EEngland’s success in clinching a record-breaking backdrop for beating Wales in Gloucester last week, as well as a likely even better one against Ireland next Sunday in Leicester when the Six Nations resume, is clear testament to women’s rugby’s impressive rise .
The fact that Italy have become the youngest Test nation to announce player contracts in recent days reinforces the argument that 2022 has been the year with the most changes for women’s football.
The pace of change is now so rapid that a recent decision by the Irish Rugby Football Union not to sign their players and to focus on tackling the many other challenges hampering the growth of the game already looks like she needs to be made good. Ireland and Scotland are the only teams in the Six Nations not to offer mass player deals as the move towards professionalisation accelerates, led by England and France.
While new investments, more contracts, growing fan interest and increased media coverage are all buoying women’s rugby on a wave of positive sentiment, there are stark reminders that its rapid growth also comes with significant challenges.
Last week New Zealand Rugby released its report on the culture and environment surrounding its women’s national team, the Black Ferns, after a disastrous tour of the north when they were twice beaten by England and France. When the team returned home, one of the leading players, Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, reported a painful personal breakdown at camp, where she received limited or no support.
The report is depressing to read, and highlights a seedy and amateurish environment for elite players who reported body-shaming, ghosting, and culturally insensitive comments, and a lack of basic support and resources. It at least provided tangible evidence of the team’s slump in form.
The report showed striking similarities to that of another recent review of an elite program in Ireland. That found the country’s governing body had goals and a vision for its women’s team but no structure or understanding of how to achieve them, ultimately resulting in their surprising failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup. Also in Canada, a scathing review found significant flaws in the way women’s rugby was administered in the 7s and 15s programs and promised serious improvements.
Why are the top nations at the top end of women’s football so wrong? First, they have ignored the chorus of voices that have been pointing to problems for years. Nowhere was this more evident than in Ireland, when an open letter from more than 60 of the country’s top players was first met with a scathing statement accusing the players of interfering in a trial that they should have been at the center of .
In New Zealand, home of this year’s World Cup, it is worryingly clear that listening is still a problem. Even after hearing testimonies from more than 50 players and concluding that the team’s culture and environment was poisoned, it was determined that the head coach who oversaw everything is still the best man for the job.
There is a lack of understanding that programs for men and women may need to be implemented differently
It was stunning to hear that New Zealand Rugby CEO Mark Robinson called Glenn Moore an “extraordinary coach” following the release of the rating as he oversaw the worst results in the history of the once invincible Black Ferns and was the catalyst for the review . But with waves of negative media coverage in New Zealand in recent days, Moore has resigned.
It is becoming apparent that there is a lack of understanding that programs need to be run differently for men and women, and that many who run the game have a firm belief that they know it better than those living the experience.
Administrators in New Zealand and Ireland have proven their ability to lead men’s teams that can succeed. So why should they listen to their critics when it comes to their girl game? It has taken a serious failure on the field and a public call for improvement from their players to open their ears.
Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate (front) has described the lack of support she received during her tour with New Zealand. Photo: Catherine Ivill/The RFU Collection/Getty Images
Encouragingly, however, there seems to be a dawning realization that the growth of women’s rugby is largely outpacing the structures originally designed to support it, which are based on a system built for men and still run by men.
The New Zealand report made it clear that the Black Ferns are not well served by predominantly male and white management, and described a seedy recruitment culture where people are “patted on the back” and little to no performance management takes place.
No wonder those involved are ill-equipped to deal with it when serious wellbeing issues arise, and that so few women at the top of the game are involved in coaching. That women in 2022 no longer enjoy working with coaches and executives who make disparaging comments about their weight, who make no effort to understand their personal circumstances, with whom they communicate poorly, seems surprising to some governing bodies who expect them to are grateful to be there at all and are often underqualified for the challenges of their own role.
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Any other governing body or association in the game aiming to capitalize on the growth of women’s rugby would be wise to study these reports. Success depends on them understanding how and where to avoid unavoidable pitfalls, and ultimately what is and is not acceptable treatment of women in sport.
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