Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in England: Friday 22 August to Saturday 27 September

Sixteen teams from around the world will compete in the 10th edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2025, with matches being held at 8 different host venues across the country: Sunderland, York, Brighton & Hove, Manchester, Exeter, Bristol and Northampton, with the finals at Twickenham in London.

Host nation England are the favourites, but defending champions New Zealand, as well as Canada, France and Australia, will all fancy their chances of lifting the trophy, and Scotland, Wales and Ireland will all seek to impress. Over the course of 6 exciting weeks, there will be games on each weekend, with the occasional Friday night fixture.

It is reported that 375,000 tickets have been sold at the 8 venues ensuring it will be the best-attended Women’s Rugby World Cup in history.

You can use the train to travel to and from the event

You can travel by train to each of the 8 venues that are hosting games at the Women’s Rugby World Cup.

To travel to and from the event by train simply book your ticket on one of the regular train services to the nearest recommended station to your match stadium (see below).

Once you arrive at the nearest recommended station, follow our advice below for details of how to transfer between the station and the stadium, and back. Please be aware that transfers may only run at certain times during the day, and that some matches take place in the evening or at night. Therefore, we recommend you plan your journey accordingly, to make sure you can get there and back home without any issues.

If you need to use a shuttle bus or local public transport to get to and from the stadium, a separate ticket is required as it is not included with either your train ticket or event ticket.

Sit back, relax and enjoy! Travelling by train is one of the easiest and greenest ways to get to your Women’s Rugby World Cup action.

Which railway station should I travel to?

There are 8 stadium venues hosting this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup matches. Here’s our travel advice for getting to and from each venue:

Manchester

• Venue: Salford Community Stadium, near Eccles, approximately 7 miles from Manchester city centre. Hosts of Sale Sharks

• Recommended stations: Plan your train journey to Manchester Stations

• Transfer: Manchester Piccadilly / Manchester Victoria / Manchester Oxford Road stations are each approximately half a mile away from Piccadilly Gardens, where you can get a Shuttle Bus to the stadium. You'll need to buy a multi-modal ticket to use the Shuttle Bus, which can be bought via the Bee Network App. The first Shuttle Bus to the stadium is at 10:00, last shuttle bus from the stadium is at 18:15

• Other transfer option: You could travel by train to the nearest station to the event, Patricroft, which is 1.7 miles from the stadium. The 67 bus runs down Liverpool Rd between the Green Lane stop near the station, and the Southlands Avenue stop near the stadium

Exeter

• Venue: Sandy Park, hosts of Exeter Chiefs

• Recommended stations: Plan your train journey to Digby & Sowton (a station on the Exeter to Exmouth line), or to Newcourt if you’re travelling from Exmouth

• Transfer: The station is 0.7 miles from the stadium, which for many is a 15 minute walk

• Please note: The last long distance trains of the day to some major UK cities will have left Exeter St Davids prior to the conclusion of the matches on Saturday 23 August and Sunday 31 August. Please check timings of last services before booking your travel and consider staying the night in Exeter to enjoy everything the city has to offer

York

• Venue: York Community Stadium, hosts of York City FC and York RLFC

• Recommended station: Plan your train journey to York. The station is approximately 3 miles from the stadium

• Transfer: A dedicated match day accessible shuttle bus will run between York train station and Monks Cross Park and Ride, which is next to the stadium. Buses will run approximately every 10 minutes and the journey takes 15 minutes (allow extra time following the match). Buses will run 2 1/2 hours prior to kick off until 1 hour after final whistle, and payment by contactless card costs £3 for an adult single fare and £1 for a child single fare

Northampton

• Venue: Franklin’s Gardens Stadium, Northampton, hosts of Northampton Saints and Loughborough Lightning

• Recommended station: Plan your train journey to Northampton. The station is approximately 0.8 miles from the stadium

