Aoife Wafer is ruled out of Ireland's opening Women's Rugby World Cup match against Japan as she continues her recovery from knee surgery.

But when the call came to represent the Red Roses, Shekells didn’t hesitate because she believes this home World Cup is a massive moment for women’s rugby in England. “I’m excited to see where the women’s game will go,” Shekells told Standard Sport. “It’s already on the rise, and I think a home World Cup will make it explode.

As the Black Ferns hooker goes into her second World Cup campaign, the difference between the two is stark. In Auckland in 2022, the World Cup delayed a year by Covid-19, Ponsonby was a relative newcomer to the squad.

The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup will be shown LIVE on Stan Sport and the Nine Network. Every match of the tournament will be broadcast on Stan Sport, including every Wallaroos match. On top of this, certain Wallaroos games will be shown on the Nine Network.

Rugby World Cup kick-off time, TV channel, live stream, team news, lineups, h2h, odds - The Red Rose hope to open their World Cup campaign with a statement win

Canada's women's senior rugby team is about to embark on a campaign at the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025. On Saturday, at York Stadium in the No. 2-ranked Canadians take on Fiji, ranked 14th in the world,

On the eve of the tournament, Rugby Canada has announced it has reached 95 per cent of its $1 million target for its "Mission: Win World Cup 2025" fundraising campaign.

Tickets for September 27 showpiece at Allianz Stadium already sold out, with World Rugby claiming they could have sold 82,000 allocation two or three times over