The Rugby World Cup is here and the
Northeast is out in full color.
>> It's absolutely amazing. The turnout for
the girls are absolutely fabulous.
>> This is your first Red Roses game. The
atmosphere is incredible, isn't it?
>> Yeah, I absolutely love it. There's so
many people. It's so likeing
it.
>> Sunderland so far is like throwing a
great party. Great party.
Having won 57 of their last 58 games,
the Red Roses are used to success. But
perhaps not to these crowds. Almost
400,000 tickets have already been sold,
and September's final at Twickenham will
be the most attended women's rugby match
in history.
>> A far cry from when Maggie Alons was
part of England's World Cup winning
side.
Not many people knew that we were even
playing in a women's rugby world cup
back in 2014 when we won it where now I
mean I I mean I was in the cab and the
guy was telling me about are you here
for the rugby which was really nice but
it just highlights the fact that uh that
there is this real interest there's this
real buzz this real level of engagement
let's go
>> since then grassroots has benefited
hugely from RFU investment
>> I want this is groundbreaking for the
for Sunderland to be the first point
like all eyes are on here and all eyes
are on the girls who play in the
northeast not just at Horton but other
clubs as well. So it's nice for them to
have a spotlight.
>> USA
and
>> the excitement is infectious with over
40,000 expected inside the stadium of
light for this evening's opener against
the USA
>> and England are expected to run riot
tonight. In fact, anyone betting £100 on
a Red Roses win will receive just 10
pinnings in return. Expectation is huge.
The support is here to match it. Rachel
Townsend, ITV News, Sunderland.