A number of former and current women’s rugby stars have offered their predictions for the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup, with the unanimous view that we can expect a repeat of last tournament’s final between the Red Roses and the Black Ferns.

This view was shared by ex-England players Katy Daley-Mclean MBE and Shaunagh Brown, as well as Scotland lock Emma Wassell - who is expected to play in her nation’s opening fixture against Wales on Saturday - when the trio spoke to rugby website, RugbyPass.

Daley-Mclean, a former Red Roses captain and 2014 World Cup winner, was also confident of an England victory should they face New Zealand at Twickenham in September, stating:

“It’s England’s to win. It’s going to be harder for them to lose, given all their recent performances and they have a huge opportunity here at home. Most likely it’ll be an England vs. France semi and New Zealand and Canada in the other, so a strong case to argue for an England vs. New Zealand Final.”

placeholder image — Former Red Rose, Shaunagh Brown.

However, she did concede the Black Ferns are a force to be reckoned with:

“I think these girls have got a very different experience of New Zealand to the ones that we had in previous World Cups. What you can't account for is how good New Zealand are in World Cup Finals - and nobody can take that away.”

Katy added she also expects to see big things from England starlet Ellie Kildunne: “She will do well, but with the greatest respect, but I don’t think she will be really tested until later in the tournament.”

Shaunagh Brown, a 2021 World Cup Finalist - when England of course famously lost 31-34 to New Zealand in Auckland - had this to say:

“Pretty much everyone is expecting an England vs. New Zealand final, and I suppose it’s about understanding how New Zealand will deal with that - just for the fact of how much movement there has been in the New Zealand setup.

“It has to be an England win though. The worst possible outcome would be if England loses to New Zealand in the final after beating them every time since we lost to them in the 2022 Final. For me, it’s more about getting the win, even if it’s a rubbish game of rugby, I just want England to win.”

Scotland’s Emma Wassell also suggested how an England vs New Zealand final is what many are predicting, but also championed the abilities of her compatriots:

“It’s obviously very hard for a Scot to say this, but I think it’s tough not to see England in a final. You just have to look at their history; they’ve beaten the Black Ferns since they lost the last final, so I really do think they’re going to turn up.

“However, I do think New Zealand will peak during the World Cup too; as soon as sides start playing against them, we will start to notice the impressive depth of their players much more.

“Obviously, I want us [Scotland] to go as far as we possibly can in the World Cup, that’s our intention. I have all kinds of confidence in our ability to do what we can do. Obviously, we’ve got Wales, Fiji, Canada, in our group. Wales and Fiji, two teams that we’ve played recently, and we can go into that with a bit of momentum - particularly in the sense that we beat them last time we played them but I know a lot can change in that period of time.”

The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off Friday August 22 and the opening game sees tournament hopefuls England playing the USA at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light at 19:30.