Over the past month women\u2019s rugby has crashed into the mainstream with all the ferocity of a prop forward burrowing across the gain line. And on the day of a compelling Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup final, it shows no sign of slowing down.<\/p>\n
A crowd of 82,000 will watch England face Canada at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, a world record for a standalone women\u2019s match. While organisers have always been bullish, they admit that a tournament that has upended stereotypes and attracted legions of new fans has surprised even them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a sport rise so quickly,\u201d said Sarah Massey, the managing director of the Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup, whose career stretches across international hockey, cricket, athletics and the Commonwealth Games. \u201cEveryone has just got swept up in the magic of what this tournament has brought, on and off the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Massey sensed something special was in the air at the welcome ceremonies when players sang, danced and opened their hearts. \u201cI was in Manchester when the Australian captain [Siokapesi Palu] was talking about what this meant to the people back home, and the women and girls in her country,\u201d said Massey. \u201cAnd she \u2013 and everyone else \u2013 was in tears.\u201d<\/p>\n
England\u2019s opening match against the USA<\/a> in front of 42,723 fans further lit the touchpaper, and the compound interest in the tournament has multiplied with every passing week.<\/p>\n While a peak audience of 3.3 million watched the Red Roses beat France<\/a> in the semi-finals \u2013 a record for women\u2019s rugby in the UK \u2013 insiders expect that figure to be obliterated as England aim to win their first Women\u2019s World Cup since 2014.<\/p>\n England start as favourites and with good reason: they are the world\u2019s No 1 team, unbeaten in 32 matches and fully professional. Yet so far they have looked like a high-end performance car that seems stuck in fourth gear. Against Canada, the world\u2019s second-best team, that will have to change.<\/p>\n Several of the Canadian squad are amateurs and they had to raise more than \u00a3500,000 from crowdfunding to prepare for the tournament but should not be underestimated. They have played the most exciting rugby in the tournament and, in Sophie de Goede<\/a>, they arguably have the world\u2019s best player.<\/p>\n Whatever happens on the pitch, everyone agrees that women\u2019s rugby has been transformed beyond recognition over the past five years. So what changed? Alex Teasdale, the RFU\u2019s director of the women\u2019s game, cites a \u201cfield of dreams\u201d moment in 2020 that propelled England\u2019s governing body to do more.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring Covid we had a women\u2019s strategy meeting where we said to ourselves, if we really want to move forward we\u2019ve got to really think big,\u201d said Teasdale. \u201cSo we put two north stars in place: to get to 100,000 female participants \u2013 we currently have 60,000 \u2013 and to fill the Allianz Stadium for a Red Roses match.<\/p>\n \u201cAt that point, we\u2019d just filled Doncaster, which has a capacity of 5,000, for our Six Nations game against Ireland<\/a>. We had no idea how we were going to go about filling the Allianz stadium. But we said to ourselves: build it and they will come.\u201d<\/p>\n That certainly turned out to be prophetic, with the RFU then bidding for the World Cup and setting the wheels in motion. \u201cAfter that meeting we set up something we called Project 80,\u201d she adds. \u201cIt was a terrible name, but it stuck. And it had a lot of simple principles in it. We would bid for the World Cup, grow our databases and do more to engage with fans.\u201d<\/p>\n The RFU now invests \u00a315m a year in the women\u2019s game, a figure that has tripled since 2021. The Red Roses\u2019 success has led to them having their first standalone sponsors in Crew Clothing, LG and Clinique.<\/p>\n England star Ellie Kildunne races clear on the way to her first try against France in the semi-final. Photograph: Morgan Harlow\/World Rugby\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Meanwhile, for this Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup, organisers have deliberately targeted family-friendly audiences with cheap tickets and plenty of games during the day.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cWe have also had plenty of small touches that don\u2019t necessarily cost loads of money, but are really impactful,\u201d said Massey. \u201cThings like having buggy parks, baby change areas, period products in changing rooms and more female toilets so there are not as many long queues.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have also had sensory rings and sensory bags for kids, while all our volunteers were trained to make sure that everybody felt that they belonged and that it was really inclusive.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the tournament, organisers also promised that this Women\u2019s Rugby World Cup would lead to societal change. They have proven to be as good as their word.<\/p>\n The vast majority of security advisers have been women, as have the volunteers. The pitch for the final has also been prepared for by an all-female grounds team.<\/p>\n Fans in fancy dress before Canada\u2019s victory over holders New Zealand in the semi-final \u2013 the overwhelmingly positive response from supporters has even surprised the organisers. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n Content creators have been embedded with each team. This has led to more than 53m social media impressions, according to World Rugby, more than the men\u2019s tournament in 2019.<\/p>\n