Hosts England among eight teams officially welcomed to Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
- Eight of the 16 participating teams, including host nation England, have been officially welcomed to Women's Rugby World Cup 2025
- Three Welcome Ceremonies have been held in Sunderland, Northampton and Exeter, with two more to come in Manchester and York on Sunday
- VNR material, photos and speeches available for download
World Rugby, England 2025 and local dignitaries welcomed host nation England and the USA at Sunderland’s City Hall ahead of their match on Friday, 22 August, which kicks off the biggest women’s tournament in history.
Former England full-back and current World Rugby Vice-Chairman Jonathan Webb addressed the two teams and local dignitaries in Sunderland, speaking of the excitement building, including 350,000 tickets sold for an expanded format of 16 nations playing across eight host locations for a brand-new trophy.
“This tournament is smashing records, challenging convention, and creating history,” he said.
Earlier, the teams from Ireland, Japan, South Africa and Brazil were all also formally welcomed at a ceremony at Northampton's Guildhall ahead of a double-header on Sunday, 24 August. Ireland will take on Japan at Franklin’s Gardens before South Africa play tournament debutants Brazil.
At Exeter Cathedral, France and Italy took to the stage for their own welcome ahead of their match at Sandy Park on Saturday, 23 August.
On Sunday the remaining eight nations will take part in two similar Welcome Ceremonies. Australia, Samoa, Scotland and Wales will come together at Manchester’s Rates Hall, before Canada, Fiji, New Zealand and Spain complete the line-up at Tempest Anderson Hall in York’s Museum Gardens.
Note to Editors
- Team announcements, quotes, photos and match stats documents for all teams are available in the dedicated RWC 2025 Media Zone.