Sarah Massey is welcoming a new wave of fans onto the rugby scene after an unprecedented surge in ticket sales for the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025.

Since going on sale in October, over 130,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament via pre-sale, on track to match World Rugby's ambitions of the biggest celebration of women's rugby there has ever been.

Massey, Managing Director of the tournament, is thrilled to see the appetite and was part of a creative activation in Exeter to bring intrigue and buzz to the city which is set to host nine different nations and two quarter final matches.

Since going on sale in October, over 130,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament via pre-sale, on track to match World Rugby's ambitions of the biggest celebration of women's rugby there has ever been.Since going on sale in October, over 130,000 tickets have been sold for the tournament via pre-sale, on track to match World Rugby's ambitions of the biggest celebration of women's rugby there has ever been. (Image: World Rugby) The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 arrived in Exeter through the re-naming of the main train station to ExeTRY St. David’s and Massey believes that leaning into the rugby heritage of the city will only benefit the growth of the game.

"There's a great rugby hive here in Exeter but what we're trying to do is really bring in some new fans and generate a much wider audience," she said.

"By renaming the station and bringing Maggie [Alphonsi] and Shaunagh [Brown] down here, it just creates a little bit of excitement and is a creative and innovative idea that can attract some new fans.

"Exeter are so used to holding rugby matches with the men's Rugby World Cup matches in 2015, the Red Roses having played here before and the PWR final being here earlier this year.

"With so many different nations playing across the host cities, and Exeter having nine different countries, it gives the public a great opportunity to get behind the game."

Ticket applications for all matches are open until 19th November, with sales still rising for the tournament that will see Exeter's Sandy Park host a total of seven matches in August and September.

The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 arrived in Exeter through the re-naming of the main train station to ExeTRY St. David’s and Massey believes that leaning into the rugby heritage of the city will only benefit the growth of the game.The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 arrived in Exeter through the re-naming of the main train station to ExeTRY St. David’s and Massey believes that leaning into the rugby heritage of the city will only benefit the growth of the game. (Image: World Rugby) The 2021 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand ended with a record breaking 140,000 fans in attendance and Massey is thrilled to see that next year’s tournament is already set to demolish that record.

"It's so exciting to have seen that demand," she added. "We knew there would be with it being the biggest celebration of women's rugby we've ever seen and we've had a brilliant level of sales across all matches.

"We wanted to go around the country and make it accessible to local communities and those factors of putting it on at weekends and prices mean people can come.

"Over 130,000 tickets have already been sold and we're now in the application phase for all of the matches and we are seeing them come in."

CEO of Exeter City Council Bindu Arjoon welcomed the activation ahead of the tournament with hopes to create a long-lasting legacy for the city and communities – especially with the renaming of their train station.

"It's great to see all the energy here and excited for our city to welcome the Women’s Rugby World Cup," she said.

"We're really proud of the city and we know the tremendous value of having a World Cup for the community.

"As a real rugby city, it's brilliant to see the spotlight that Exeter Chiefs bring here. The excitement of the young women and girls about this event is great to see as we're really thoughtful about the legacy that the World Cup will leave on our city."