In just five days' time all 16 teams will already have played their first match at Rugby World Cup 2025, and as the calm starts to dissipate ahead of the coming storm, we sum up the best stories from around the tournament.
1. Sold out final set to be biggest women's match ever
Organisers of the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 have announced that tickets for the final at Allianz Stadium on 27 September have sold out, meaning the crowd is all but guaranteed to be the biggest ever to witness a women's match.
"The final, we are very confident will be the most attended women’s rugby match in history, easily surpassing the 66,000 crowd that we saw in Paris 2024," RWC 2025 chair Gill Whitehead said at the tournament's opening press conference on Tuesday.
“I started playing women’s rugby 30 years ago and the prospect of girls running out of the tunnel, playing to the three tiers of Allianz packed to the rafters is something perhaps I never hoped or thought I would see. It’s certainly what girls’ dreams are made of.”
In total, more than 375,000 of the 470,000 tickets available for the 32 World Cup games have been sold - so move fast if you want to grab one of the remaining ones.
2. More female coaches than ever before
A record 23 female coaches will be plying their trade at RWC 2025, more than double the number at the 2021 tournament.
There are three female head coaches - in charge of Australia, France and Japan - while 40 per cent of the management staff across all 16 teams are women.
Check out the full story here, with these figures marking significant progress.
3. Brilliant Maher prepares for kickoff her way
The tension may be rising around her ahead of Friday evening's opening match but USA superstar, Ilona Maher is seemingly not letting it affect her.
The centre, who is hoping to follow up last summer's sevens Olympic Games bronze medal with a starting place against England, is continuing to light up social media.
We particularly enjoyed this show of strength:
4. Canada ready to 'make a name' for themselves
Plenty of attention is being laid on world No.1 ranked England and two-time RWC defending champions New Zealand, but Canada have quietly put themselves into position to shake up expectations.
"We can go very far in the tournament and really make a name for ourselves," forward McKinley Hunt said ahead of her side's opening Pool A match v Fiji on Saturday (KO 17:30 BST, York Community Stadium).
The facts back up such statements, with Canada having pushed New Zealand down to No.3 in the world standings, after a string of top results, include lifting the Pacific Four Series in 2024.
Not that all the team's attention is always on the intricacies of rugby, with Fancy Bermudez (pictured below) showing there is always time to consider the funnier things in life, as she took time out to answer our Quickfire questions.
5. Brazil bring the vibes
Just four days before making their debut at a Women's Rugby World Cup, Brazil have been grabbing the headlines.
Not only have their inspirational players - including captain Eshyllen Coimbra - been sharing their stories with the media, they have also been letting their natural flair shine...
6. Spain set to inspire
Back for their first RWC since 2017, the Spanish players are determined to use their elevated platform to catch the attention of sport-loving youngsters back home.
Just listen to the players speak ahead of the biggest match of their careers, versus six-time RWC winners New Zealand (KO 17:30 on Sunday at York Community Stadium):
7. Ten breakout players to watch
You heard it here first: a list of 10 names, not yet widely known, who are set to dazzle at RWC 2025.
From New Zealand's flying 18-year-old Braxton Sorensen-McGee to Australia's record-breaking teenager Caitlyn Halse via France's sevens star Kelly Arbey, mark your card with this lot.
