Second captain Natasha Hunt leads her team into the semi-finals against the Bristol Bears. Photo: Getty Images/Dan Mullan
During the days when James Forrester and his clubmates were active back rowers at Cherry and White, they enjoyed their appearances in the local newspaper. They invariably had to start at the back of the edition and work their way in to find their names.
Last week, Forrester noted that Gloucester Citizen dedicated both the front and the back of the edition pages to Premier 15s finalists. As the newly appointed CEO of Gloucester-Hartpury Women, moving into the main office after coaching forwards last season, he sent a message to the players' WhatsApp group.
“Well done for making the change. driving,” Forrester wrote. “This would not have happened a year ago.”
Gloucester-Hartpury take on the Exeter Chiefs on Saturday in a decisive home game. It is hoped that a record crowd of 10,000 will turn up at Queensholm, as Kingsholm has been temporarily renamed. Forrester doesn't mind praising the idea. As evidence of a recent collaboration with the Premier League men's team, this was implemented by Nicol McClelland, Gloucester's head of marketing.
“I really like it,” says Forrester. “It's a bit of fun, brings us some fame and celebrates the girls a little. What we need in this sport to really develop it is as many people like Nicole as possible in as high positions as possible in the organizations.”
James Forrester hopes to lead his Gloucester-Hartpury team to domestic success this weekend
The Women's Rugby Union looks to be gaining momentum, which Gloucester Hartpuri surf. After finishing sixth last season, they qualified for the playoffs this year as league leaders with a record of 16 wins in 18 games before beating the Bristol Bears 21-12 to reach the final.
Sarah Beckett's rush in the third minute after an exchange with flanker Mia Wenner kind of kicked off the competition. I dare say that it was this kind of career growth that made Forrester his favorite The Shed.
Retiring in 2008, at the age of 27, he moved to Singapore. There, while coaching the national team, Forrester founded the successful fitness business UFIT, which subsequently expanded from boot camps to physical therapy and rehab.
Back in the West Country with a young family, the 42-year-old Gloucester-Hartpury is embracing many passions as he tries to stir up the “sleeping giant of women's rugby.” This mission statement is going well. Gloucester-Hartpury, captained by Zoey Oldcroft and Natasha Hunt and blockbuster Tatjana Hurd at center, will be hard to beat at home.
Premier 15s final: where will the game be won and lost?
In addition to winning, Forrester has two goals: to inspire young women and work towards sustainable development. He prefers not to dwell on the mistakes made by the men's game – “everything is easy in hindsight” – but knows that women's rugby union has to be smart and innovative.
“I made presentations on the five-year sustainability plan, and it's important to know our audience and be able to interact with it,” explains Forrester. “We are a business and we want to increase revenue by living this vision of inspiring women.
“Usually at men's matches, adult male spectators drink a lot of beer while watching. You just need to know your audience and how to monetize it.
“We started selling Gloucester-Hartpury branded scrunchies and made £700 last Saturday. It may seem like a small amount, but for our budget, it can be quite significant.”
Second captain of the Gloucester-Hartpury team, Natasha Hunt, wearing a scrunchie, talks to her team. Photo: CameraSport/Bob Bradford. Semi-final 15s, which was attended by about 3,000 fans. Five figures in the final, two months after England's victory over France at Twickenham, was watched by more than 58,000 spectators, and it would be weighty.
Low ticket prices mean the women's game is capitalizing on hoarding. However, make no mistake, hoarding happens. Forrester is not alone in arguing that women's football can be an “absolutely integral part” of England's sporting ecosystem.
“Gloucester has been brilliant with us, but I also think they recognized the speed at which we are growing,” he says. “Rugby needs to attract more fans and a younger audience. That's what a man's strategy should be, and that's how a woman's strategy should be. We've got a lot of new fans. The strategies are aligned in this way.
“People are tight with money. Attracting national and global sponsors will be key and I think very few companies will consider these deals unless they partner with the women's side of the club.”
Youth camps are another path to sustainability . Forrester says if done right, it will provide coaching for players who will naturally attract boys and girls and create their own profiles in the community. Another potential benefit is that the club will strengthen its own player path.
@Glos_PuryWRFC players have decided to donate their Allianz Premier 15s Saturday Finals proceeds to the #4Ed campaign created to raise funds for Ed and his family after he was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
One club. For Ed. pic.twitter.com/4OvK4gEZkC
— Gloucester Rugby 🍒 (@gloucesterrugby) June 22, 2023
Gloucester Hartpuri hosted up to 200 girls over the festival weekend, with events ranging from bouncy castles to player performances. Forrester praises Wales' Gwen Crabbe for speaking “powerfully” about her struggles with body image and how rugby has eased those anxieties.
Forrester expects the women's home rugby television deal to “change rules of the game”. would be around the corner, and another of his motivations was to support players who moved on to other jobs such as teaching, nursing, and law enforcement. The success has been “hard-earned” so the enthusiasm is palpable and contagious.
“Because the growth of the game is new to them, it's very easy to get them to go out and hit the clubs,” he says. “They'll be hanging around for three hours after games to take selfies and sign autographs, and you can see it's not fake. They love it. I hope that doesn't change when the generation that grew up with him arrives.”
The tone of that last sentence is “when, not if.” Forrester is convinced that even more exciting milestones lie ahead for Gloucester-Hartpury and women's rugby union in general.
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