England will take on Canada in the Women’s Rugby World Cup final this weekend.
The Red Roses, who are currently world number one, will play in front of a record-breaking home crowd in a bid to take rugby union’s top prize.
The two sides previously met in a World Cup final in 2014, when England claimed the trophy. But over a decade on, the competition is wide open.
Here is all you need to know.
When and where is the final?
The grand final will take place on Saturday 27 September at 4pm, with the bronze final – which settles who comes in third place – taking place earlier on the same day at 12.30pm.
For the first time, the tournament has taken place across eight towns and cities in England: London, Bristol, Brighton, Exeter, Manchester, York, Sunderland and Northampton.
Both the final and bronze final will be hosted at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, west London.
The 82,000-capacity stadium, which is considered the home of English rugby, has been sold out for months.
How to watch
You can follow all the action from Saturday’s final with the live blog on the Sky Sports News website.
The match will be shown live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Record-breaking attendance
It is not just the final that has attracted a large number of fans.
World Rugby said 440,000 tickets had been sold for the tournament as a whole, which is three times the number sold at the last Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 and more than 10 times the 30,000 for the last World Cup in England in 2010.
Fifteen years ago, the final was held across the road at the Twickenham Stoop, home of Harlequins, and was watched by 13,253 people.
Gill Whitehead, chair of the 2025 Rugby World Cup, said she is “very confident” the final will be the “most attended women’s rugby match in history” – easily surpassing the 66,000-strong crowd that turned up for the Sevens final during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Route to the final
England head into this weekend’s final on a 32-game winning streak. Even before the tournament began, they were firm favourites to scoop the title, having claimed their seventh straight Six Nations title back in April.
It will also be the seventh time in a row they have made a World Cup final.
The Red Roses won every one of their matches in the World Cup group stages, then secured victories over Scotland and France in the quarter and semifinals respectively.
Canada will make formidable opponents for the Red Roses, having reached their second-ever Rugby World Cup final.
Not only is the Canadian side ranked second in the world – behind England – but stunned fans after beating defending World Cup champions New Zealand 34-19 in the semifinals.
Despite their world ranking, Canada’s women’s team had to partly fund their way to the tournament. A crowdfunding page under the name Mission: Win Rugby World Cup 2025 raised nearly $1m (£534,000) to help cover the costs of sending the team to England, as well as implementing a top-notch training plan.
Who are the star players?
England centre Megan Jones has been a standout performer in the Red Roses’ run to Saturday’s World Cup final, having started 11 of the team’s 12 matches in 2025.
The 28-year-old centre is just one of three players nominated for the Women’s 15s Player of the Year award, which is one of the most coveted accolades in the sport.
Canada’s Sophie de Goede is also nominated for the award, and is certainly one to watch on the weekend. The goal-kicking forward has contributed 58 points to the team’s cause.
Player of the year winners, in addition to the coach of the year, will be crowned during the trophy presentation ceremony after the final.
Lioness inspiration
The Red Roses’ hugely successful World Cup campaign has continued an incredible summer for women’s sport.
The pressure of being the tournament favourite is similar to that experienced by Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses, who won back-to-back Women’s Euros titles.
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“What the Lionesses have been doing is incredible,” Red Roses captain Zoe Aldcroft said before the World Cup began.
“We watched them together against Italy [in the semi-finals] and were right behind them. It’s incredible that you see the country getting behind them. That is something we want to build and achieve that momentum.”
England head coach John Mitchell said he sees comparisons between the Lionesses and the Red Roses: “In two tournaments, the Lionesses have shown strong values and qualities. I think many of those exist in our group too,” he said.
