All 16 teams have been confirmed for the 2025 Rugby World Cup after the WXV action concluded at the weekend, with six more nations securing their spot at the tournament.
England, France, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, USA, Fiji and Brazil had all qualified before the WXV began, but six more places were up for grabs.
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WXV 2: Wales, Japan, Italy, Scotland and Australia have officially secured their places. The tournament also saw Australia lift the trophy after beating Scotland 31-22 in their final game.
WXV 3: There are some historic qualifiers. with Spain qualifying for a Rugby World Cup for the first time since 2017. In that competition, they did not progress out of the pool stage but did register a 22-8 win over Italy. Spain also won the WXV 3 trophy with a 10-8 victory over Fiji.
The final qualifier was Samoa who have now secured their spot at a World Cup for the first time since 2014. In that tournament, which was hosted in France, they did not win a game and did not progress out of the pool stage.
With all 16 teams qualified for the World Cup, the pool draw can now take place. It is scheduled to happen on 17 October and will be live on The One Show on BBC One.
All of the teams in WXV 1 had already qualified for the World Cup but the results of the competition have raised a few storylines for next year’s tournament.
The Red Roses were given their toughest game in over a year when they faced Canada in the match which decided who won the WXV 1 trophy. The game, which saw the Red Roses win 21-12, saw England given two yellow cards in the second half and John Mitchell’s side had to fight back on two occasions. Canada were the first to score in the game through Justine Pelletier but England’s Maud Muir hit back. A successful conversion from Helena Rowland meant England were 7-5 up at the break.
Canada captain Alex Tessier put the side ahead again in the second half but tries from Sarah Bern and Zoe Aldcroft meant England sealed the win to defend their title. The win is also the 20th successive victory for the Red Roses. The performance from Canada though underpins their potential for trophy contenders in next year’s World Cup.
Canada may have lost the WXV 1 trophy but they did stop the Red Roses from claiming another record. If England had beaten Canada by more than 15 points they would have become the highest-ranked rugby team of all time. No team has ever got to 97.85 points in the ranking system and England would have reached that point but were denied by Canada’s impressive defence.
Elsewhere in WXV 1, New Zealand recorded their first win of the tournament with a 39-14 victory over France. It has been a disappointing campaign for the Black Ferns who lost to Ireland and England in their opening matches. But they will not be a team to underestimate come next year as they have a trend of losing their form a year out from a World Cup only to lift the trophy 12 months later.
Finally, Ireland finished off an impressive campaign with a 26-14 win over the USA. Ireland also defeated New Zealand in their opening game. The team had two wins and a loss from their three fixtures, the loss coming against Canada.
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