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Women’s Rugby World Cup Opens With England Rout as France Kick Off Shorthanded

FFR leaders see a semifinal as crucial to speeding participation through unprecedented broadcast reach.

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Les joueuses du XV de la Rose s'entraînent, le 21 août, au stade de Sunderland (nord-est du pays).
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Le match Angleterre/France lors du Tournoi des Six Nations le 26 avril 2025 à Twickenham.

Overview

  • England thrashed the United States 69-7 in Sunderland before a crowd of more than 40,000 to launch the 16-team tournament.
  • France face Italy in Exeter tonight without first-choice scrumhalf Pauline Bourdon-Sansus, who is serving the last game of a two-match internal FFR suspension for public criticism of refereeing.
  • The event runs in England from 22 August to 27 September, with 375,000 of 470,000 tickets sold and the 82,000-seat Twickenham final already sold out.
  • In France, national coverage is shared by TF1 and France Télévisions in favorable time slots, with TF1 set to air the final and several knockout matches.
  • England enter as strong favorites backed by a fully professional program, while France have about 32 players on semi-professional federal contracts as the FFR targets 100,000 licensed female players by 2033 with new funding.