PWR Attendances Climb 23.4% in Post-World Cup Season

Premiership Women's Rugby recorded a 23.4% increase in average attendances during the 2025-26 season, according to figures reported by BBC Sport. The rise followed England's home World Cup victory at Twickenham in September 2025 and extended the domestic league's audience growth beyond the surge generated by United States star Ilona Maher's spell with Bristol Bears in the previous campaign.

The league also reported expansion across its digital platforms. Its social-media following increased by 132%, while its database grew by 310%. PWR said content amassed more than 111 million views across YouTube, Meta and TikTok, representing a 174% increase in viewing figures. Those measures point to broader engagement alongside the improvement in crowds at matches.

The 2025-26 campaign was the first in which every PWR fixture was shown live, with coverage spread across TNT Sports, BBC Sport and YouTube. BBC Sport attributed the attendance improvement in part to the attention generated by England's World Cup success, while noting that the league continued to grow after Maher left Bristol following her high-profile 2024-25 stint.

Maher, described by BBC Sport as rugby union's most-followed player on social media, had brought exceptional visibility to Bristol and the wider competition. PWR executive chair Genevieve Shore acknowledged that impact in comments reported by the BBC, while saying the subsequent gains were encouraging because the previous season had established a demanding benchmark.

On the field, the season concluded in June with Saracens defeating first-time finalists Ealing Trailfinders to secure the championship. The title was Saracens' fourth, a league record. The result supplied a competitive endpoint to a campaign in which PWR's reported growth was measured not only at stadium gates but through broadcast availability, online audiences and supporter data.

PWR currently consists of nine teams and was launched in 2023 as a rebrand of the Premier 15s. Its 2026-27 season is scheduled to begin in November. The latest figures cover a completed season rather than an early-campaign snapshot, giving the league a full-year measure of how much interest carried from the World Cup and the attention surrounding Maher into domestic women's rugby.