This year's edition, capped by the hosts beating Canada 33-13 in the final at a sold-out Twickenham on Saturday, smashed already-ambitious forecasts for revenue from tickets, brand and commercial partnerships, media rights and merchandise sales. Playing standards improved and social media engagement was phenomenal.
"A lot to live up to," said Jilly Collins, Rugby Australia general manager women's rugby.
She and Australian government representatives shadowed World Cup organisers to learn what made the women's event tick ahead of hosting the men's tournament in 2027 and the women's two years later.
World Rugby, however, are not going to judge Australia on the numbers alone, be they dollars or bums on seats.
"Our focus now is diversifying what the definition of success looks like, looking at the unique cultures" of future tournament hosts, Sally Horrox, World Rugby chief of women's rugby, said on Monday.
The 2029 Women's World Cup in Australia "will be an incredible but distinct sort of success story around their culture, their community, the First Nations (and) the Pacific legacy program that we're already building."
Collins was grateful for having four more years to prepare.
"Australia is unique," she said. "We have our own challenges, geography being one, and next year we will be deciding what that looks like in terms of the tournament model.
"What we need to do is build that fan base, build the visibility. We need to make sure that our fans in Australia know the names of women stars from all around the world, not just the Wallaroos. And that's a big job."
Key to driving momentum from 2025 and turning Australia's Wallaroos into a title challenger is the upgraded WXV tournament from 2026-28, guaranteeing up to six extra tests each year, home and away with commercial rights conceded by World Rugby to game hosts.
The Wallaroos have a recent at-home guide on capturing public attention; during the soccer Women's World Cup in 2023 when Australia's Matildas made a best-ever run to the semifinals.
The Wallaroos reached the rugby quarter-finals this month and have reached the semi-finals once, in 2010. Against the best four women's rugby teams their record is dismal; 0-8 vs. England, 0-8 vs. Canada, 0-29 vs. New Zealand, 2-4 vs. France.
"We're ambitious for 2029; we want to be there on the final weekend," Collins said. "That is incredibly important for us."
England World Cup organisers tallied up their record-breaking numbers; 444,465 tickets sold (92 per cent); crowds were 53 per cent women; half of all attendees had never been to a women's game; 95 per cent of all attendees planned to attend another.
"Was it a commercial success? Absolutely," World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin said.
"We will be making a mistake if we talk about when Women's Rugby World Cup becomes profitable. This one could have been profitable (but) we chose to deliver standards that have never been seen before in women's rugby to teams, to players, to spectators. The next one could be profitable; we may choose to make a net investment still. That's an important distinction."
