England has been named as the host country for the 2025 Rugby Women's World Cup.
Australia was also officially chosen by the World Rugby Council to host the men's World Cup in 2027 and the women's World Cup in 2029.
In 2031, the men's tournament will be held in the United States, while the women's tournament will be held in 2033.
The Rugby Football Union has stated that it wants the 2025 World Cup to be the most supported women's World Cup ever, with the final expected to fill Twickenham's 82,000 seats.
The 2015 mens World Cup was the most recent to be held in England.
It's the first time World Rugby has named all five World Cup hosts at once, a move that
chairman Sir Bill Beaumont described as historic.
Women
2021 (rescheduled for October 2022)- New Zealand
2025- England
2029- Australia
2033- United States
Men
2023- France
2027- Australia
2031- United States
England has won the women's World Cup two times and has lost five times in the final.
For the first time in 2025, the women's World Cup will increase from 12 to 16 teams, and the RFU (Rugby Football Union) has already made plans to pack Twickenham stadium for the final.
When England attracted record audiences, they surpassed participation expectations established as part of that strategy for the 2022 Women's Six Nations.
In Gloucester, a record of 14,689 was achieved, but it was eclipsed the following game in Leicester when 15,836 people witnessed Ireland lose to England.
The RFU plans to hold matches across the country, with the goal of improving infrastructure, recruiting more referees and coaches that are female, and increasing engagement and numbers of fans.
Sue Day, the RFU's chief operational and financial manager, said hosting the tournament would leave a lasting impact on women's rugby an significantly enhance all female sports.
The government will invest £30 million by 2025, according to Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, since the competition serves as a spark to motivate girls and women to get physical.
The history of women in rugby, like the history of rugby in general, is extremely murky. There is not a lot of information available on how and when women began playing rugby. What is documented is that in 1884, Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, Ireland, founded the school's first rugby team, of which Emily Valentine was a member. She is also the first recognised woman to play rugby.
Moreover, in 1891, there was an attempt in New Zealand to form a women's touring squad, but this was halted due to social unacceptability, and the team had to break up. To escape public pressure and societal concerns, ladies had to play the sport in secret at first. It is not until 1917 that the first recognized charity match between female teams, Newport Ladies and Cardiff Ladies, is recorded at Cardiff Arms Park.
Furthermore, women's rugby did not take hold until after WWII, when women's responsibilities shifted. In 1962, Edinburgh University formed the first documented women's rugby union team, and Toulouse Femina Sports hosted the first fully detailed women's club match in France. This led to the development of women's rugby unions in universities throughout Spain, the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, as well as the creation of the first national association for the women's rugby union, dubbed the AFRF. The Netherlands and Canada were the first countries to start non-university rugby clubs in 1978, and other countries across the world soon followed suit.
If you’re looking to do some sports betting when it comes to rugby, and women’s rugby, in particular, make sure you do your research, check the odds, and always choose a legitimate online sportsbook, such as DraftKings Casino. It’s been a fight for female sport in general, and now that there are more female divisions in what was once a purely male-dominated arena, is something that should be celebrated. And what’s a better celebration than betting on them, and winning?
