Sportblog | The Guardian — Ireland women's rugby union team RSS

Apr 17, 2022

England and France lead way but women’s rugby is being badly let down elsewhere | Ali Donnelly

Depressing report into the state of the Black Ferns highlights problems even as move towards professionalisation acceleratesEngland’s success at attracting a record crowd in Gloucester last week for the win against Wales, plus a likely even better one against Ireland next Sunday in Leicester as the Six Nations resumes, is neat evidence of women’s rugby’s impressive ascent.Italy becoming the latest Test nation to announce contracts for their players in recent days adds weight to the argument that 2022 has been the most transformational year for the women’s game. Continue reading...

Mar 24, 2022

The 2022 women’s Six Nations can be the start of something special | Ali Donnelly

England will be big favourites but the tournament can flourish in a separate window from the men’s competitionA debate that has raged for years will come to an end this weekend. The Women’s Six Nations finally has a permanent window in the calendar, and with it comes a chance to forge its own identity, removing its grip from the coattails of the men’s championship, a reliance which was once vital but had started to suffocate.As the women’s competition continued to grow in popularity both with live crowds and TV audiences, bumping up against men’s and under-20s fixtures – all vying for broadcast slots and favourable kick-off times over the same spring weekends – had become untenable. And while the change...