Venues for 2025 Rugby World Cup announced

World Rugby and the Rugby Football Union (RFU) have named the eight venues that will host England’s staging of an expanded Rugby World Cup in 2025, with the goal of creating the most accessible edition of the women’s national team tournament to date.

The announcement was made to mark the two-year countdown to the 10th edition of the tournament, which will run from August 22 to September 27, 2025. After what the RFU and World Rugby described as a “competitive selection process”, the final roster of host cities and venues aims to reflect the tournament’s core mission of growing the sport, taking rugby across the country.

The final selection reflects a mix of traditional rugby venues and stadia whose main remit is to stage football. The chosen venues are as follows:

• Brighton and Hove – Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium
• Bristol – Ashton Gate
• Exeter – Sandy Park
• London – Twickenham Stadium
• Manchester – Salford Community Stadium*
• Northampton – Franklin’s Gardens
• Sunderland – Stadium of Light
• York – York Community Stadium

*Salford Community Stadium is listed as TBC amid current uncertainty surrounding its future ownership. The stadium hosts Premiership rugby union team Sale Sharks and Super League rugby league outfit Salford Red Devils, with Salford City Council currently seeking full ownership of the venue, which it currently operates on a 50/50 basis with developer Peel L&P.