Sue Day: 'The most incredible summer of sport'

Ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup Final, when England’s Red Roses take on Canada at Twickenham, our director of women’s football Sue Day MBE sat down with Sally Horrox, the chief of women's rugby at World Rugby, to discuss the impact of on-pitch success with grassroots development for women and girls’ sport.

On the back of a memorable summer for the Lionesses, who were crowned as European champions for the second time in succession in July, all eyes will be on the oval ball this weekend as the Red Roses look to go one further than the runners-up spot they achieved in 2021 when they narrowly lost to hosts New Zealand.

And as a former England Rugby international who remains the Red Roses’ top try scorer from a career which saw her capped 59 times and feature in three World Cups, Sue is excited for what the team of 2025 can achieve and impact off the pitch.

“It’s been the most incredible summer of sport,” she said.

“We’ve always known how amazing women’s sport is and the fact there are thousands of people in stadiums and millions on TV watching these women play whether that was football at the EUROs or the Women’s World Cup now – it’s a beautiful moment in time for women’s sport.

“It’s wonderful to watch these women fly and women’s sport get the attention it deserves.

"It feels so special, when you're getting to stadiums that are full with tens of thousands of people, and you know the impact that will have on those little kids just like us, who didn't have a chance to play.

"That is so special because our sports - women's sport – and all of these sports will be touching the lives of so many girls, and boys actually, and women and men and it will change the world.”

The tenth edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup has seen impressive crowds and coverage of the tournament over the last five weeks, the second time England has hosted the competition following the previous time in 2010.

And Horrox, who has a wealth of experience across women’s sport and has previously been an advisor to the likes of UEFA and the FA as well as being involved in the development of the WSL, has been pleased with the wider impact that it’s made both on a local and global scale.

"It's making this long-lasting impact on society, on culture, on the way gender, equity and inclusion is viewed,” she said.

"It progresses around the world, so I sense that responsibility but also the joy and the sense that you are part of something bigger and you're living it.

"We have tournaments and they are tremendous, absolutely amazing, but they don't finish with the lifting of the trophy and the medals that go around the neck of these amazing athletes.

"What we're trying to do is make sure that everybody involved in these tournaments, whether you're on or off the pitch, is carrying forward the impact.

"It's that long-lasting impact and it's cultural and societal, and in our case, it's global.

"That genuinely changes the fabric of society and it excites me that there's more opportunity and more choice and we can help to create that.”

Sue, who joined the FA from the RFU where she was a board member, chief operations officer, chief financial officer and the executive lead for the women’s game and inclusion and diversity, added: "Sport is a tool for social change and of course it's important in and of itself.

"We're showing the world what women and girls can do, and everybody sits up and takes notice of that.

"What an amazing thing to get to be a part of, it's fantastic.

"We have to acknowledge that women's football and women's sport has come a really long way.

"If you wind back a few years, the crowds, excitement and interest that we've seen at the EUROs and the Women's Rugby World Cup, we wouldn't have seen that.

"We now have more players, more pathways and more clubs, but there is still so far to go. These tournaments that we've had this summer have been so joyous and there's been such a connection with fans, and we have to work really hard to help those people stay a part of our sport.

"To grow the fandom and that connection, so we can all invest more into the game whether that's at school level, because there are more girls wanting to play, invest more in the pathways, the facilities and in getting that connection between schools and clubs.”

You can watch the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup Final on Saturday 27 September in the UK on BBC One from 3pm with kick-off at 4pm.