Named among the other seven venues are Sandy Park in Exeter, Salford Community Stadium in Manchester, Franklin's Gardens in Northampton, Brighton's Amex Stadium, Sunderland's Stadium of Light, the York Community Stadium and Ashton Gate in Bristol
Tuesday 22 August 2023 08:34, UK
Twickenham has been chosen as one of the eight host venues for the the Women's Rugby World Cup in England in 2025.
England beat France 38-33 in front of a world-record 58,498 crowd for a women's international at Twickenham earlier this year, the first time a standalone Red Roses Test was played at the stadium. The 82,000-capacity venue will likely host the final in 2025.
A mix of rugby and football stadiums make up the other seven venues, with traditional rugby hotspots of Sandy Park in Exeter, Salford Community Stadium in Manchester and Franklin's Gardens in Northampton included.
Brighton's Amex Stadium, Sunderland's Stadium of Light, the York Community Stadium and Bristol's dual-purpose Ashton Gate are among the football grounds picked. The Stadium of Light is the second-biggest venue of the bunch, with a capacity of 49,000.
The 10th edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup will take place from August 22 to September 27, with the number of teams competing increasing from 12 to 16.
The record overall attendance figure at a women's Rugby World Cup was in New Zealand last year, when more than 140,000 fans attended games. The tournament was last held in England in 2010.
Two-time winners, in 1994 and 2014, England lost 34-31 to New Zealand in last year's final at Eden Park, the hosts' sixth success in the competition.
England, New Zealand, France and Canada have already qualified for the 2025 tournament, while the remaining participants will be determined by their positioning in World Rugby's new annual WXV tournament and regional competitions.
World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union made the announcement of the host venues for 2025 on Tuesday. Sue Day, the RFU's chief operating officer and chief finance officer, said the spread of venues would give potential new fans "the chance to be inspired by world-class sporting action."
"It's access to tournaments like these that can light a spark in people, and we hope it will encourage a new generation of people to give rugby a try for themselves," she added.
