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Another astonishing Irish gaffe: Rats, gazebos and poor apologies
Just weeks ago, Irish women’s rugby took huge strides forwards as the women’s interprovincial series secured a live broadcasting deal that saw all matches broadcast on free-to-air TV. Fast forward a few weeks and the stark reality of where women’s rugby is at has become evident at both the domestic and international level in Ireland.
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In a shocking video that has since gone viral, Connacht were shown to be changing in a derelict dumping ground behind Energia Park in Dublin with only rats for company. Since then, the international squad’s hopes for qualifying in the World Cup have been dealt a huge blow as the team suffered a surprise loss to Spain in the opening round of qualifiers.
This isn’t the first time Irish rugby players have drawn the short straw. In 2018 the IRFU turned down the opportunity to attend a women’s Test series in Australia, despite the only cost to the union being flights, as accommodation was being provided. When pressed for a reason, the IRFU claimed they were instead focusing on November fixtures to build to the Six Nations.
After watching the viral video, many wanted to understand who had signed off on the decision to place the team in the dumping ground. Some fans even remarked they wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving their car in that area, let alone changing in it.
It’s almost humorous that broadcasters could recognise and reward the interpro series, yet the organisations responsible for organising these women’s rugby games still treated the players involved like second-class citizens.
Just got sent this
Absolutely disgusting and disgraceful that the Connacht women had to get changed with the rats for the #WomensInterpros today
I've walked lyrical about this tournament but to see this I'm horrified
I'm lost for words at this
Equally Saddened & infuriated pic.twitter.com/Wh1cvBQbdg— The 2nd Row (@the2ndRow) September 11, 2021
It was revealed that the gazebo the players were changing under was provided and put up by Connacht coaches. Without them, players would most probably be changing in the open, which makes this pill an even tougher one to swallow. Let’s be clear here, the blame should not be assigned to the coaches who, like many people involved in Irish women’s rugby, tried to make the best with what they had.
The IRFU and Leinster have both released statements regarding the situation in which they apportion blame for the situation on covid regulations and the interpro series’ lack of elite sport status. Despite the games being broadcast on TV, teams were not granted an elite sports status.
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Therefore they were still classed as amateur and couldn’t use the dressing rooms. The apology from the IRFU and Leinster stated: “Due to current government guidelines, changing facilities are not available for amateur rugby teams”
Questions have since emerged around the motivations of the apology, with some asking if the statement would have been issued had the footage not been leaked online. Outraged supporters have taken to Twitter, hitting out at the IRFU for its attempt to make the situation right.
One fan account tweeted: “Apologies only come when PR is impacted, not when players are.” This sentence alone spoke volumes, as the statement from the IRFU fell way short of the mark. Hiding behind an amateur team status seems ironic and the lack of sincerity in the apology was clear for all to see.
Why did it take a viral video for these rugby organisations to understand what they did was wrong? Why do sporting organisations have to be shamed into raising standards for women’s teams instead of proactively seeking to progress?
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Some have apportioned this poor decision making and neglect of the women’s game to the lack of representation within the IRFU. The IRFU committee is made up of 22 men, and three women. When women are denied the opportunity to be represented at the top level, questions must be raised.
Often high-level representation of women in committees is a tricky subject to broach. Many argue that women shouldn’t be appointed to these positions in the name of equality alone but should instead be vetted against their male counterparts based on skill, experience and knowledge.
The IRFU and @LeinsterRugby would like to apologise to players, management and representatives of @ConnachtRugby and @UlsterRugby and are sorry for the inconvenience caused by an unacceptable error in relation to the positioning of temporary changing facilities. (1/3)
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) September 12, 2021
However, when you have a system that represents women’s teams so poorly, the representation of decision-makers is essential. Governance of the game is key; people in decision making roles should understand the difficulties that women in rugby face to ensure they can make fully informed choices about the game moving forward.
Last year, thousands of people condemned Canterbury’s choice to use female models to launch the Irish Rugby women’s international kit while star male players were used to launch the male kit.
RugbyPass spoke to Victoria Rush, founder of the #IAmEnough movement, about this week’s latest developments in Ireland. “Brands like Canterbury have learned to embrace women’s rugby, but where is the support from the IRFU? It’s another example of the poor treatment of female players.
“If they can’t speak out for themselves yet through fear, it’s our job to speak for them. Their players are in a tough position, speak out and be dropped from the team for life or just ‘be grateful’ to play regardless of the circumstances.”
To many in the women’s rugby community, this isn’t shocking, it is the standard treatment. Just imagine for one moment that the men had been offered the same space. Would they have settled for that set-up or would they have walked away?
Due to current government guidelines, changing facilities are not available for amateur rugby teams.
These temporary facilities should have been set up in a more appropriate area. (2/3)
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) September 12, 2021
The response of the team speaks volumes to their character – they still went out onto the pitch and put in a shift because they all knew they had a job to do. They didn’t kick up a fuss. They just got changed and played.
It has been noted that the men in the Irish rugby world have stayed eerily quiet on this subject. Instead of rallying around the women’s team, showing solidarity, there has been silence, which leads to asking some bigger questions about the reasoning behind this.
Are players nervous to speak up on the treatment of women for fear of possible backlash on their own playing careers? Or is it just a case of not caring about the women’s team?
Players continuously work towards the mantra of leaving their shirt in a better state than they found it in, but when even the governing bodies are working against you, this might be too much to ask.
The IRFU Committee, previously 23 men and two women. Currently 22 men and three women.
How can our women's teams possibly get adequate representation?https://t.co/s0efUUHBBn pic.twitter.com/G6nwbrKpGA
— IrishWomensRugbySupportersClub (@IrishWomens) September 12, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Jake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
9 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
9 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
35 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
35 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
9 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
35 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
9 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
9 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to comments