Women’s Rugby World Cup 2022: tournament dates, location and how to watch on UK TV as England announce squad

The ninth Women’s Rugby World Cup will begin later this week after Covid-19 postponed the tournament from last year.

New Zealand will now hold the tournament this autumn as 12 teams bid for a shot at winning the World Cup trophy.

England are the second most successful side at the tournament with this year’s hosts previously winning the World Cup five times, including at the last event back in 2017.

However, England, who are currently ranked number one in the world, have recently enjoyed one of their strongest ever years. They won the Six Nations by an unattainable margin, leading the The Telegraph to suggest that “anything less than England lifting the women’s Rugby World Cup would be a failure.”

They have come second on five occasions and are desperate to win the tournament for a third triumphant time.

Not only is there the excitement of a potential win for England on the cards, but this will be Scotland’s first foray in the tournament for 12 years.

With only a few weeks to go until the tournament begins, here is all you need to know ahead of the Rugby World Cup 2022...

When is the Women’s Rugby World Cup?

The tournament will begin with the pool stages on Saturday 8 October and will conclude with the final on Saturday 12 November 2022.

Each pool will be a single round-robin of six games with the top two from each pool going through as well as the best two third-placed finishers.

England’s first fixture will come against Fiji on Saturday 8 October and will start at 4.45am BST (4.45pm local time).

Where is the Women’s Rugby World Cup?

New Zealand is hosting the ninth edition of the tournament. There are three main venues set to host the tournament and they are all placed in Auckland and Northland regions of New Zealand.

Eden Park will be the primary host and it has a capacity for 60,000 people while Whangarei’s Semenoff Stadium and Auckland’s Waitakere Stadium will be the other host stadiums.

How to watch the Women’s Rugby World Cup

Every match will be broadcast on both ITV and BT Sport in the UK.

BT Sport subscriptions start at around £26/month while matches will be shown on ITV and streamed on ITVHub.

When is England’s first match?

England begin with their first group stage match on Saturday 8 October as they take on Fiji. The match will kick-off at 4.45am BST (4.45pm local time).

Which teams are competing in Women’s Rugby World Cup?

Pool A:

• New Zealand
• Australia
• Wales
• Scotland

Pool B:

• Canada
• United States
• Italy
• Japan

Pool C:

• England
• France
• South Africa
• Fiji

Who is in the England squad?

Sara Hunter will lead a squad of 32-strong. 19 forwards and 13 backs have been named in the squad and 19 of these players could very well make their maiden World Cup appearances later this year.

Forwards: Zoe Aldcroft, Sarah Bern, Hannah Botterman, Shaunaugh Brown, Poppy Cleall, Amy Cokayne, Vickii Cornborough, Lark Davies, Rosie Galligan, Sarah Hunter, Sadia Kabeya, Laura Keates, Alex Matthews, Maud Muir, Cath O’Donnell, Marlie Packer, Connie Powell, Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward.

Backs: Holly Aitchison, Jess Breach, Abby Dow, Zoe Harrison, Tatyana Heard, Leanne Infante, Ellie Kildunne, Claudia MacDonald, Sarah McKenna, Lucy Packer, Helena Rowland, Emily Scarratt, Ludia Thompson.

What are the tournament odds?

England are 8/15 to win the tournament according to PaddyPower and BetFair while hosts New Zealand are 12/1.

Third favourites are France with odds of 12/1 while Canada are 20/1.

Both Wales and Scotland are 500/1 to win the Women’s Rugby World Cup.