England announces warm-ups against France and Spain

England’s women’s rugby team will take on Spain and France in a pair of high-profile warm-up fixtures ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup, set to be hosted on home soil later this summer.

The Red Roses will begin their preparations with a clash against Spain on 3 August at Welford Road in Leicester. A week later, they will travel to Mont-de-Marsan in France to face their familiar Six Nations rivals in what promises to be a fiercely contested match.

Under head coach John Mitchell, England come into the tournament on a remarkable run of form. Last month, they edged past France by a single point in a gripping finale to seal their fourth consecutive Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam, further cementing their dominance in European rugby.

If both England and France top their respective World Cup pools and advance past the quarter-finals, they are on course to meet again in the semi-final in Bristol, a potential rematch already generating anticipation among fans.

Spain, meanwhile, return to the global stage after winning the WXV 3 tournament last autumn, securing their first World Cup berth since 2017. Their fixture against England will serve as a significant test of their progress and ambitions heading into the tournament.

The Red Roses will officially open their World Cup campaign against the United States on 22 August in Sunderland.

As two-time world champions, England are eyeing not only a third title but also redemption, having fallen just short in the 2022 final with a narrow 34-31 defeat to New Zealand.

Since that loss, the Red Roses have responded emphatically, winning 25 consecutive matches. Their current streak puts them within reach of their own record 30-Test winning run, which ended in that 2022 final.