Red Roses to Inspire Next Generation at RugbyFest 2025
Fresh from their Women’s Rugby World Cup final triumph, the Red Roses are set to swap the international stage for grassroots pitches across England as part of RugbyFest (3–6 October 2025) — a nationwide celebration of rugby designed to inspire the next generation.
Across the four-day festival, hundreds of rugby clubs will open their doors, hosting taster sessions, family fun days, and mini festivals. The Red Roses will be visiting clubs up and down the country, meeting young players and sharing their own stories, bringing the magic of the World Cup back to communities nationwide.
“2025 has been a huge year for women’s rugby in England, with record-breaking attendances and a tremendous uplift in women and girls’ participation, and we want to continue to build on the momentum of the Red Roses winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup,” said Steve Grainger, Executive Director of Rugby Development at England Rugby.
“RugbyFest is a fantastic opportunity for communities to come together to celebrate rugby all over the country, and for our Red Roses to give back to the fans and communities who have got behind them and supported them over the years. This celebration weekend also taps into our Rugby World Cup ‘For The Girls’ campaign and speaks to the Red Roses’ ability to inspire a new generation of players into rugby, something that the team are all so passionate about doing.”
RugbyFest forms part of the RFU’s World Cup legacy programme, Impact ’25, which is supported by the National Lottery. Impact ’25 sees more than £14.5m of Government funding committed to the sport in England and the home unions through to March 2026, aimed at creating more opportunities for women and girls to get involved in rugby. In addition, The National Lottery is providing £11m of funding to support the RFU in growing the women’s and girls’ game through to 2027.
Andria Vidler, Chief Executive of Allwyn operator of The National Lottery, said:
“Through playing The National Lottery the public have been backing women’s rugby and the Red Roses for over 20 years – made possible by the £6b they have raised for grassroots sport. Therefore, we are delighted to also be able to support RugbyFest and create another opportunity for people across the country to discover a love for rugby.”
The Red Roses’ recent success has already sparked a surge of interest at grassroots level, with young girls across the country donning red cowboy hats and picking up rugby balls, eager to follow in the footsteps of their heroes. Now, RugbyFest offers them the chance to meet World Cup-winning role models face-to-face, learn from them, and take their first steps on their own rugby journey.
With hundreds of events already planned, RugbyFest is shaping up to be one of the biggest grassroots rugby activations in history — a fitting celebration of a landmark year for the women’s game in England.
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