The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for grassroots and elite rugby in England. Its purpose is to promote rugby, and its values, to flourish across England.
Rugby World Cup 2025 provided a once in a generation opportunity to accelerate the growth of the game for women and girls and achieve the RFU’s ambition to have 100,000 female players by 2027. Building capacity and opportunities in the lead up to the tournament was vital to cater for the increased demand the tournament would deliver.
The Rugby World Cup Impact Programme, delivered by the RFU in partnership with the DCMS & Sport England continues to see significant investment across the country providing not only substantial improvements in facilities, but the creation of greater opportunities for more females than ever before across all levels of the game through its volunteer and coaching programmes.
In 2025, the RFU collaborated with the WI to support the Community Engagement Strand that sat within the Rugby World Cup Impact Programme.
The community engagement programme was focused on encouraging women who had not previously visited a rugby club to use the facility by offering new activities that local women want to participate in.
The aim was to help promote rugby clubs as safe and inclusive spaces for women and support clubs to strengthen their position as a community facility open to all.
