July saw the Lionesses retain their Women’s European Championship title. Could more glory be on the way as England’s Red Roses attempt to win the Women’s Rugby World Cup? Let’s look at their chances, the latest odds and the bookies offers now.
The tournament gets underway on August 22 with the final taking place at Twickenham on September 27. It promises to be a feast of rugby union played around England. Matches are being played at a mixture of football and rugby grounds including Brighton, Sunderland, Northampton, Exeter and York.
This is a tournament that has been dominated by New Zealand. They have won six of the last seven that have been staged, most recently lifting the trophy in 2022 when hosting the tournament. The last two tournaments have seen them defeat England in the final but four years ago, they only ran out 34-31 winners.
The last time England hosted the Rugby World Cup was in 2010. On that occasion, it was again England losing to New Zealand in the final.with just three points separating the two teams. While bookmakers believe that we will see another final between New Zealand and England in September, The Black Ferns are not the favourites to win a third title in a row. They are currently the 12/5 second favourites to win the trophy.
England on a Winning Streak
Last year was not a great one for New Zealand. They twice lost to England, though neither of those games took place on home soil. Losses also occurred in 2024 against Canada and Ireland. Three matches have been won this year with the other being a 27-27 draw with Canada.
Drawn in Pool C, they will be facing Ireland, Japan and Spain. The top two go into the quarter-finals and New Zealand should have few problems achieving that. Ireland are 50/1 to win the World Cup, Japan 400/1 and Spain 500/1. If they win Group C, then their quarter-final opponents are expected to be either South Africa (250/1 to win the title) or Italy (300/1).
Why are England such heavy favourites to become world champions? It’s not just because of the fact they are the host nation. Since being beaten by New Zealand three years ago, the Red Roses have been on a winning streak.
This year saw them win the Women’s Six Nations for the seventh time in a row. That included big wins over Wales and Scotland, one of whom is likely to be their opponents in the quarter-finals. Two matches against those countries in the Women’s Six Nations were won by an aggregate score of 126-19.
Their Six Nations triumph took their winning run to 25 matches. The World Cup final loss is their only defeat since 2019 and that was also inflicted by the Black Ferns. They did have a tough match against France this year, winning a thriller at Twickenham 43-42.
Other Contenders
The Women’s Rugby World Cup is back and bigger than ever 🌎
Introducing the 16 teams heading to #RWC2025 👇 pic.twitter.com/fzk9NNg3Ty
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 12, 2024
England will begin this tournament in Pool A alongside Australia (66/1), USA (100/1) and Samoa (750/1). Some big wins are expected from those matches. The semi-finals could well see them taking on France and England will need to be at their best to win that match.
France are 12/1 to win the trophy and only once in the last nine World Cup tournaments have they failed to reach the last four. Five of the last six World Cups have seen them lose in the semi-finals and then win the third/fourth place play-off. They are yet to contest a World Cup final and would love to wipe out that statistic this year.
Away from the southern hemisphere and Europe, the leading contenders are Canada. They are third in the betting odds at 13/2. The last two World Cups have seen them finish in fourth place. It’s 11 years since they were losing finalists and it was England who beat them.
Canada plays in Pool B and take on Scotland, Wales and Fiji. A quarter-final against Australia looks likely and then if all goes well, a semi-final showdown with New Zealand. Hopes of British success do lie with England. Scotland and Wales are big outsiders and the fact they both regularly suffer heavy losses to England indicates that they are not going deep in this tournament.
This tournament is going to put the emphasis on women’s rugby union before the men’s Autumn Internationals get underway. Just as England’s success in the Women’s Euro is going to give women’s football a major boost, the same can be expected if England were to win the World Cup in September and that’s definitely possible.