Public radio’s longest-running daily global news program.AboutContactDonateMeet the TeamPrivacyTerms of use©2026 The World from PRXPRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402.Emily Scarratt to make English history with fifth Rugby World Cup appearanceWith interest in women’s rugby exploding over the past few years, veteran players like Emily Scarratt are getting the resources they’ve long deserved. She shares how her upbringing shaped her into the athlete she is today, and what it means to be a role model for younger athletes. SportsAugust 22, 2025Updated: August 22, 20254:59Canada’s Karen Paquin runs the ball as she avoids a tackle from Great Britain’s Emily Scarratt, left, during the bronze medal match in women’s rugby sevens at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 8, 2016.The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup is set to be the biggest edition of the tournament by a landslide. A record 375,000 tickets have been sold, and 16 countries — the most ever — are ready to compete in venues across England.That’s massively different from the 2010 tournament, when Emily Scarratt made her World Cup debut for England.“In 2010, it was all based at a university campus. All of the games were played on fields next to each other,” Scarratt, who plays center, told The World. “So, it was kind of more like a county festival-style, as opposed to a World Cup. Whereas this one is going to properly feel like the best competition in the world.”England’s Emily Scarratt kicks a penalty to win the Women’s Autumn Nations Cup rugby union international match between England and France at Twickenham stadium in London, Nov. 21, 2020.Ian Walton/AP/File photoWomen’s rugby has all but exploded over the past few years. Social media has helped superstars like Ilona Maher become household names. According to a new report by World Rugby, the sport’s global governing body, 49% of women’s rugby fans are new to the game, having only discovered it in the past two years.That has led to real change for players.“The support is totally different, the attention is totally different. The resources — how many staff members we have, what sport science support we get — all of that sort of stuff is massively different,” Scarratt said.While Scarratt enters her fifth World Cup — a record for England — her origin story mirrors a lot of elite athletes. She began playing rugby at the age of five, and instantly loved it. But there’s another kind of field that Scarratt said contributed to her success.“I loved growing up on the farm. It was the best upbringing ever,” Scarratt said, referring to her family’s farm in Leicster, England. “There was some potato picking and potato riddling that we used to do. If they were, you know, a driver down or whatever — I could bail a field or plow a field.”Great Britain’s Emily Scarratt tackles Japan’s Ayaka Suzuki during the women’s rugby sevens match at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Aug. 6, 2016.Themba Hadebe/AP/File photoScarratt’s family still works on the farm to this day, and she said her brother will eventually take it over. As she travels the globe as one of the world’s best rugby players, Scarratt said she brings lessons from back home with her.“Farming is incredibly tough, like, I grew up with a dad and granddad who worked tirelessly,” she said. “You know, during harvest season or busy times of year, you probably wouldn’t see them a huge amount because they got up before you got up and got in well after you’d gone to sleep.”Along with that work ethic, Scarratt said the farm has also taught her how to roll with the punches.“Farming is completely reliant on Mother Nature, and therefore you can work super hard. You can put everything into it. But ultimately, you’re kind of reliant on the weather, a lot of time, as to how much you can get out of something,” she said. “So essentially, so much of life is out of your control.”England players celebrate after Emily Scarratt (23) kicked a penalty to win the Women’s Autumn Nations Cup rugby union international match between England and France at Twickenham stadium in London, Nov. 21, 2020.Ian Walton/AP/File photoThat mindset helped her deal with one of her career’s low points. She suffered a serious neck injury in 2023, eventually having to undergo surgery and take a year off from rugby. Now back in full form, the Red Roses team veteran is ready to chase another trophy on home turf.“You prepare for these things for such a long time,” she said. “And it’s going to be the biggest World Cup of all time. So, it’s pretty cool that we’re going to be able to host that — and, obviously, to be a part of it.”“If everyone could be like an Emily Scarratt, it would probably make our coaching job a lot easier,” Sarah Hunter told The World. She’s one of England’s coaches and spent years on the national team, herself, playing alongside Scarratt. “She just seems to have the all-around skill set: the kick, pass, run threat. Her ability to see space, her ability to put other people into position, it’s just incredible.”It can be rare to have a player of that caliber also described as “humble, down to earth and approachable.” But that’s how Hunter puts it. It means a lot to some of Scarratt’s youngest supporters, like 10-year-old Eilah Giles.Emily Scarratt poses with her fan, 10-year-old Eilah Giles.Courtesy of Stu Vincent Photography“After every game, she comes around and says hello to everybody,” Giles said. She started playing rugby a couple of years ago after attending an English national team match. “And I just feel like it’s really nice of her to do that.”To Giles, Scarratt has become more than a brilliant rugby player to watch on TV. They’ve met on the sidelines of games and have even formed a relationship outside of rugby stadiums. Since September of 2024, Giles has been on a mission to walk 895 miles to raise funds for a mental health charity called Looseheadz Foundation. She chose that specific distance because it’s the distance between all of the Women’s Rugby World Cup host stadiums, across England.Emily Scarratt with her fan, 10-year-old Eilah Giles, at a rugby match.Courtesy of Victoria StoneGiles said Scarratt has been an amazing supporter of the challenge.“She gave me a box of walking and running equipment,” Giles said. “She spoke to [her sponsor] Adidas and they gave me a bunch of stuff. She basically got me shorts, shirts, hoodies, leggings and some other stuff.”Scarratt knows she’s a role model for kids like Giles across the country. It’s a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly, in part, because she didn’t have someone like herself to look up to when she was a kid.“People ask me, ‘Oh, who was your role model when you were growing up?’ And I can’t name a single female rugby player,” Scarratt said. “They’re either male rugby players or people in other sports because that’s what was visible to me.”Now, though, the women’s game is more visible than it has ever been. Coach Hunter thinks this year’s World Cup will only add to the momentum.“I genuinely believe that this World Cup could be a moment in time where we look back and go, ‘That was the moment that women’s rugby came alive,’” she said.Going into the tournament, England is on top of the world rankings; in fact, they haven’t lost a game in nearly three years. That has fans like Giles feeling optimistic.“That gives us a good chance to win the World Cup, because we haven’t lost. We’ve played these teams before, we’ve won against these teams,” she said. “And I just feel like we can do it again.”The tournament is set to run from August 22 to September 27.