Legacy of 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup thrives
Investment from the 2025 tournament is already boosting participation, facilities and elite pathways for women’s rugby across the UK and Ireland. Over 40,000 girls tried the sport, club numbers rose 49%, and officials such as Amber Stamp and Jenny Davies achieved historic milestones.
The Impact ’25 report released by the Rugby Football Union confirms that the legacy programme attached to the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 has already begun to reshape the women’s game throughout the British Isles.
Over the four‑year span, roughly 40,000 girls aged six to twelve were introduced to rugby, while club participation among girls surged by 49 per cent. Hundreds of clubs benefitted from upgraded facilities, and the investment helped forge new pathways for female coaches and match officials across Scotland, Wales and Ireland, including the first woman to referee a major men’s final and a television match official who attended the World Rugby Six Nations Camp.
“The 2025 World Cup provided a huge platform for the women’s game and a transformational moment for the sport in the UK and beyond,” the report noted. “Developing players, coaches and officials takes time, so the full impact of this investment will continue to emerge in the years ahead.”