A four-year project, one number tells the story
Eighteen thousand girls were playing club rugby in England four years ago. Today that number sits at 26,800, a jump of 49 percent. The figure comes from Impact ’25, the RFU’s four-year legacy program built around the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup on home soil, and it stands as the clearest evidence yet that hosting a tournament can move participation numbers long after the final whistle.
Forty thousand girls between six and twelve were introduced to the sport through the program. University-level participation among women grew by 38 percent over the same stretch, a slower but still substantial curve next to the club game’s growth.
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Where the money went
RFU and government funding behind the push totaled £14.55 million between 2022 and March 2026. Of that, £6.8 million went directly into club facilities, with 1,078 grants distributed across 607 clubs for changing rooms, toilets and sanitary provisions, the unglamorous infrastructure that often decides whether a girls’ team can train and play at all.
The coaching pipeline moved too. 5,449 coaching and match official courses were completed by women during the program. Women now make up 28 percent of newly qualified coaches and officials in English rugby, up from just 9 percent before Impact ’25 began. At the advanced level, the shift is sharper still: 109 women have completed advanced coaching or refereeing courses, against 20 before the program launched.
The people behind the figures
“Today, more women and girls are playing, coaching and officiating rugby than ever before,” said Alex Teasdale, the RFU’s executive director. Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock added that the Red Roses’ legacy is “continuing to grow,” a nod to the team whose World Cup run set the whole project in motion. Four years on from the tournament, the numbers suggest the legacy is not just intact. It’s still compounding.
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