The Red Roses England Women's Rugby team stormed to victory on Saturday with a 33-13 win against Canada.
The final, which took place at Twickenham, saw them crowned champions of the world. Achieving that elusive title makes them the first England rugby team - men's or women's - to win since 2014.
Red Roses Head Coach John Mitchel said of their victory: "The Red Roses could dominate the world for a long time" - and I don't disagree.
While the shiny trophy and nearly 82,000 fans who turned up to show their support, setting a new record for a women's rugby match in the process, are all well and good, it's been a privilege to witness a movement and moment even bigger going on here - something which will define women's sport for years to come.
The England Women's Rugby team haven't only won the cup, but hearts, minds, and new fans nationwide, showing once again that women are unstoppable, undefeatable, and capable of so much.
Mitchel's praise perfectly sums up how I, as the Senior Health Editor here at Marie Claire UK, feel about the watershed moments we've witnessed this summer.
Witnessing history
Because it's not just the Red Roses who have seen pivotal success. Arsenal Women's team defeated favourites Barcelona in the Women's Champions League final in May, winning Women's Club of the Year in the process, and The Lionesses made history with their second consecutive Euros in July, capturing hearts across the nation.
We've seen several standout athletes getting the recognition they deserve at awards shows and in media coverage, too. Gymnast Simone Biles won Sportswoman of the Year at the Laureus Awards, footballer Aitana Bonmatí won her third consecutive Ballon d'Or, and 800m sprinter Keely Hodgkinson made headlines when she won bronze at the World Athletics Championships earlier this month.
England's female athletes, and female athletes across the world, are being cemented as top of their game, shutting down the trolls one win at a time.
Wins across the board
It's not just about the sharp rise in interest in women's rugby, or the fans turning out in the tens of thousands to support their favourite team. It's not about the young girls in the crowds shaping their hopes, dreams and aspirations around the role models they see storming to success on the pitch. And it's not even about men and women finally being given equal sporting opportunities after decades, if not centuries, of underrepresentation, airtime, and resources.
Rather, it's the sum of all of these things. It's certain historically niche or underfollowed sports, like women's rugby, becoming a universally appealing attraction. It's the number of athletes from disciplines who turned up to support the Red Roses team on Saturday. And it's the hope for the future that all of this brings.
The win marks a watershed moment for women's sport in general and cements the summer of 2025 as one for the history books.
And the stats cement women's sport as an undeniable mainstay, too. Figures confirm that this year saw increased global viewership, commercial spend, and record-breaking performances, and projections only indicate continued growth.
Take recent statistics from the Women's Sport Trust, as an example, which found that consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that sponsors women’s sport than men’s (9.96mil for women's, vs 8.38mil for men's, up 2% since 2023). Not just that, but 30% of consumers think more positively of brands that support women’s sport through sponsorship, compared with 20% for men’s sport.
The perception of rugby has changed - for good
Everyone will have their own personal highlights from this year. I'll never forget the moment 19-year-old Lioness Michelle Agyemang scored a 96th-minute equaliser against Italy in the Euros, ultimately giving us the all-important opportunity to make it to that final.
For thousands of others across the nation, seeing Ellie Kildunne, Meg Jones, and co storm to victory on Saturday was just as pivotal.
Speaking exclusively to Marie Claire UK in March when she featured as our cover star, world-renowned rugby player Ilona Maher reflected on how rugby players needed to show more personality to drive repeat interest in the sport. And that they've done - the team have cemented themselves as social media favourites, bringing joy, personality and light to every match and Instagram post.
The perception of rugby has been altered for good and come on leaps and bounds since England first won the World Cup in 1994. It's heartwarming to see - almost as heartwarming as the sea of pink cowgirl hats in the stalls on Saturday.
But there's more to be done. Not all women's rugby teams have the same funding that the England team does, which means you could argue the playing field isn't currently equal. Canada, the team ranked number two in the world, even had to appeal for crowdfunding this year - something you wouldn't even have to consider for a team playing in the men's final. “What we want is for all nations to be professional, for the games to be close, for there to be jeopardy,” shares former England prop Rocky Clarke. “It’s great England smashing everybody, but I want games that people talk about for weeks after.”
The Red Roses are officially having their "Lionesses moment," as they so rightly deserve. But perhaps the question isn't of how we celebrate this momentum right now, but how we keep it going. Of how we maintain viewership figures, interest, and investment.
But for now - let's keep celebrating the change, and supporting women breaking records. As England’s flying winger Abby Dow reiterated after the final: “This is women’s rugby and it's here to stay.”
