Spain will face New Zealand, Ireland and Japan in the Rugby World Cup

MADRID 17 Oct. () –

The Spanish women’s rugby team was placed this Thursday in Group C of the next World Cup in England, which will be held from August 22 to September 27, 2025, along with New Zealand, Ireland and Japan.

After qualifying for their seventh participation in the World Cup last Saturday in Dubai, the ‘Lionesses’ met this Thursday their rivals in the Women’s World Cup that will return to the British Isles 34 years after its inauguration in Wales.

The qualified teams were separated into four pots for the draw, based on the World Rugby ranking, with the four highest-ranked teams already placed in each of the groups: A – England, B – Canada, C- New Zealand and D- France .

As luck would have it, Spain (13th in the world ranking) has been placed in Group C along with New Zealand (3rd), a rival with whom the ‘Lionesses’ coincided in the group in Edmonton 2006 but against whom they did not face for the cross-group system, Ireland (6th), with whom they have never met in a World Cup group, and Japan (11th).

In total, 16 teams will compete over six weeks in eight iconic British locations. The opening match will be played at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light, while Brighton and Hove (Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium), Exeter (Sandy Park), Manchester (Salford Community Stadium), Northampton (Franklin’s Gardens) and York (YorkCommunity Stadium) will be venues for the group stage matches.

Exeter and Bristol (Ashton Gate Stadium) will host the quarter-finals on September 13, with the Bears’ home venue for the semi-finals on the weekend of September 19. The grand final, as well as the bronze medal match, will be a grand party in London, at the iconic Twickenham stadium.