• Transfer: A dedicated match day accessible shuttle bus will run between Northampton town centre and Franklin’s Gardens calling at the train station on the way. Buses will run approximately every 10 minutes and the journey takes 10 minutes. Buses will run from 2 hours prior to kick off until 1 hour after final whistle, and payment by contactless card or cash costs £2 return

Bristol

• Venue: Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol, hosts of Bristol City FC and Bristol Bears Rugby

• Recommended station: Plan your train journey to Bristol Temple Meads. The station is approximately 2.1 miles from the stadium. (The nearest station is actually Parson Street which is 0.8 miles away, but this station isn’t step-free and has limited facilities)

• Transfer: A dedicated match day accessible shuttle bus (external link, opens in a new tab)will run between Bristol Temple Meads station and the stadium - this must be booked in advance. You can also use the metrobus m2 service which runs regularly between Bristol Temple Meads station and Ashton Gate, tickets can be bought in advance or you can use your contactless card to 'Tap On, Tap Off' as you get on and off the bus

Brighton & Hove

• Venue: American Express Stadium, Brighton & Hove

• Recommended station: Plan your train journey to Falmer (a station on the Brighton to Seaford and Brighton to Eastbourne lines)

• Transfer: Falmer station is approximately 0.2 miles from the stadium, which for many is about a 5-minute walk

• Please note: Queuing systems are in operation at Brighton station pre-match and at Falmer station post-match. Please allow plenty of time to complete your journey and consider travelling outside of the busiest periods just before and after the match

Sunderland

• Venue: Stadium of Light, hosts to Sunderland FC

• Recommended station: Plan your train journey to Sunderland

• Transfer: Sunderland station is approximately 0.9 miles from the stadium, which for many is about a 20-minute walk. Wayfinding signage links Sunderland train station to the Keel Square Fan Zone, and then on to the stadium via the new Wear Footbridge. As an accessible alternative, Metro services are available between Sunderland and Stadium of Light, but these are expected to be busy with long queues after the match

Twickenham, London

• Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, hosts to England Rugby

• Recommended station: Plan your train journey to Twickenham

• Transfer: Twickenham station is approximately 0.6 miles from the stadium, which for many is about a 15-minute walk. Please note that post-match queues will mean that walking times will be far longer than this

• Other transfer option: You could travel by train to Richmond station, then get the match day shuttle bus to and from the Allianz Stadium. Buses will run approximately every 10 to 20 minutes and the journey takes 15 minutes (depending on traffic). Buses will run from 4 hours prior to kick off until 3 hours after the final whistle, and payment by contactless card or cash costs £5 to the stadium (free on return post-match)

You can use the National Rail journey planner to plan your travel between your local station and the recommended station for your chosen game.

What travel tickets do I need to buy?

You’ll need to buy tickets to make your train journey from your local station to and from the recommended railway station for your event.

You’ll also need to buy a ticket for any transfer transport that you require between the railway station and your chosen Women’s Rugby World Cup Stadium. Please check whether you can pay on the day, or have to buy a transfer ticket in advance.

Please note that Women’s Rugby World Cup is a ticketed event, you’ll need an event ticket to get in and it is highly recommended to book in advance.

Can I get an Advance train ticket to travel to the event?

You can make your journey easier by buying your train tickets in advance.

Although combined train and transfer tickets aren’t available for travel to this event, a full range of train tickets, including Advance tickets when available, can be purchased before your journey. Check out our Advance tickets page for more information on the savings that can be made for your trip.

Can I use my Railcard to buy train tickets?

Yes, you can use your Railcard(external link, opens in a new tab) on train tickets, including Advance tickets, for even more savings on your journey. A Railcard saves up to 1/3 on rail fares across Britain and is just £35 for 1 year. Once you purchase your Railcard, you can download your card straight to your phone – it couldn’t be easier. With average annual savings of up to £188, you’ll have made the cost of your Railcard back in just 1 or 2 trips. Find the best Railcard for you at Railcard.co.uk(external link, opens in a new tab).

Where can I find out more about this event?

Lots more information about this event can be found on the official Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 website(external link, opens in a new tab).