The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup sparked a remarkable shift in engagement with women’s rugby. While the number of UK adults engaging with rugby union overall hasn’t changed significantly, the percentage of rugby union fans following women’s rugby has jumped from 28% to 61% in the space of six months.
This could reflect the timing of our Omnibus survey – which took place immediately after the tournament – yet it’s also clear evidence that the Women’s Rugby World Cup as an event had significant cut through. Selling out Allianz Stadium Twickenham and pulling in 5.8 million television viewers, this is a moment in time that could open doors for women’s rugby to grow its fanbase and shape the future of the game.
Insight: what do we know about women’s rugby fandom?
The World Cup – and the Red Roses’ success – has caused a jump in interest in women’s rugby. Many more rugby fans are now paying attention to the women’s game compared with earlier this year.
When we asked 2,000 UK adults their views of sport and women’s rugby in our post-World Cup survey, 10% said they followed women’s rugby to some degree (up from 4% in March). The main reasons given included the quality and excitement of the rugby (51%), a keenness to support a specific team such as the Red Roses (39%), and a perception that the players were positive role models (34%).
But most people do not follow women’s rugby – either because they don’t follow any kind of rugby union or because they only follow the men’s game. For those who don’t follow women’s rugby, the main reasons given included not following sport in general (37% – which was particularly the case among older women), not knowing enough about the team or the players (15% – and a particularly common obstacle for younger women); and finding rugby too complicated to follow (12% – slightly more common among younger people).
There are, therefore, clearly some opportunities and challenges for women’s rugby. It has caught the attention of more people, many of which appear to be existing men’s rugby fans. Women’s rugby fans are attracted by the excitement of the sport as well as by the Red Roses and the role models the sport provides, but non-followers often don’t know the teams and players well enough, and view the sport as complicated. So how can women’s rugby maintain the momentum, keep hold of its new audience, and attract more fans, particularly young girls and women?
Imagination: how can we apply this insight?
With more than half (51%) of women’s rugby fans saying they enjoy the excitement and quality of the game, it is going to be important to market that excitement and provide more opportunities to showcase it to new fans. But women’s rugby faces two challenges here: first, the Red Roses (whose success has driven this spike in interest) don’t play again until April 2026. And second, as mentioned above, the third biggest reason for not following women’s rugby is the apparent complexity of the game.
What can rugby do to showcase the game’s excitement while also changing perceptions of its complexity? Experimenting with formats, laws or even competitions are all options. With Mike Tindall’s R360 franchise gaining traction, now is the time for rugby to be imaginative in the search for new audiences. Could women’s rugby, for example, find more opportunities for the Red Roses to play truly competitive matches in front of big crowds, change some of the more complex laws, or launch a new competition? Women’s rugby could learn from the launch of The Hundred in cricket, which increased the profile of women’s cricket and cricketers while appealing to families.
Increasing accessibility to the game in other ways is a must. For those who don’t know where or how to follow women’s rugby, continuing to broadcast Red Roses’ matches on free-to-air channels and advertising Premiership Women’s Rugby matches will make them more accessible to a wider audience. Supporting these matches with targeted media activity keeps players front of mind, especially during the women’s premiership season.
With 20% saying their reason for not watching women’s rugby is lack of knowledge about the players and teams, it is important to increase awareness of both. The Lionesses set an example with their inclusion in the BBC’s Names Will be Made campaign, and mass TikTok coverage of Chloe Kelly’s winning moments. Ilona Maher has set the bar for female rugby players’ social media engagement, with an audience of 5.2 million on Instagram, a proportion of which are atypical rugby fans. The Red Roses have followed in her footsteps, with players such as Sarah Bern connecting with fans in a refreshing way on social media. Growing players’ social media presences further could establish them as stars in their own right, connecting them with new and existing audiences and helping grow the sport.
The Red Roses could follow in the footsteps of Women’s National Basketball Association players who’ve graced the cover of Vogue as part of a sports and fashion collaboration. Brand and media collaborations like these could help win over more fans by showcasing players as popular culture stars and growing their relevance and appeal to a wider audience.
Positioning female sports stars as role models could inspire both future engagement with the game and greater participation. Coupled with tours of schools or more entry programmes available for those wanting to play rugby, the impact of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup could be momentous for women’s rugby and legacy building. The RFU’s Rugby Fest is an example of a governing body recognising the steps needed to maintain and accelerate momentum.
Strategic application of insight and imagination builds legacy
Much of the attention on women’s rugby over the past year has been on the World Cup and the hope that the Red Roses would win in front of 82,000 fans in Twickenham, but the RFU has been laser focused on what comes next. As we’ve seen this summer, success on the field has created a fantastic opportunity for the sport to build off the field. And what comes next will be just as important.
The Guinness Women’s Six Nations takes place in April 2026 – how can women’s rugby maintain momentum over the next 6 months? Strategic application of both insight and imagination is needed.
To grow a fanbase or brand, you need deep insight into your existing and potential fans – which also delivers insight into your challenges and opportunities. Imagination is then needed to respond to both. And right now, women’s rugby is the perfect opportunity to get creative and build a lasting legacy.