Women’s rugby must get radical to avoid making mistakes men’s game did
For the women’s game to be truly successful I believe it needs a radical overhaul; a revolution that will change the face of rugby forever.
Because the reality is that it is hard to get excited for this weekend’s final round of the Women’s Six Nations.
England are expected to win, even against closest competitors France, and the conversation has been around the margin of victory rather than the result itself.
And that’s no issue for England; they are flying high and setting the standard for the global game to follow.
But it may also eventually become a cause for concern for England’s governing body, the Rugby Football Union, with predictably beaten opposition bad for ticket sales. We saw 10,000 fewer people watch Ireland at Twickenham this year than France last year.
So how would I solve it? With a radical recalibration of what the women’s game is.
I think the women’s game should scrap the XVs game, scrap the Six Nations and scrap the Rugby World Cup in its current format.
They should look to specialise in a different form of the game, such as 10s or sevens, where they can be the true global leaders battling for airtime in a space without similar rivals.
It would allow for the pace of Meg Jones or Jess Breach while maintaining the draw of the power of Sisilia Tuipulotu or Marlie Packer.
It sounds crazy but the women’s game needs a reset, it needs to become something so far detached from the men’s game that it isn’t lumbered with the issues of its sibling.
Women’s rugby can be better than the men’s game if it does not fall into the trap of trying to replicate it.
Crazy rugby ideas
Why have the Six Nations mimicked the men’s when the likes of Spain deserve a spot over some of the other teams? And why is the women’s Lions tour going to New Zealand, who struggled to sell initial tickets for the World Cup? It makes little sense.
So that’s what I would do, a complete rupture down the tectonic plates of rugby for the greater good.
And there is clearly reluctance to develop the domestic game, too. The Celtic Challenge is fine, as is the Premiership Women’s Rugby, but they’ve missed opportunities.
When I was at the WRU there was talk of adding two Welsh teams into the English game, and that’s a policy those across the Severn Bridge should revisit.
It is also actively in England’s interests to invite them in now, otherwise the Red Roses will be so far ahead it will be pointless turning up to the international game, let alone the domestic one.
This weekend’s Le Crunch will be brilliant, but I fear England could steal a march and take it by double figures. And that would be bad for the sport.
The two most professional and advanced teams cannot be worlds apart. So with that in mind, I will reluctantly hope France win for the good of the women’s game in England.
Because if they don’t it is entirely possible that England will get too big for their boots and risk losing yet another World Cup final to a Black Ferns side who have come out victorious in the last two quadrennial showpieces.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of , experts in leadership development behavioural change and executive coaching support. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn @OlliePhillips11