WITNESSING HISTORY AT THE WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

Cowboy hats and smiles – the 2025 Rugby World Cup sent the women's game to the stars...

- By JOE ROBINSON

As I sat among the Gods at the Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium during the halftime interval of the Black Ferns v Ireland match, I poked my nose over the press gantry to see what the racket was all about. A deafening chorus of Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer was rattling around the 32,000-seater stadium, which was full but for a few seats here and there.

Immediately below my position was a young girl, probably ten years old at most. Her grin was one usually reserved for felines from the Cheshire area. Her cheeks glowed with a four-leaf clover on one and the Irish tricolour on the other. Belting out the hair rock classic, she was in heaven.

Her mum sat next to her with a New Zealand scarf wrapped around her neck. Her dad was to the other side, trying to get a selfie of the moment. Take this scene and multiply by thousands and you will get a sense of what the recent Women's World Cup was about. It broke records galore, through ticket sales and broadcast numbers, as millions watched women's rugby. Most importantly, it inspired a new generation,men and women, boy and girl, to love rugby. Usually this Bucket List franchise is reserved for incredible rugby experiences that you as a fan should sample before you die, but this is different because the 2025 World Cup was the first of its kind. Women’s rugby has been on a steady upward curve but this tournament saw it take off to the moon.