Women’s Rugby World Cup: Best Brand & Fan Engagement Strategies

Published 23 September 2025

Author

6 min read

The Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC) 2025 in the UK (August 22 – September 27) broke records with a live opening weekend viewership of 4.6 million (BBC, 2025), and the sold-out final is expected to see 82,000 attendees. Still a significant white space for brands to seize, we unpack top engagement strategies generating momentum.

Published 23 September 2025

Author

Chelsie Hares

Key Stats

2.5m	The opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup (England Vs. USA) had a peak audience of 2.5 million
+40k	The opening match of the Women’s Rugby World Cup (England vs. USA) had a record attendance of 42,723 – surpassing the 42,579 who attended the tournament’s final in 2022
53%	More than half (53%) of the UK public are aware of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
24%	Nearly a quarter (24%) of UK rugby fans say they plan to watch as many matches of the Women’s Rugby World Cup as they can, while 25% say they only intend to watch the England games
56%	Over half (56%) of those planning to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 will do so via live TV
12%	Despite its surging popularity, just 12% of UK fans planning to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 say they will do so at a pub or bar – likely due to a lack of visibility in public spaces for the women’s game

Asahi’s Pop-Up Pub & Pledge Amplifies In-Person Viewing: Over half (59%) of UK women’s rugby fans feel the sport needs to be shown more in public venues, and 38% say they have never seen women’s rugby shown in a pub before (Asahi, 2025). To bridge that gap, Japanese beer brand Asahi has taken over The Queen’s Head pub in Shoreditch for the duration of the tournament.

Supported by Set Piece Social, a British pop-up sports bar for women and non-binary people, the pub has committed to screen every match. In an effort to boost visibility further, the brand also launched the UK-wide Asahi Super Dry Pub Pledge, encouraging local pubs to join their commitment to broadcast all of the WRWC games. An interactive map of pledged venues is available on Asahi’s website.

Asahi

Asahi x Sophie Hird’s Fashion Collab Champions Black Grassroots Rugby: Asahi also collaborated with British upcycled sportswear artist Sophie Hird (see also Sooo’s Regent Street Pop-Up Pioneers Women’s Sports Retail) to create a custom rugby shirt honouring London-based Black women’s grassroots community rugby team Black Girls Ruck.

The appliqued striped shirts are crafted from deadstock fabric and feature Asahi’s logo, the team’s badge, and handcrafted details, such as the phrase ‘Black Joy’ embroidered on the collar.

Asahi x Sophie Hird

Land Rover Spotlights Rugby’s Forgotten Female First: Highlighting the often unheard legacy of women’s Rugby involvement, British car manufacturer Land Rover’s WRWC campaign spotlights a forgotten figure in the sports’ history – the first known female player to score a try, Emily Valentine.

Launched across the brand’s social platforms, a 30-second ad depicts the moment a 10-year-old Valentine joined her brother’s rugby match and scored a try at Enniskillen, Ireland in 1887. Valentine is portrayed by aspiring professional player Amy Nelson (who plays for Enniskillen today). Nelson and her teammates also appear in Land Rover TikTok and Instagram posts documenting behind-the-scenes footage of the current Enniskillen girls’ rugby training sessions.

See also Amplifying Trailblazing Histories: Social Media Spots & Immersive Films in Women’s Euros 2025: Brand Wins & Fan Tactics.

Land Rover

O2 Tap British Comedy Star for Serialised Social Shorts: British telecoms company O2 collaborated with British comedy character Chabuddy G (portrayed by comedian Asim Chaudhry, originally from BBC mockumentary People Just Do Nothing) for a series of parody training sessions with England’s women’s team, posted across Instagram and TikTok.

Within the videos (which reached 2.2 million views on TikTok), Chabuddy G – known for his questionable business practices – delivers humorous but ill-informed lessons in PR, celebration dances and media training to sceptical England players including Emily Scarratt and Jess Breach.

Kettle Chips Heroes Grassroots Grit: Leaning into a gritty visual aesthetic usually reserved for men’s rugby, British crisps brand Kettle Chips published a photo shoot (on Instagram) starring members of London grassroots women’s rugby team Thamesians Women, depicting the team with stern expressions and mud-caked rugby kits.

Beyond the editorial shoot, the brand conducted multiple interviews with the team discussing the diversity of the women’s game, their camaraderie, and their defiant responses to outsiders’ sexist criticisms of the sport.

Kettle Chips

Festivalised Fan Zones: Gen Z and Millennials are keen to attend multifaceted activations (79% of Americans aged 18-35 say they want to attend in-person events that combine multiple interests, such as sports and music – Eventbrite, 2025). Catering to this cohort, the WRWC 2025 has official fan zones across the seven cities hosting matches (Brighton, Bristol, Exeter, London, Manchester, Northampton and Sunderland). Each offers collective spaces in which to watch the games, alongside live music and local sports team activities.

In Bristol, the fan zone is based in the city’s amphitheatre and features MCing from former England player Amber Reed and Bristol Bear’s star Jenna De Vera; live music from local indie-pop group Hunny Buzz; and a rugby skills ‘Try Zone’ led by local teams.

See also Sports-Anchored Fan Fests in Pop Culture & Media Futures 25/26 and our upcoming Sportstainment report, publishing in November.

WRWC Bristol Fan Zone

Hunny Buzz ay WRWC Bristol Fan Zone