WORLD CUP FINAL TO BE THE MOST ATTENDED WOMEN’S RUGBY MATCH IN HISTORY AFTER TICKET SELLOUT
More than 80,000 fans are anticipated at a sold-out Twickenham for the Rugby World Cup final next month, setting a new attendance record for a women's match, tournament organisers announced Tuesday. More than 375,000 tickets have been sold for all 32 games at eight locations, according to officials. The tournament begins on Friday at Sunderland's Stadium of Light when hosts and favourites England play the United States.
Even before the competition officially begins, the tournament organisers have long aimed to sell out Twickenham, the home of English rugby union in southwest London. The Olympic Sevens final in Paris last year set the previous record for the most people attending a women's rugby match on its own.
"The final we are very confident will be the most attended women's rugby match in history, easily surpassing the 66,000 crowd that we saw in Paris 2024. I can confirm today that the final at the Allianz (Twickenham) Stadium will be sold out," Women's RWC 2025 chair Gill Whitehead told reporters.
"The last time England hosted the Women's Rugby World Cup, the girls played (the final) at the Stoop around the corner to a crowd of 13,000," Whitehead continued, drawing attention to the 2010 final, which was held at the nearby Twickenham Stoop, home of the London club Harlequins.
"I started playing women's rugby 30 years ago, and the prospect of girls running out of the tunnel, playing to the three tiers of the Allianz packed to the rafters is something perhaps I never hoped or thought I would see, and it's certainly what girls' dreams are made of."
In their last 58 games, England's Red Roses have only lost once, to New Zealand in the 2022 World Cup final that was postponed due to COVID-19. However, they have lost five of the last six World Cup finals to New Zealand, and their most recent worldwide 15-a-side championship was in 2014, when England defeated Canada in the decisive game. Tournament managing director Sarah Massey stated that the competition would be "unmissable" for sports fans, despite the fact that New Zealand and England have dominated the final on previous occasions.
"We're ready to break records in attendance, viewership and engagement. This is going to be the biggest global celebration of women's rugby that we have ever seen," said Massey.
"We're really pleased today to be able to announce that we've now sold 375,000 tickets across all those matches, surpassing all our initial ticket targets and really showing what this tournament is going to bring.
"That's three times the number of tickets that were sold for the last Women's Rugby World Cup. Our message to fans is, don't miss out. This is going to be unmissable."