Women’s rugby in England is way ahead, and the RFU deserves credit
In a phrase many thought a rugby fan would never utter: The RFU, the governing body of the sport in England, is doing a world-leading job.
Hold the front page, it surely cannot be true given recent controversies surrounding bonuses and the structure of the men’s game below Prem Rugby. But it is true.
But not in the men’s game.
This weekend’s Premiership Women’s Rugby final comes days after the RFU announced a “landmark” agreement with the World Cup-winning Red Roses which will run through to the end of the decade.
One of the key brokers of the deal is Team Rugby England – the commercial body which counts the likes of Ellis Genge, Maro Itoje and Anthony Watson as directors.
The RFU deal offers:
- A guaranteed minimum of 32 full-time contracts.
- A substantial uplift in player salaries, match fees and commercial opportunities.
- The introduction of a Rugby World Cup selection bonus.
- A formal mid-cycle review mechanism.
State of play
If the above can be followed through then it would reinforce England as the best place to be a women’s rugby player. That’s not to say there isn’t more to do but it is a brilliant initiative.
And this weekend’s PWR final shows exactly why the women’s game should continue to follow its own path rather than trying to replicate the – largely failed – men’s game, which itself is trying to reinvent itself.
Because it may involve Saracens but for the first time it will feature Ealing Trailfinders, a team whose men’s equivalent have been barred from Prem Rugby for years. Seeing their efforts, and financial injection into the sport, rewarded with a big final is great.
And the need to forge its own path leaks into the Lions too, where – one presumes – after an inaugural tour against New Zealand the Women’s Lions may head to the likes of France and Canada. They could get wacky with it and play mixed nations teams and Barbarians-style touring teams.
The point is this. This week has been major in the women’s game and it should, if done properly, act as a springboard for the rest of the game. England is setting the standard, but it cannot rest on its laurels.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance. Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11