Rugby World Cup: England hope to submit bid for 2025 event in January

England's Rugby Football Union hopes to bid to host the 2025 World Cup.

The 2014 winners' main rivals for the rights to host are likely to be France, with a decision expected in May 2022.

The RFU's plan involves staging the "best-attended women's Rugby World Cup ever" and the governing body aims to sell out Twickenham for the final after nationwide pool games.

In September, the RFU also confirmed its desire to bid for the 2031 edition of the men's tournament.

The organisation added that its 2025 bid would be submitted to World Rugby in January "subject to securing sufficient private and public-sector funding".

It hopes hosting the women's event would lead to 500 new female coaches in the sport as well as 1,000 new match officials and an extra 60,000 added to the current 40,000 registered female club players.

The RFU would also look to support the development of women's rugby in Scotland, Wales and Ireland so that all four home nations could qualify for the 2029 World Cup.

Ireland missed out on qualification for the delayed tournament in New Zealand in 2022, while Scotland are yet to seal their place.

England last hosted the women's World Cup in 2010 and are currently the top-ranked team in the world.

RFU chief executive, Bill Sweeney said hosting the 2025 tournament would reinforce the UK's reputation as "a global leader in promoting women's sport".

Former England captain Sue Day, who is now the RFU's chief operations and finance officer, said: "As we have seen from other home world cups in cricket, hockey and netball a Rugby World Cup would further advance all women's sport and nothing would beat watching the Red Roses compete in front of a full capacity crowd at Twickenham Stadium."