Women’s Rugby World Cup organisers have insisted that the high number of mismatches so far will not dampen the tournament’s momentum after hailing an “electric” first week.
More than 85,000 spectators watched the opening eight group games, with England’s 69-7 thrashing of the United States attracting a peak TV audience of 2.4m. Meanwhile France’s 24-0 win over Italy also broke records with 3.2m watching on TF1 in France.
But the difference in standards was also evident with the average margin of victory in the first round of matches being 47 points. There were no close matches either, with France’s comfortable win over Italy proving to be the tightest game.
More mismatches are expected this weekend, with England taking on Samoa, who lost their opening game 73-0 to Australia, and New Zealand facing Japan, who they beat 95-12 in their only previous encounter.
However Yvonne Nolan, the competition director for Rugby World Cup 2025, insisted that standards were being raised all the time and closer games would come.
“If you like free-flowing rugby and tries, you’re seeing it,” she said. “If you like an arm wrestle, it will come. These matches are going to get tighter and tighter as we get through the pools and into the knockouts.
“And part of this is about the trajectory of this game. Different teams are at different stages of their development. They all deserve to be here.
“In 2006 I was part of an Ireland team beaten by France 43-0. Today, Ireland are ranked fifth, just behind France. If we all get behind these teams, that performance gap will close. But certainly I would say watch and wait. The arm wrestles will come.”
Meanwhile World Rugby’s Sally Horrox insisted that the wide margin of defeats did not always tell the full story, and fans were seeing the ball in play more, as well as better movement and higher skill levels.
“Yes, the top teams really made their mark,” she added. “But those teams in this expanded format – if you look at Spain, Brazil and Fiji – they really stood up. There was some fearless, brave defence among those teams.”
after newsletter promotion
That message was reinforced by Sarah Massey, the tournament’s managing director, who said that fans were enjoying what they were seeing.
“What’s really consistent across all the matches we’ve seen so far is the electric atmosphere, the joy and the vibrancy of the fans, and that sense and feeling that they’re part of something that’s really special,” she said.
“And it’s not just us saying that. We sent out a post-match survey to all of those who attended, and they are replying in their 1000s, saying how much they are enjoying the fan experience overall.”
