Rugby setting high expectations for 2029 Women's World Cup in Australia

“A lot to live up to,” said Jilly Collins, Rugby Australia general manager women's rugby.

She and Australian government representatives shadowed World Cup organizers to learn what made the women's event tick ahead of hosting the men’s tournament in 2027 and the women's two years later.

“Our focus now is diversifying what the definition of success looks like, looking at the unique cultures” of future tournament hosts, Sally Horrox, World Rugby chief of women's rugby, said on Monday.

The 2029 Women's World Cup in Australia “will be an incredible but distinct sort of success story around their culture, their community, the First Nations (and) the Pacific legacy program that we're already building.”

Collins was grateful for having four more years to prepare.

“Australia is unique,” she said. "We have our own challenges, geography being one, and next year we will be deciding what that looks like in terms of the tournament model.

“What we need to do is build that fan base, build the visibility. We need to make sure that our fans in Australia know the names of women stars from all around the world, not just the Wallaroos. And that's a big job.”

Key to driving momentum from 2025 and turning Australia's Wallaroos into a title challenger is the upgraded WXV tournament from 2026-28, guaranteeing up to six extra tests each year, home and away with commercial rights conceded by World Rugby to game hosts.

The Wallaroos have a recent at-home guide on capturing public attention; during the soccer Women’s World Cup in 2023 when Australia's Matildas made a best-ever run to the semifinals.

The Wallaroos got to the rugby quarterfinals this month and have reached the semifinals once, in 2010. Against the best four women's rugby teams their record is dismal; 0-8 vs. England, 0-8 vs. Canada, 0-29 vs. New Zealand, 2-4 vs. France.

"We're ambitious for 2029; we want to be there on the final weekend,” Collins said. “That is incredibly important for us.”

Crowds were 53% women

England World Cup organizers tallied up their record-breaking numbers; 444,465 tickets sold or 92%; crowds were 53% women; half of all attendees had never been to a women's game; 95% of all attendees planned to attend another.

“Was it a commercial success? Absolutely,” World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said.

"We will be making a mistake if we talk about when Women's Rugby World Cup becomes profitable. This one could have been profitable (but) we chose to deliver standards that have never been seen before in women's rugby to teams, to players, to spectators. The next one could be profitable; we may choose to make a net investment still. That's an important distinction.”

Organizers downplayed concerns that England, the fully professional standard-bearer, was untouchable in a women's game that was still mostly amateur. England has won an unrivalled 33 games in a row, 63 of its last 64 over six years.

Every other team was going to keep gaining ground, World Cup competition director Yvonne Nolan said confidently, “because they're not going to be willing to be left behind.”

The biggest point of difference from the men's tournament was the women's willingness to harness the power of social media; players' accounts alone attracted 219 million views.

“Greater accessibility and more personality creates more stars, and that's what we need in our sport, it is the future of sport,” Gilpin said. ”This World Cup is proof that being yourself, being visible on social media, sharing opinions and engaging with fans and the media is not a distraction. It's a performance enabler because when players are happy they play their best rugby.”

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