Wallaroos avoid England in Rugby World Cup opener

Australia will get a chance to work their way into next year's Women's Rugby World Cup, avoiding a blockbuster opening clash with raging favourites England.

Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp, a former England captain who played at three World Cups, has also sidestepped an early showdown with her birth country, who are on a 20-match winning streak.

Instead the Australians will start their tournament with a clash against Samoa, who are the lowest ranked team in their pool at world No.15, on Saturday August 23 in Manchester.

With the schedule for the month-long tournament released by World Rugby on Tuesday, world No.1 England will open against the United States in Sunderland.

The Wallaroos then meet the USA in York (August 31) and England (September 7) in Brighton and Hove, needing two wins from their three games to advance to the quarter-finals with only the top two teams moving on.

Ranked fifth after their WXV2 tournament win earlier this month in South Africa, Australia have never beaten England and were eliminated by the Red Roses in the quarter-finals of the 2021 tournament (played in 2022).

Guided by former All Blacks coach John Mitchell, England's sole defeat in their last 51 matches was the most painful of all - the narrow World Cup final loss to New Zealand in Auckland.

The Wallaroos lost 32-25 to world No.9 United States, who are coached by longtime Australian assistant Sione Fukofuka, in Melbourne in May during the Pacific Four series.

They have met Samoa only once in their Test history for an 87-0 win during a World Cup qualifier in 2009 however last month the Samoans beat an Australia A side 20-17 with a last-minute penalty.

Yapp was happy for a first-up meeting with the island nation.

"No match is going to be easy in this World Cup regardless of who we drew in the pool stage," Yapp said in a statement.

"We're happy with the schedule and the opportunity to play Samoa in the opening round.

"Samoa will be a tough opponent early and help us set a standard for the rest of the tournament."

WALLAROOS 2025 RUGBY WORLD CUP SCHEDULE

* Saturday, August 23: Australia v Samoa at Salford Community Stadium, Manchester (9:00pm AEST)

* Sunday, August 31: Australia v USA at York Community Stadium, York (4:30am AEST)

* Sunday, September 7: Australia v England at Brighton and Hove Stadium, Brighton and Hove (2:00am AEST)