IRELAND WILL BE among the second seeds when the draw for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup takes place later this week.

Scott Bemand’s side were ranked 10th in the world at the start of September and on track to be among the third seeds.

But a brilliant run of form which included wins against Australia, New Zealand and the USA, along with a sole defeat against Canada, has seen Ireland climb to sixth in the world — and move up a seeding band.

Tournament hosts England — who are currently on a 20-game winning streak — join Canada, New Zealand and France as the top seeds, while Australia, Scotland and Italy are seeded second alongside Ireland.

The pool stage draw takes place this Thursday evening from 7.20pm (BBC One and RugbyPass).

WRWC 2025 Draw Bands (ranking in brackets)

• Band 1: England (1), Canada (2), New Zealand (3), France (4)
• Band 2: Australia (5), Ireland (6), Scotland (7), Italy (8)
• Band 3: USA (9), Wales (10), Japan (11), South Africa (12)
• Band 4: Spain (13), Samoa (15), Fiji (17), Brazil (42)