Women’s Rugby World Cup: Round 1 Recap
- therookiereporters
- Aug 30
- 4 min read
With the Women’s Rugby World Cup having commenced over the past weekend, here are your match highlights from Round 1.
England v USA
The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup kicked off with a bang, drawing a record-breaking crowd of 42,723 fans to the match. England's Red Roses delivered a commanding performance, scoring 11 tries to the USA's one. Despite some handling errors, Sadia Kabeya opened the scoring early in the ninth minute, followed swiftly by Hannah Botterman and Maud Muir before halftime. The USA's Erica Jarrell-Searcy managed to score, but it was their only try, compounded by a yellow card for Alev Kelter.
In the second half, Ellie Kildunne, named player of the match, shone with two tries and two assists for Jess Breach. Abby Dow, Amy Cokayne, and Lark Atkin-Davies also added to England's tally. Zoe Harrison successfully converted six tries, with Emma Sing adding another, sealing a decisive victory for England.
Score: 69-7 to England
Australia v Samoa
In their World Cup encounter, Australia started strongly, scoring a try and conversion within five minutes following a successful lineout and powerful maul. They quickly added another try, though the conversion was missed. A remarkable run by Australia’s youngest World Cup player led to another try and conversion, extending their lead.
Samoa faced challenges early on, with one player undergoing a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) but later returning to the game. Australia continued to dominate, securing a bonus point with a try from their co-captain. Samoa received a yellow card amidst further tries and conversions from Australia, including Miller's second try, which widened the score gap.
Miller completed a hat-trick, contributing to Australia's commanding lead by halftime. Australia's dominant performance in the first half showcased their superior skill and tactical execution, leaving Samoa struggling to contain their attacks. By halftime, Australia held a significant lead, underscoring their strong position in the match.
In the second half, not much happened. We saw the Wallaroos put more points on the board, but Samoa couldn't counterattack, leading to an Australian victory.
Score: 73-0 to Australia
Scotland v Wales
Scotland and Wales have a strong rivalry in the W6N, which means they are no strangers to each other. Scotland delivered a strong performance, seeing Francesa McGhie score a hat-trick, the first being in the opening minute of the match. In contrast, Wales struggled to defend the Scottish attack, with Sean Lynn (Welsh Coach) stating they were “bullied off the park” after only scoring a try, a conversion and a penalty with Callender (try scorer) and Bevan (penalty taker). Moreover, the 30-point winning margin is a record for Scotland against Wales.
Score: 38-8 to Scotland
Canada v Fiji
Canada made themselves known in the opening match with Schell scoring an astounding 6 tries, beating the Canadian record of 5 tries in a single game. They were powerful when attacked; this proved too much for the Fijian defence as they ended the first half with no points (24-0). Fiji perked up, opening the second half with a try by Kolora Lomani; however, Canada responded with Schell’s excellent tries and got another punch landed with a red card given to Vasuturaga after a dangerously high tackle.
Score: 65-7 to Canada
France v Italy
Another two nations that frequently go head-to-head are France and Italy, which also compete in W6N. France went into the game as the favourites and didn’t disappoint with a dominant performance over Italy. However, their win wasn't easy with the Italians having a strong defence in the first half, meaning that only by the 27th minute did points start to be put on the board by Joanna Grisez for France. The French extended their lead in the second half with tries by Khalfaoui and Escudero, along with all tries converted and a penalty taken by Bourgeois.
Score: 24-0 to France
Ireland v Japan
In the opening 10 minutes, the Irish came in hot with two tries against Japan, and clinched the bonus point before half-time with tries from Parsons and Tuite. Japan managed to respond with Hirotsu scoring a try in the first half and Kawamura scoring one at the start of the second half. Ireland managed to have 6 different try scorers and managed to convert all tries with O’Brien.
Score: 42-14 to Ireland
South Africa v Brazil
South Africa managed to get 10 tries, with Hele managing a hat-trick and Dolf converting most of the tries. Brazil remained resilient and made a high number of tackles during the game, proving their worth to compete in the World Cup. Brazil’s fly-half scored their first points at a World Cup after a penalty in the 10th minute.
Score: 66-6 to South Africa
New Zealand v Spain
The Black Ferns made some initial errors but continued their charge with Miller scoring two tries in her debut. New Zealand managed to command the majority of the match, leading with five tries after being reduced to 13 players for the last 17 minutes due to players being injured. Despite being outmatched, they remained determined, scoring a try and a penalty.
Score: 54-8 to New Zealand
Table Standings:
Pool A
1 - Australia
2 - England
3 - USA
4 - Samoa
Pool B
1 - Canada
2 - Scotland
3 - Wales
4 - Fiji
Pool C
1 - New Zealand
2 - Ireland
3 - Japan
4 - Spain
Pool D
1 - South Africa
2 - France
3 - Italy
4 - Brazil
Round 2 match schedule (BST)
30th August
12:00 Canada v Wales
14.45 Scotland v Fiji
17:00 England v Samoa
19:30 USA v Australia
31st August
12:00 Ireland v Spain
14:00 New Zealand v Japan
15:30 Italy v South Africa
16:45 France v Brazil
Article written by Alice Seager ©️Alice Seager 2025
