By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
South Africa will face France, Italy and Brazil in Pool D for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England in 2025.
The draw for next year’s showpiece was made in London earlier on Thursday evening.
The Springbok Women, currently ranked 12th in the world, will face two teams ranked in the top 10 – France (fourth) and Italy eighth – as well as Brazil , who are ranked 42nd.
Springbok Women performance coach Swys de Bruin said the draw was yet another step closer to the actual tournament to be played across eight cities from 22 August to 27 September 2025, and brings another rush of energy to the group, already boosted by some commendable performances in the recent WXV 2 tournament in Cape Town.
“The puzzle is getting closer and closer to completion and the only thing remaining is the announcement next Tuesday of the playing schedule and team venues,” said De Bruyn.
“That means that we can start to focus and prepare with a clear picture in mind and that is always an exciting part of any campaign.”
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director, Sarah Massey, said: “With anticipation building amongst fans and teams for next year’s showpiece event, today marks an important step forward to what will be an unmissable tournament.
“Next week will see the tournament celebrate another exciting milestone, as we unveil the match schedule, allowing fans, host locations and teams to start preparing their Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 experience in earnest.”
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 will kick-off in Sunderland on August 22nd next year, with the final set to be played at Twickenham on September 27th.
The full match schedule will be released next Tuesday. More than 60,000 tickets were sold for the opening match and finals day during last month’s initial sales window.
Full Women’s RWC 2025 pool draw:
Pool A
England
Australia
USA
Samoa
Pool B
Canada
Scotland
Wales
Fiji
Pool C
New Zealand
Ireland
Japan
Spain
Pool D
France
Italy
South Africa
Brazil.