As both the No.1-ranked team in the world and the tournament hosts, there’s no question that England are Women’s Rugby World Cup favorites. The Red Roses have only ever lost seven games in the history of the competition, but six of those defeats were inflicted by New Zealand – five in Women’s Rugby World Cup finals, the other in a semi-final.
To decribe the No.3-ranked Black Ferns as England’s bogey team, then, would be a colossal understatement. They’re the only reason England have two world titles to their name rather than seven or eight.
Canada and France, ranked at No.2 and No.4 respectively, fall into the bracket just below them, although No.5-ranked Ireland seem to have a hold over the six-time world champions. The Canucks have made the last four fives times but only reached the final once, while Les Bleues have lost all seven of the Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-finals they’ve contested.
While there’s no question that Ilona Maher is the most famous female rugby player on the planet, USA face a tough task making it out of Pool A. England’s reigning World Rugby player of the year Ellie Kildunne, New Zealand’s Ayesha Leti-I’iga and Canada’s Sophie de Goede look set to light up the tournament.
Read on below for a complete guide to where to watch Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 live streams online, on TV and potentially for free.
All 32 games of the Women’s Rugby World Cup are available to watch for free courtesy of BBC iPlayer in the UK. Select fixtures are also free-to-air on RTE Player in Ireland and 9Now in Australia.
Outside any of these countries on holiday? Access your RWC streams using NordVPN — more on that below.
You can watch Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 from abroad at no extra cost with NordVPN, which we tested in-depth (see our best VPNs round-up).
Get a VPN, connect to your usual streaming service from anywhere, and watch the rugby live on your screen. Easy!
Resorting to illegal streams is a bad decision. If you’re stuck abroad, consider a VPN to safely stream the Women’s Rugby World Cup via an official platform such as BBC iPlayer, RTE Player or 9Now.
Every game of the Women’s Rugby World Cup is being live streamed on Paramount Plus in the US.
A subscription to Paramount Plus starts at $7.99/month, rising to $12.99 to remove ads. You can save on either package by committing to a yearly subscription.
All 32 games are also being shown on CBS Sports Network. If you’re a cord-cutter, you can tune in via one of the best cable alternative services, such as Fubo (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial) and YouTube TV.
If you’re a UK resident visiting the US during the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Use a VPN to watch the tournament free on BBC iPlayer.
Every game of the Women’s Rugby World Cup is free-to-air on BBC iPlayerin the UK.
All England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland fixtures and the entirety of the knockouts are also being televised on either BBC One or BBC Two.
If you’re on holiday outside the UK, you can use NordVPN to access the BBC’s coverage. We’ve used it during The Hundred and it’s been brilliant.
Every Wallaroos game and the Women’s Rugby World Cup final are free-to-air on Channel 9 or 9Gem in Australia, with live streaming available via 9Now.
However, every game of the tournament is being shown on Stan Sport. Prices start from $20 per month for the sport add-on (on top of a regular $12 Stan sub).
If you’re currently out of Australia but want to watch Women’s Rugby World Cup live streams, you’ll need to get yourself a VPN, as per the instructions above.
Every game of the Women’s Rugby World Cup is being shown on the TSN network of channels.
If you don’t have cable, the TSN Plus streaming service costs CA$8 a month or $80 each year.
Outside Canada while the rugby’s on? Simply use a VPN to watch from abroad.
Pool A
Australia
England
Samoa
USA
Pool B
Canada
Fiji
Scotland
Wales
Pool C
Ireland
Japan
New Zealand
Spain
Pool D
Brazil
France
Italy
South Africa
(All times BST)
Group Stage
Friday, August 22
7.30pm – England 69-7 USA
Saturday, August 23
12pm – Australia 73-0 Samoa
2.45pm – Scotland 38-8 Wales
5.30pm – Canada 65-7 Fiji
8.15pm – France 24-0 Italy
Sunday, August 24
12pm – Ireland 42-14 Japan
2.45pm – South Africa 66-6 Brazil
5.30pm – New Zealand 54-8 Spain
Saturday, August 30
12pm – Canada vs Wales | FREE on BBC iPlayer
2.45pm – Scotland vs Fiji | FREE on BBC iPlayer
5pm – England vs Samoa | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
7.30pm – USA vs Australia | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player, 9Now
Sunday, August 31
12pm – Ireland vs Spain | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
2pm – New Zealand vs Japan | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
3.30pm – Italy vs South Africa | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
4.45pm – France vs Brazil | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
Saturday, September 6
12pm – Canada vs Scotland | FREE on BBC iPlayer
1.30pm – USA vs Samoa | FREE on BBC iPlayer
2.45pm – Wales vs Fiji | FREE on BBC iPlayer
5pm – England vs Australia | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player, 9Now
Sunday, September 7
12pm – Japan vs Spain | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
2pm – Italy vs Brazil | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
2.45pm – New Zealand vs Ireland | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
4.45pm – France vs South Africa | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
Knockouts
Saturday, September 13
1pm – Quarter-final 1 | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
4pm – Quarter-final 2 | FREE on BBC iPlayer
Sunday, September 14
1pm – Quarter-final 3 | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
4pm – Quarter-final 4 | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
Friday, September 19
7pm – Semi-final 1 | FREE on BBC iPlayer
Saturday, September 20
3.30pm – Semi-final 2 | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player
Saturday, September 27
12.30pm – Third-place playoff | FREE on BBC iPlayer
4pm – Final | FREE on BBC iPlayer, RTE Player, 9Now
Of course! Each of the major broadcasters has streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone’s browser.
You can also stay up-to-date with all of the key Women’s Rugby World Cup moments on the official social media channels on TikTok (@RugbyWorldCup), Instagram (@RugbyWorldCup) and YouTube (@WorldRugby), and on the Women’s Rugby World Cup website.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
As both the No.1-ranked team in the world and the tournament hosts, there’s no question that England are Women’s Rugby World Cup favorites. The Red Roses have only ever lost seven games in the history of the competition, but six of those defeats were inflicted by New Zealand – five…
