Developing Girl's and Women's Rugby
Women’s rugby is one of the fastest growing sports in the country, and all clubs should be aware of the enormous benefits a women’s section can bring:
- Extra members
- Extra income
- More takings at the bar
- More volunteers for club development
- Attention and publicity for the club, improving the chances of sponsorship and grant aid
Structure and competitions
Women and girls rugby is governed in England by the Rugby Football Union for Women (RFUW), based at Twickenham. The Great Britain Women’s RFU was formed in 1983, but the modern RFUW for England was formed in 1994. The RFUW aims for rugby to be recognised as one of the most enjoyable and empowering team sports for women and girls and to advance the development of Women’s Rugby by:
- Fostering international success
- Growing participation
- Fully integrating women and girls into the game of rugby
The RFUW works alongside the RFU across the eight regions, with five Regional Development Managers (contact the RFU to find your local representative) covering the regions:
- North East, North West and Yorkshire
- West Midlands and East Midlands
- South West
- London North and London South
- South
Both the RFU and the RFUW have a strong commitment to youth development, with professional staff working on a range of national and local programmes.
Participation
Women’s clubs have increased significantly over the past decade, from approximately 2,000 players in 1988 to 8,000 players by 1998, to near 15,000 players in 2008.
If you are interested in learning about the career progression for women rugby players then take a look at the elite player pathway (MS Powerpoint DOC 70kB).
