Ireland is at a critical moment with their women's national team. Credit: PA/Brian Lawless
Over 50,000 will gather at Twickenham next Saturday to watch England play France in the Grand Slam final. If you are a true rugby fan, you will be delighted. If not, then ask yourself: why am I against as many people as possible playing and watching the sport that you supposedly love?
I think we all know the answer, although it can be an unrealistic expectation to get candid recognition from those who win in women's rugby. I still vividly remember the comments after I wrote one article explaining how women's rugby has been and continues to be key to the long-term health of the sport as a whole. The comments included everything from «political correctness gone mad» to «I bet he was forced to write this» and even «another lefty comment». p>
The answer is accordingly: First of all, no. Second, I never do it. Thirdly, you need help if this is your sincere opinion.
I would say that it is simple logic for you to try to understand the world as it is and to understand what is in your long-term interests. The number of men competing is declining and rugby is facing strong competition from several other established sports, including football. In women's sports, although football will always be more popular, there is still an opportunity to develop rugby. This is not a fashion comment, this is a fact.
Look at the huge success the Red Roses have achieved and then compare it to their unfortunate Irish counterparts. An investigation by Telegraph Sport reported that at a recent presidential dinner in Dublin, a prominent figure in Irish rugby said: «Who cares about women's rugby?» /p>
I don't know how representative this comment about Irish attitudes towards women's rugby is. It could have been a lonely voice; this may be a widely held belief. Whether you agree or believe this comment, there is no denying that the Union, which has taken its men's game to No. 1 in the world, has seen an alarming decline in women's game. From kicking the New Zealanders out of the 2014 World Cup to winning Grand Slams in 2015, they've scored eight tries against England and the defending champions haven't even played very well.
Whether you like it or not, women need to factor in their career challenges that men don't face
Before IRFU starts slapping on the back for ongoing improvements, they need to be modest enough to see what has worked and what hasn't worked in other unions. Their current strategy is to focus on qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Sevens as the best way to get women into rugby. Now it looks like a big gamble, because if they don't win their final round, they will miss out on automatic qualifiers. In addition, the men's seven has been exposed to such exposure and high-profile tournaments for some time, and this has had very little effect on the game numbers.
England's success has been at the heart of the Premier 15s competition, and that's where Ireland and other countries need to focus. You would think that someone would understand that offering only full-time professional contracts with a salary of 15,000 to 30,000 euros with the possibility of earning bonuses and insisting that players work full-time and live in Dublin is not is a very attractive offer. See how Irish captain Nicola Friday stayed at Exeter instead of signing. In fact, I was told that of the 23 players that were there last Saturday, only seven accepted full-time contract offers. Why do you need this if they are not close to the national average salary of 44,000 euros?
Someone has to tell IRFU that this is not men's rugby. What works there won't necessarily work in the women's game. There are various considerations that can and should be taken into account in order to be successful. Whether you like it or not, and some don't, women have to deal with other challenges in their athletic careers that men don't have to face. If you don't accept this, you won't get the most out of your players.
The awards attract a crowd that equals Aviva's total capacity, not two-thirds full Musgrave Park. It can be assumed that the small crowd, which nevertheless included none other than Brian O'Driscoll, reflects the opinion of the Irish rugby public. After all, if they were interested, more people would watch.
This kind of circular argument is the same thing they always say about any new sport, and the answer is always the same: nothing does not work from scratch. It takes time to build support, but in the end it works, especially if you're successful. English football and rugby have proven that women's sports can draw crowds if you're willing to listen to what's needed.
It's not about the money, because IRFU has cash. It is a matter of will.
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