Rugby, like football,
has long been seen as a man’s game. One of the main reasons for this is
probably the roughness. Let’s be honest, it’s not a dainty sport and is fraught
with danger, including broken noses, crushed collar bones, broken legs and
missing teeth. Not exactly appealing to some women (or men), so what exactly
can be done to increase the interest?
The recent success of Women’s
teams has certainly bolstered interest, but on the whole, women’s sport always
tends to get less coverage and less sponsorship than men’s sports. At Rugby Plus, we know that it should be
equality for all in sports – not just Rugby. Golf and football are both prime
examples of how men seem to come out better with prize money, recognition and
opportunities than women. It has almost become a crusade for many people, both
women in the sport and male and female advocates of the sport to get women’s
rugby noticed in higher places.
What does it take?
They say actions speak
louder than words. Money is one thing that tends to speak louder than anything
else, and if women’s rugby is to make an impact on the sporting world on a long-term
basis, it needs some serious sponsorship money. The team members should be
receiving sponsorship money from sporting companies, apparel companies, fitness
and equipment companies. They should be seen on TV and gain more positive
exposure.
There is still the
common misconception that women’s rugby is less exciting, less serious and less
raw than when rugby played by men. As anyone who has watched (or played)
women’s rugby will testify, as we do at Rugby Plus nothing could be further
from the truth. We have lots of eye catching ladies wear on offer and
we have seen a huge increase in demand from this area.
We need to get the
women’s teams and their players noticed. We need to learn to recognize the face
of a woman rugby player the same way we all recognize Johnny Wilkinson or Bill
Beaumont, or the Underwood’s, Tony and Rory. The question is, how many women
players could you mention? At Rugby Plus
we know it won’t be long until the top sporting females are recognised, similar
to their male counterparts.
