- Gill Whitehead and Sarah Massey spearheaded an all-female leadership team to deliver a record-breaking Rugby World Cup
- Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 set a new bar for women’s rugby with over 444,000 tickets sold
- World Rugby to build on the success of the tournament with initiatives to grow the women’s game around the world
Chair of Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 Gill Whithead has received the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Managing Director Sarah Massey the Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the prestigious King’s New Year Honours List, for “services to women’s rugby”. The British honours list recognises those who have made an outstanding contribution to society.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, led by an all-female senior leadership team within World Rugby, broke records as the biggest, most popular women’s rugby tournament ever staged. Over 444,000 tickets were sold across the tournament, more than three times the previous edition of the tournament, including a record 81,885 at the final. More than 50 per cent of attendees were experiencing women’s rugby for the first time.
A record 5.8 million people in the UK tuned in on the BBC to watch England’s Red Roses claim the title defeating Canada at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium, with TV viewership across the tournament up 545 per cent in the UK alone. Records were also broken online with over 1.1 billion social media impressions across the competition and 270 million views of content on players’ social media accounts, creating an authentic connection between a new generation of young fans around the world and accessible, relatable personalities.
The joyous Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 set new standards on and off the pitch with initiatives such as LED smart mouthguards advancing player welfare standards. World Rugby also used the platform to draw attention to the impact of online abuse, Players and match officials were protected thanks to the governing body’s leading partnership with Signify, while also calling on sports, regulators and social platforms to work together to better protect sports people and fans.
The legacy of the tournament continues through Impact Beyond 2025 and Rugby Rising Play, World Rugby’s campaigns to harness the growth of the women’s game, supercharged by Rugby World Cup. Unions around the world are being supported take advantage of the huge numbers of women looking to take up the sport which is amongst the fastest growing in the world.
Gill Whitehead and Sarah Massey are recognised alongside other leading Women’s Rugby World 2025 figures including winning England captain Zoe Stratford (nee Aldcroft), Head Coach John Mitchell and double Rugby World Cup Winner Marlie Packer (all OBEs). Ellie Kildunne, Sadia Kabeya and Megan Jones have also been given awards (all MBEs).
World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson offered his congratulations on behalf of the international federation: “Everyone at World Rugby is delighted Gill and Sarah are receiving honours, something both they and everyone involved in staging Women’s Rugby World Cup should be proud of.
“England 2025 set new standards on and off the pitch. World Rugby is now working tirelessly with our national member federations, through our Impact Beyond 2025 and Rugby Rising Play initiatives, to harness the opportunity the tournament created to advance the reach and impact of our sport.
“Gill, Sarah and the team have set the bar for men and women’s Rugby World Cups. The challenge is set for Australia in 2027 and 2029 and we look forward to trying to raise the bar once again, and the success that will undoubtably bring.”
