. We want to build on that.

We want to support that. But unfortunately, as we know, this is a societal issue, and that kind of unprecedented tension unfortunately brings some negatives. We don’t tolerate it, and we will take action where we can.”

When Will We Hear More About the WXV 2026 And Beyond

Rugby Asia 247 asked the World Rugby Committee about when we can expect to hear an update on the WXV going into the new cycle from 2026.

Sally Horrox, Chief of Women’s Rugby, World Rugby, told us, “We are looking forward to sharing with you the details of that roadmap and the evolution of that competition, as we get beyond the pool stages [of RWC 2025]. Those increased number of test matches, so that you can really see that increased level of competition, access and availability for the teams competing in this World Cup as they go forward and as it opens up between now and 2029, so watch this space.”

Photo Credit: HKCR

What Has Surprised Or Delighted You At RWC 2025 So Far – What World Rugby Said

Sally Horrox: “We knew that the women were going to turn up and entertain and put on some great rugby, but the number of new fans has surprised me. It’s the fact that this movement is being felt around the world. We can watch the World Cup in every country around the world. The way this tournament is having an impact around the world is truly delighting me.”

Alan Gilpin, World Rugby CEO, “What’s delighted is that a lot of the things we really hoped for have come to fruition. We really believed over three years ago that we were going to be in the right market at the right time with women’s sport riding a bit of a wave in this part of the world; that a Rugby World Cup here would be hugely embraced by players and fans.

And those first two weekends have really lived up to that hope and expectation. All we can do is build on that and create a platform for brilliant players and brilliant teams.”

Rugby World Cup 2025 News

• Lexi Chambers – Smashing Records, Inspiring Others, and How Rugby Has Changed Her Life.
• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Title Sequences Commissioned by 16 Female Artists From Participating Nations.
• England Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – What We Learned from Week 1.
• The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 is Here and We Are All For It.