The way we meet this moment will be the rising action. Rugby at large must learn how to truly welcome their women as we enter the second act.
World Rugby knows this and just this week has released a 78-page report they are naming a Blueprint for Growth. The findings are echoes of the five-year plan for growth that was written in the wake of the 1998 World Cup.
The challenges and opportunities hinge on the same reckoning: rugby needs to get serious about the women’s game.
The report backs up what we have long known as women’s rugby fans. That we are a unique demographic which is currently underserved within the wider rugby audience. About half of us may have come over from the men’s game but we do not carry with us the same type of tribal allegiances.
This report has found that 41% of women’s rugby fans are club-agnostic. They support the game, not teams, and those that do are likely to support more than one.
This is not a weakness, rather an opportunity for rugby teams to grow their fanbase beyond geographic ties. I am one data point but I am living proof of this research.
On the opening weekend, I’m travelling to Sunderland, Manchester and York. To witness the spectacle of the opening match between England and the USA, and the rivalry of Wales and Scotland; to cheer on not just our Black Ferns but also our neighbours, Australia and Samoa. Like the 47% of respondents in the World Rugby research, that’s because my reason for attending is tied to showing support of not just women’s rugby but women’s sport as a whole.
As the women’s game enters its second act, this is what rugby must reckon with. This tournament will be the catalyst for many fans to join. Bridges must be built beyond this moment, to enable these newbies to follow their favourite players back to their domestic competitions.
The women at the centre of the action are doing everything they can. Alongside the physical prep, they are flooding our timelines with behind-the-scenes action to connect in the exact way this report recommends.
It’s rugby administrators who need to step up. The game itself needs to gain a higher sense of who we are and what we are capable of if we are ever to transition to act three. If we are to reach any type of resolution, we need to not be surprised when the upcoming wave hits. The ticket sales alone should be the tsunami warning.
Meanwhile, I will keep my seatbelt fastened, ensure my seat is upright and the tray table is folded away, ready for this reckoning to land.
Alice Soper is a sports columnist for the Herald on Sunday. A former provincial rugby player and current club coach, she has a particular interest in telling stories of the emerging world of women’s sports.