Far too much happened during this last season for one piece to cover all its many aspects. So here’s a start with a topic to concern everyone, women’s representation in the game beyond their playing days.
Coaching
With the sad parting of Kim Oliver and the Bristol Bears the number of female DoRs and Head Coaches in the Allianz Premier 15s reduced to three, Giselle Mather, Jo Yapp and Susie Appleby. Amy Garnett is Appleby’s assistant; Katy Daley-Mclean is player-coach at Sale, Rocky Clark and Tamara Taylor ditto at Saracens, but Quins have suffered a grievous blow with the retirement of Karen Findlay, a force to be reckoned with.
At Six Nations level the picture is no more encouraging. Just one woman stands at the head of affairs, Annick Hayraud of France; her official role is manager, while Sam Cherouk is the head coach. Her position is paralleled by other women who take a more back-room role, for example Nicky Ponsford, the Red Roses’ Head of Performance. Hayraud is by far the most hands-on, but the manager-coach split means she shares the duties.
Wales appointed Sophie Spence, the ex-Ireland cap, as an assistant coach, but Rachel Taylor, brought in at the same time, quickly resigned her post, giving Welsh cynics the chance to air their gravest doubts about the WRU’s running of affairs.
As everyone congratulated Lynne Cantwell on her appointment as high performance manager for the Springboks, some disappointed Irish folk wondered why she had not been offered a similar post for the girls in green.
England now possesses a number of significant figures who have retired from the game with the most distinguished records. Apart from the centurions mentioned above people like Nic Taylor and Fi Pocock have taken the coaching path. But stories abound of clubs rejecting them in favour of men whose CV is no more distinguished than theirs. Clubs seeking membership of the Premier 15s at the next opportunity, 2023, could do worse than follow the example of Ealing Trailfinders, who appointed Kat Merchant and Kim Oliver to lead the two academies they have set up. Whether that will lead to their becoming co-coaches of a new elite club remains to be seen.
It leaves you wondering who might eventually take over from Simon Middleton as England’s head coach, after his extremely successful period in office. Could it possibly be a woman? Many would prefer to say it should be.
Refereeing
On the refereeing front the Six Nations took a big stride forward last year by awarding all the onfield duties to women, but back at AP 15s level the cupboard has been nearly bare. Sara Cox, the RFU’s professional representative, is most often away taking charge of men’s and representative matches – excellent, but there are few of her kind following in her path. By my calculations only Nikki O’Donnell, another with international experience, Nia Parsonage and Katherine Ritchie, right at the end of the season, have been called up for duty.
The picture is more positive around the world, with big names such as Selica Winiata (New Zealand) and Julianne Zussman (Canada) taking up the whistle. Top refs like Joy Neville are more and more often being placed in charge of important men’s fixtures. The next two big events, the Olympic Sevens and the World Cup, will be a proving ground for the advance of female referees, just as much as for female players.
Committee Level
The World Rugby Executive Committee has ten members, with Alan Gilpin as the newly installed CEO. Just one of their number is a woman, Angela Ruggiero, who for all her qualities is not an ex-rugby player.
Two female candidates, Ada Milby (Asia Rugby) and Cristina Flores (Rugby Americas North), were proposed for the EC’s latest incarnation; neither succeeded. Instead the one new name is Dr Jonathan Webb, the distinguished former England full-back. So the total of women represented remains at a stark one. Few signs there of Bill Beaumont’s proclaimed campaign for gender equality. But then, he doesn’t have the deciding vote.
WR needs new voting arrangements that allow a minimum number of women to find a place on this all-important executive committee.
It’s lucky for Rachael Burford that her day has been officially lengthened from 25 to 26 hours. After she became the first female member of the RPA board, she has now taken up duties as Head of Women’s Rugby with the International Rugby Players Governing Body. Her successful Burford Academy has now blossomed into the Girls Rugby Club, an organisation with global reach. In her spare moments she captained Quins to a first Prem 15s win and joins Johnnie Hammond in the weekly Women’s Rugby Pod, another enterprise that stretches worldwide.
Jessy Trémoulière has accepted an invitation to join the World Cup 2023 Players’ Committee. She was as surprised as delighted, wondering why she was chosen when there are so many other players who rival her experience, but then she is the Player of the Decade, so there were good reasons. She joins a number of the great and good on the committee, chaired by John Eales, alongside David Pocock, Gareth Thomas, Philippe Sella and Yannick Jauzion. Then we have to wonder whether she is the token woman brought in to help oversee a men’s World Cup.
Also in France, Brigitte Jugla, already a vice-president of World Rugby, has been appointed to a new position: to oversee the women’s national 15s and 7s programmes, to develop women’s rugby in France and ‘ensure the feminisation of our sport’. Quite a remit.
Two steps forward, one step back?
Some would prefer to argue: one step forward, two back. Canterbury’s shrill misjudgement in paying female models to display the new Irish rugby kit kicked up a storm, fronted by the ‘IamEnough’ campaign. It revealed starkly how far women still have to go to find acceptance in the world of sport.
Worldwide
Fortunately Katie Sadleir, World Rugby’s General Manager for Women’s Rugby, is very much in charge, an activist with a clear idea of the path to be followed. And there was enough positive news to hearten us. More of it anon.
