The Irish women’s rugby team has discovered who they will face in their pool for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. Scott Bemand’s side are in Pool C alongside New Zealand, Japan, and Spain in England next year.
Ireland are familiar with all three sides, with New Zealand being the most recent opponent. In the opening game of the WXV1 tournament, Ireland edged out the Black Ferns in Vancouver. The year before, Ireland beat Spain in the WXV3 decider.
The fixtures for the tournament will be revealed on Tuesday, 22 October, via the tournament website.
The tournament will run from 22 August to 27 September 2025.
Our Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Pool Draw has been confirmed! ✅#IrishRugby pic.twitter.com/LI45DjjvTA
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) October 17, 2024
“It’s really exciting; the group is quite familiar in terms of teams we’ve played in the last few years. We went on tour to Japan a couple of years ago, played Spain last year in WXV, and, of course, we’ve just beaten New Zealand, so we can take confidence from that.
“Japan has progressed—they had a decent WXV recently. Spain was a hard-fought win for us last year, and New Zealand—I’m buzzing to play them again, and I’m sure they’ll be up for the rematch. I’m working harder than ever to be back and ready.”
Ireland have gained massive belief and resilience over the last year, and according to Monagahan, it’s important the Ireland team maintain these traits heading into the Six Nations and the World Cup
“Belief is massive. The group is so resilient. The hard work put in off the pitch showed in the three performances in the WXV. I think it’s really important that we stay connected, so when we come back for the Six Nations, we’re picking up where we left off,” she added.
All fans will have the opportunity to apply for tickets for all matches from 11:00 (GMT +1) on Tuesday, 5 November, until 11:00 (GMT +1) on Tuesday, 19 November. Ballots will be used for any price categories that are oversubscribed. Fans can register to be the first to hear about ticket news [here].
Prior to the two-week ticket application phase, Worldwide Partner Mastercard is offering its cardholders access to a 48-hour priority sale for all matches from 11:00 (GMT +1) on Tuesday, 22 October, until 11:00 (GMT +1) on Thursday, 24 October. Only Mastercard payments will be accepted during this priority window.
Pool A: England, Australia, USA, Samoa
Pool B: Canada, Scotland, Wales, Fiji
Pool C: New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain
Pool D: France, Italy, South Africa, Brazil