Exeter station renamed for Women's Rugby World Cup

Trains are calling at ExeTRY St David's

As the Women's Rugby World Cup gets closer to arriving in Exeter, the city's biggest train station has been renamed to honour the tournament.

After welcoming two mathes in the Men's Rugby World Cup in 2015, Sandy Park is set to host seven matches, kicking off with France v Italy on 23 August.

Bristol will also host a range of games, including the quarter and semi-finals, with its main train station also undergoing a name change. Bristol Temple Mead's is now called Bristol Temple MAUL.

The World Cup trophy was shown at the unveiling of the new name for Exeter St David's.

Speaking to Radio Exe, Councillor Duncan Wood, the lead councillor for Leisure in the city said: "It's fantastic!

"Exeter will be one of the host cities, and we're going to be seeing nine of the 16 teams coming to Exeter and you really can't underestimate the impact and the legacy of seeing women's rugby come here.

"The pinnicle will be here inspiring young women and girls to take part in rugby as well as all sports."

Exeter City Council's chief executive Bindu Ajoorn has also been singing the tournament's praises.

She said: "We're absolutely thrilled. Not only does it allow us to showcase our beautiful city, but we really understand the value that it brings in terms of local businesses, restaurants, shops.

"It's such a fantastic opportunity to raise the profile of rugby, so we're hoping people who perhaps might not be rugby fans will come along and watch the teams and really get involved. 

"We've got a great commitment and passion to raising the awareness of activity in the city. We've been doing some great work with Sport England and local community and voluntary sector partners to really get more people active and world class events like this really help us in that."

Applications are open to get tickets for the World Cup fixures. More details can be found here.