Red Roses’ World Cup victory celebrations power up Battersea

A day after their convincing 33-13 win over Canada, the England Women’s National Rugby Union squad appeared at a ‘Champions Party’ at Battersea Power Station. A massive crowd including Lionesses’ star Lucy Bronze and Olympian Dame Kelly Holmes, erupted with joy as England captain Zoe Aldcroft and her team appeared on the former power station’s balcony and raised the trophy.

Speaking to the BBC, Ellie Kildunne, who scored an incredible try that brought England fans to their feet during the final, said, “We’re going to keep on performing, we’re going to keep on entertaining. That’s what we’re here for.”

The size and enthusiasm of the crowd at Battersea Power Station reflected surging interest in the women’s game. A world-record crowd of 81,885 cheered the Red Roses to victory at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium and 5.8M viewers watched the BBC’s broadcast of the final – a record for the women’s game and the most watched rugby game of the year.

The World Cup victory – the team’s third following successful campaigns in 1994 and 2014 – came thanks to tries from Kildunne, Amy Cokayne and Alex Matthews.

The Red Roses’ success is yet another highlight of what has been an incredible Summer of Sport. In July, the Lionesses retained their European title by defeating Spain in the nail-biting final of Euro 2025.

The summer’s thrilling action can be seen as the culmination of three decades of National Lottery support that has transformed women's sport from the grassroots up. Since the first draw was held in 1994, a total of £6.8BN of funding made possible by National Lottery players has revolutionised women and girls’ grassroots sport across the UK.

29th September 2025