England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup for the third time with an impressive victory over Canada in a one-sided final at Twickenham.
A record crowd for women’s rugby of 81,885 witnessed England become world champions for the third time and first since 2014.
The emphatic 33-13 victory extended the Red Roses’ extraordinary winning run to 33 games – the greatest winning streak in international rugby.
Alex Matthews scored two tries while Ellie Kildunne, Amy Cockayane and Abbie Ward all chipped in with one. Zoe Harrison was clinical with the boot,converting four of the tries.
England’s third World Cup win comes after they suffered heartbreaking defeats in the finals of the last two tournaments.
Maggie Alphonsi, who was part of the England team that won the 2014 World Cup, said on BBC One: ‘I have tears in my eyes, I am so proud of this England team.
‘It’s been 11 years of hurt. They’re history makers, they’ve gone from heartbreak to history makers. What we did in 2014 was nothing, this is history.’
The attendance for the 2025 final was around 15,000 higher than the previous record crowd for a women’s rugby match.
England will celebrate their World Cup win at Battersea Power Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
‘We are so proud of our world champion Red Roses for their historic win in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final,’ said Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney.
‘To achieve this in England and at Allianz Stadium, the home of England Rugby, makes this victory even more rewarding.
‘Our congratulations go to entire playing squad and management team on this monumental achievement.
‘We can’t thank fans, across the country, enough for their support of the Red Roses during the tournament – it’s been phenomenal.’
England scrum-half Natasha Hunt described the World Cup win as ‘unimaginable’ and paid tribute to Red Roses coach John Mitchell.
‘This is unimaginable,’ she said. ‘I am so proud of the girls, I hope this stays for women’s rugby.
‘I don’t think any of us could have imagined it would have been like this. That is a testament to everyone behind the scenes and those who turned up today.’
On Mitchell, who has been in charge of England since 2023, Hunt added: ‘He has just kept it simple.
‘He has been honest, sometimes brutally honest but I like that. He has got this week bang on.’
England lock Ward, whose second-half try all but put the game to bed, said: ‘Honestly as soon as the whistle went I just burst into tears.
‘It’s truly been such a special day. A sold-out crowd at Twickenham. It was electric, in front of friends, family, it’s amazing.
‘The last final loss, that was then. This is a new team, this is a new chapter of women’s rugby. It wasn’t about righting wrongs. This is our little moment today.
‘It’s about this, this team has been special, what we’ve done has been special. The support, the crowd, the friends and family involved, it’s been magical.’
More to follow…
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