Red Roses glory leads to mass Premiership Women’s Rugby boom

Premiership Women’s Rugby has enjoyed another significant surge in interest following England‘s World Cup triumph, with average attendances rising by 23.4 per cent during the 2025-26 season.

The nine-team competition also recorded major growth away from the stands.

PWR’s social media following increased by 132 per cent, its supporter database grew by 310 per cent and over 111 million views were recorded across YouTube, Meta and TikTok – a 174 per cent year-on-year increase.

It was also the first season in which every PWR fixture was broadcast live, while the league launched its own app to help turn increased exposure into lasting support.

Pride: Genevieve Shore

Encouraging

Executive chair Genevieve Shore believes the figures are particularly encouraging after the attention generated by American superstar Ilona Maher during her stint with Bristol Bears in 2024-25 and England’s subsequent home World Cup triumph.

Shore said: “Ilona’s impact was extraordinary. It brought a huge amount of attention to our league and to our players. But it also meant that we were comparing this season against a very unusual baseline.

“So, when you look at the fact that we have continued to grow from there, post-World Cup and after that incredible spike in interest, I think that is particularly encouraging.

“The opportunity now is to make sure that people who discovered women’s rugby through the World Cup, or through players like Ilona, have somewhere to go next.”

Decision-making

PWR has also attempted to put supporters more firmly at the centre of decision-making.

A fan forum was introduced last season, while the league launched its first official fan survey and commissioned matchday audits at every club.

Those audits produced an average score of 69 out of 100, highlighting strong performances around social media, ticket purchasing and refreshments but areas for improvement in prematch communication, merchandise and post-match engagement.

PWR plans to build on those initiatives next season, with fan forum summaries published after every meeting, two fan surveys and further matchday audits.

Shore believes the latest growth demonstrates sustainable demand beyond the World Cup.

She said: “We’ve retained a significant amount of attention that came into the league last season and in some areas we’ve grown considerably further.

“That tells me that this is not just a World Cup effect.”