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Gill Burns remembers the sign that welcomed him to the rugby club: “No woman or dogs allowed.” It was in the 1980s and a future big English rugby made her first progress in a sport she would come to give so much to – but there were a lot of obstacles to overcome.
“People there were very welcoming,” recalls Burns, winner of the 1994 World Cup and longtime captain in England. “This panel was very quickly removed and we were very quickly part of the club. Once you’ve been able to talk to people and people looked at us, we won with supporters.
“But we had a lot of obstacles to overcome. No installations, no match officials, playing strange moments of the day. We had huge travel distances to play, which we of course funded. Unfortunately, there were women who would have played rugby at the time, including for the national team, but could not afford it because you had to pay everything. »»
In truth, it took this landscape for a while to change. There are still premiere female rugby players (PWR), the English high flight in the world’s head, mainly paying to play; Aside from the red roses contracted, almost all balance elite sport with another career or studies.
While the 2025 women’s rugby world cup is accelerating in sight, it is an image that many hope to change, but there is a deeper heritage of the tournament that could feel more important. In the community game, the work began two years ago on the Impact ’25 program, injecting 12.13 million pounds of government funding in sport to improve the accessibility of women’s rugby and girls across the country. He is in anticipation of a boom after the tournament for this summer, with favorites from England to triumph over the ground at home.
Rugby Football Union (RFU) has been wrong in recent years; It is an area where organization deserves significant praise. Already, the best part of 3 million pounds sterling was devoted to the upgrading of club facilities to make them more welcoming for women, new changing rooms with health packages and a significant increase in the number of match officials and Coaches. 850 clubs have received funding or activities to develop sport.
“Previously, we would have held a World Cup and left,” Ooh, it was really adorable, it was great “, explains Katy Daley-Mclean, the last captain of England in the World Cup in 2014.” C ‘is a work on the ground. women and girls playing our game. “
Such an increase is welcome at a time when, admits Burns, the participation of adult men in sport is “down”. While many recreational clubs find it difficult to maintain the sides of their men and the anecdotal evidence on this front are disturbing, others have found the sections of their women at high speed. A striking improvement area is at the U12 level, where 40% of girls have experienced rugby this year compared to the last.
Although the red roses are already a advanced program, the thought is that the next two generations will reach even higher peaks. The university has long been an entry point for women’s rugby, but community and professional ways are opening up more and more. “Some of these girls who arrive at 16, 17 years old or who are just out of school, they are already in terms of talent where I was 24, 25 the bailout of talents directly in his role of performance of women to The sale of the Sharks, explains. could bring.
It is helped by a group of red roses who recognize their place as models and growth forces in sport. Social media has a large number of drawbacks, but allowing players to introduce themselves and connect with the next generation, this has also been a great strength. “We sat there and thought,” I’m not sure I want to put myself there, because maybe people don’t want me to do that. ” Daley-Mclean says. “I think what the girls have done was really kissing this. I love how different they are. If you are a young child, you cannot identify yourself with a player because of rugby but because of something out of the field.
“Look how comfortable Hannah Botterman is, the Sarah Berns, the Ellie Kildunnes, a Jess breach, a Harrison Zoe. You have a very large spread there, which is charming. For young children who may never be suitable, they see people who integrate into rugby. Rugby can be their house.
Links with former players also help. Close obligations were built between the “vintage red roses” and the current harvest, with more than 800 pioneers of the female game who attend an event after the defeat of Ireland England in Twickenham last year. “There was a time when the players played for England, retired and simply disappeared from the scene because they no longer felt. The link that the former players now have with the current team, and the wonderful configuration they have, welcomed us in the fold to tell how it was before. All those who have worn this shirt now feel part of the community of red roses. »»
All of this contributes to a positive story that is well necessary for English rugby and sport more widely. In the middle of the anxiety and anger of the last months, the female world cup has been a radius of light on the horizon and a moment of boom that RFU recognizes that they cannot afford to miss.
“I did not sit there at 16 and I think:” I want to change the face of women’s rugby, “adds Daley-Mclean. “But the beautiful one around is how perceptions change. I just wrote to a letter, and one of the things I opened was: “I know you have the impression of being born to do it, but people do not understand”. This is how it was doing to me. People wondered why a girl would like to practice a man’s sport. What this World Cup will do is say that it is for everyone. This is one of the things I am most proud of.
