Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact & Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Reports Released

World Rugby has released two reports, the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report and the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report, presenting comprehensive details of how the Women’s global rugby tournament impacted the sport globally.

World Rugby Chair, Brett Robinson, said: “Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 was a phenomenal celebration of our sport. The impact reports show just how transformative it was, for players, for fans, for communities, for the host cities across England and for our global rugby ecosystem.

The economic and social impact speaks for itself, but what makes me most proud is how the tournament changed perceptions of women’s rugby. It inspired new audiences, set new benchmarks for excellence, and proved what our game can deliver when we invest boldly in women’s sport. This was a defining moment, and its legacy will shape rugby for generations.”

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Findings

The RWC 2025 tournament made an £294.7 million economic impact, and as we already knew,  the event in England broke attendance and viewership records but also generated a 330 per cent increase in sponsorship revenues and delivered £201 million in media value for its partners.

World Rugby’s reports said that four out of five Principal Partners extended their commitment to women’s rugby post-tournament.

The governing body said in its press release, “Together, the reports demonstrate how the most successful Women’s Rugby World Cup in history acted as both a catalyst and a platform: igniting unprecedented momentum and delivering tangible benefits to local communities while driving targeted, measurable development programmes around the world.

From record-breaking attendance and economic uplift to transformative participation and leadership pathways for women and girls globally, England 2025 was a defining moment for the sport.”

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report

World Rugby Chief of Women’s Rugby, Sally Horrox, said: “Our Impact Beyond 2025 programme demonstrates the true power of a global legacy programme. Working with 134 unions and our six regional associations, we have seen tangible progress in participation, leadership, pathways and player welfare.

From teenage girls picking up a rugby ball for the first time to women stepping into coaching and leadership roles, this programme is changing lives and strengthening the foundations of our sport worldwide.

The momentum generated by RWC 2025 is only the beginning, and together with our partners, we are building a stronger, sustainable and more inclusive future for the women’s game.”

RWC 2025 was hosted in eight English cities (Brighton, Bristol, Exeter, London, Manchester, Northampton, Sunderland and York), selling 444,465 tickets.

• Most attended Women’s Rugby World Cup in history
• Tripled the turnout of the previous edition in New Zealand
• 92 per cent of all tickets sold across the tournament
• More than 80 per cent of the total impact was realised outside London
• The final at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham drew a record-breaking 81,885 fans, setting a new world record for a women’s rugby match and becoming the second most attended Rugby World Cup final of all time, across both men’s and women’s events

Fans and Players Reactions – RWC 2025

The Rugby World Cup 2025 tournament recorded:

• A Net Promoter Score of +84, placing it above many other major global sporting events and offered world-class experience delivered to supporters.
• 96 per cent of fans described the event as ‘inspiring’.
• Out of the 44 per cent of fans who had never been to a women’s rugby match before RWC 2025, 94 per cent said they intended to watch women’s rugby in the future.
• Players indicated an 82 per cent rating in their overall tournament experience as good or excellent.
• Seventy-five per cent of women aged 13-25 reported feeling more motivated to be active after engaging with the tournament.

The Reach of RWC 2025

The report indicated that “The event reached new audiences internationally, fuelled by enhanced production, free-to-air coverage in key markets and an innovative digital strategy designed to showcase players’ stories and personalities.”

• RWC 2025 achieved 147 million global broadcast viewing hours (a 336 per cent increase compared with RWC 2021).
• Women’s RWC 2025 generated more than one billion social media impressions.

View the Women’s RWC 2025 Impact Report here.

By all accounts, it looks to be, and it should be, a very positive report. There is little to no mention of the positive impacts the RWC had directly in Asia or Japan (the sole representative from Asia at RWC 2025); in fact, Japan and Asia only appear once each in the whole report. But we encourage everyone to have a read.

Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report

World Rugby said Impact Beyond was designed with a “multi-year global strategy, the programme partnered with unions and regional associations worldwide to deliver practical, scalable initiatives spanning participation, leadership, coaching, officiating, mental health, digital growth and women’s health.”

• More than 35,500 teenage girls took up rugby through Rugby Rising Play grants delivered in 42 unions, including emerging rugby nations such as Laos, Nigeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Cook Islands.
• More than 100 women from 56 countries enrolled in the Careers programme.
• More than 50 unions attended Regional Summits across Africa, Asia and Europe, and over 90 unions benefited from World Rugby’s first-ever fundraising training programme.
• More than 1,000 women leaders participated in the ChildFund Rugby Grassroots to Global series.

View the Impact Beyond 2025 Global Impact Report here.

Again, we urge everyone to read these, and we will take our time to assess the Asia-specific aspects highlighted. Also, keep in mind these reports tend to only focus on the positives and offer rose-tinted perspectives from our experience, but there are lots of positives to digest.

Taking On Mental Health in Rugby

• For mental health, a network of 37 former internationals provided confidential peer-to-peer guidance to teams and match officials at RWC 2025.
• World Rugby’s social media protection service analysed over 440,000 potential abusive posts and reported 1,189 posts or comments to platforms and authorities.

Rugby Impact and Development News

• Rugby For Good Partners With Cathay as a 2026 Community Partner.
• Victoria Asian Rugby And Why Tiffany Leung Has Started The Club in Australia.
• Johnny Harris Tells Us What Dai Viet Rugby Is And Why Laying The Foundations Are Key Before Talks of Establishing a Vietnam Rugby Federation.
• Grassroots to Global Connect 2025 – What The Asian Representatives Learned and Hope To Achieve.