The Women’s Rugby World Cup returns this Friday for its 10th edition, with hosts England taking on the USA in the opening game. The tournament runs from August 22nd to September 27th, with new world champions set to be crowned before a sold-out crowd at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, the home of English rugby.  

Eight venues across England have been selected to host games, including the Allianz Stadium, along with Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, Exeter’s Sandy Park, and five other stadiums throughout the country.

Who will play at the World Cup?

Sixteen teams have qualified for this year’s edition, with the tournament divided into four pools of four teams each. The winner and runner-up of each pool will qualify for the knock-out phase, which culminates at the end of September with the World Cup final. Teams are assigned to their pools based on their position in the world rankings, with the world’s top four teams, England, Canada, New Zealand, and France, in separate pools. The pools are as follows:

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

Who are the favourites?

Spreadex offers a variety of markets, including odds for all 16 teams to win the tournament and odds for who will win each pool*. Hosts England head into the World Cup as odds-on favourites, currently sat at 1/3 to become world champions. The Red Roses have been the top-ranked side in the world since 2020 and have lost just once in their last 58 matches, suffering defeat to New Zealand in the 2021 World Cup final. England come into the tournament as back-to-back runners-up and will be hoping to go one better as home favourites this year.

The reigning champions New Zealand may also be strong contenders. The Black Ferns have won six of the nine editions of the World Cup, including the two most recent tournaments in 2017 and 2021. They currently sit at 7/2 to win what would be an incredible third successive World Cup crown. Canada and France are the next highest ranked teams in the world, sat at 9/1 and 14/1 respectively to win the competition, with both hoping to become world champions for the first time.

Spreadex also offers a variety of spread betting markets, including our tournament performance index. This market settles at 100 for the tournament winner, 50 for the runner-up, 30 for third place, 20 for fourth place, 10 for quarter-final losers, and 0 points for those who fail to qualify for the knock-out phase. England currently has the highest spread at 80-85, a long way ahead of second-placed New Zealand at 48-53. At the other end of the scale are World Cup debutants Brazil, who have a spread of 0-0.25.

When do England play?

The Red Roses will kick things off on Friday night at 7:30 p.m., taking on the USA at the Stadium of Light. They will then play Samoa on August 30th before finishing the group stage against Australia on September 6th, with both games kicking off at 5:00 p.m. Should they make it through to the knockout stage, England will play again on the 14th, 20th, and 27th of September, depending on how far they progress.

How to watch:

Every game involving England, Scotland, Wales, or Ireland will be shown live on either BBC1 or BBC2, and every game across the entire tournament will be available on BBC iPlayer. There will also be live radio coverage on Radio 5 Live. You can also stay up-to-date with all the action by following official social media channels.

*All Odds Correct at time of publishing

Please remember that spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital and can result in losses your initial stake/deposit. They may not be suitable for everyone so please ensure you fully understand the risks involved.