England Rugby's new multi-million-pound legacy programme launches in Northampton as countdown to Women's World Cup is on

A new multi-million-pound legacy programme has been launched by England Rugby in Northampton ahead of the Women’s World Cup next year.

Tuesday (April 9) marks 500 days to go until the start of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, which will see matched held at Northampton’s cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.

To mark the start of the countdown, representative from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Northampton Saints and West Northamptonshire Council (WNC) attended the launch of Impact ’25, at Franklin’s Gardens.

Impact ‘25 is the RFU’s “transformational” legacy programme, which aims to grow rugby throughout the country, delivered in partnership with UK Government, Sport England and UK Sport.

The multi-million-pound programme aims to provide substantial improvements in facilities and greater opportunities for females at all levels of the game and has already seen £12.13 million of Government funding committed to women and girls’ grassroots rugby.

Bill Sweeney, CEO, RFU said: “The opportunity to grow the women’s game was a primary driver behind our bid to host Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, and we are very grateful to Government for committing funding to this transformational programme as part of the tournament.

“Working together with Government, UK Sport, Sport England and World Rugby we will create a legacy for women’s rugby in England and the home nations, both in terms of attracting more fans and people to play, coach, officiate, and volunteer.

“We are already seeing huge strides forwards being made thanks to Impact ‘25 and look forward to seeing further progress over the coming months and years.”

Attendees at the event, hosted by Northampton Saints and Loughborough Lightning, were able to take part in women’s ‘Our Parks’ Rugby fit exercise sessions and girls’ non-contact rugby, led by Lightning players and Saints community coaches, as well as watch the ‘Heart of the Game’ Rugby World Cup trailer produced by local sixth form students from the Bee Hive SEND vocational college for Northampton Film Festival.

Mark Darbon, chief executive of Northampton Saints, added: “We hope bringing several World Cup matches to cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens in 2025 will have a transformational effect on rugby in our region – and with 500 days now to go until the tournament gets underway, it’s fantastic to see the Impact ’25 legacy programme also get up and running today.

“We are confident the Women’s Rugby World Cup and Impact ’25 can inspire the next generation of female players and create a lasting legacy of success for women’s rugby and the local community in Northampton and beyond.

“Everyone at Saints is grateful to West Northamptonshire Council for their collaboration in helping us host this event and launch Impact ’25 in Northampton, as well as to the RFU, UK Government and Sport England for their funding and support.”

Councillor Adam Brown, Deputy Leader of WNC and Cabinet Member for Housing, Culture and Leisure, continued: “This major tournament will bring huge benefits to our area, not only attracting visitors from around the world and showcasing West Northamptonshire's unique rugby culture to millions of viewers, but also encouraging more people to get active and building women and girls’ participation in both Rugby and other sports by providing a wealth of new sporting opportunities.”