Women’s Rugby World Cup: Red Roses key to wider success
Whatever happens at the Women’s Rugby World Cup over the next few weeks all eyes are going to be on that Allianz Stadium final in Twickenham, where 82,000 fans are set to break a world record for a women’s rugby match attendance.
I think in the aftermath of the 2022 Euros, where the Lionesses sent shockwaves through the country’s psyche, we have almost expected every stadium to sell out every single time a women’s team plays.
That won’t be the case this autumn, with a couple of thousand seats set to be vacant for tonight’s Women’s Rugby World Cup opener between England’s Red Roses and the USA.
But people need to manage expectations; those Euros in 2022 did not have full stadiums in the earliest rounds yet soon fans were clambering for tickets. The same timeline should ring true this autumn.
And the pressure will be extremely high for John Mitchell’s England, who are more than overwhelming favourites to lift their first title since 2014.
Commercial boom
But the key to this World Cup being successful is a commercial boom across the women’s game.
From tiny seeds grow mighty oaks, and it is time the women’s game was in turbocharge mode towards commercial profitability – and this Women’s World Cup can help make that happen.
Selling out at Twickenham is an unbelievable feat, and smart marketing by organisers to make it a double header – meaning England only need to reach the final four to guarantee a slot at Allianz Stadium come the end of September.
But the perfect scenario would be England getting there having come over a number of hurdles – there will be little global interest if the Red Roses are steamrolling teams 60-5 early on.
That’s not to say it needs to be a total breakdown in ability by the hosts, but a couple of challenges thrown their way can catapult the importance of any possible win further.
Women’s Rugby World Cup legacy
I have two daughters, seven and five, and I am not sure they could name even a handful of players starring in this Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Success is my girls having a Chloe Kelly moment, whereby they see an iconic passage of play played out in front of them and remember it forever.
The stardom of so many of these Red Roses players, and those such as Ilona Maher beyond these shores, will be key to building and maintaining a legacy for years to come.
It’s live across the country, live on the BBC and this could be England rugby’s Lionesses moment. And I cannot wait to roar on our girls.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance. Follow Ollie @OlliePhillips11