How the Women's Rugby World Cup has proven critic David Corkery wrong
The women’s world cup is gathering steam in Ireland right now, and whilst it’s already proving to be a cracking tournament a lot of attention is being paid to former Ireland international David Corkery, who wrote a scathing and nonsensical piece decrying the women’s game as “complicated and arduous”, as well as stating that the physicality of rugby is unsuitable behaviour for women. Now, the sensible thing to do here would be to not give such sexist nonsense the oxygen of publicity, but I’ve spent the last few days watching Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and playing Horizon Zero Dawn so I’m in the mood to smash the god damn patriarchy.
Here’s why Corkery is talking s***e:
The Competition:
We’re nearing the end of the tournament and all sorts of interesting dynamics have arisen. Defending champions England are looking good heading into the semi-finals. Wales are already out having ended up in the proverbial group of death but host nation Ireland overcame a scare against a determined Japan side to set up a dynamic final round clash with France, which they ultimately lost. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be extremely pleased to see how his side have been performing and New Zealand are of course running riot because this is rugby after all.
This world cup has been a gripping and fierce competition and it’s still anyone’s guess as to who will emerge victorious. Whilst there haven’t been any major shocks or upsets just yet, as the tournament progresses to the knockout rounds expect to see a more level playing field between the sides, adding the all-important air of unpredictability that makes sport so captivating to watch, regardless of gender.
The Quality:
A lot of the derision pointed at women’s sport is based on its supposed lack of quality. Some people will point to Hong Kong’s 121-0 demolition at the hands of New Zealand or Italy’s woeful kicking skills against England and suggest that women just aren’t good enough to play rugby. However, these iffy performances are not based on a biological essentialism, but rather are symptomatic of an underfunded system which means female athletes face major financial barriers in order to remain competitive.
It’s impossible for players to develop their full potential when they’ve got to juggle training with a full-time job, or when their coaching or training facilities are sub-par.
However, those points aside, the quality of the sport has never been better, and with full professionalism slowly coming into the game expect this upward trend to continue. England’s attacking prowess and clinical skills have demonstrated the benefits of giving players full-time contracts, and further fuelled the justified outrage that followed the announcement that those contracts would be coming to an end.
Ireland mixed silky attacking skills with some brutal forward strength to eventually defeat a Japan side whose defence was nothing short of outstanding at times.
Expect the double-figure point deficits to disappear over the next couple of years as more teams’ defensive quality catches up with the attack. With more investment coming in, as well as top-level coaches such as Fiji’s Olympic hero Ben Ryan becoming involved, Women’s Rugby is going from strength to strength on the field. Stick around to watch the later rounds of the tournament and you’ll see performances every bit the equal of any top quality men’s match.
National Pride:
In amongst Corkery’s rambling diatribe was the revelation that he wished the Ireland side well, but still wouldn’t be watching any of the games. He’s missing out. I’ve addressed before how international fixtures create an unparalleled atmosphere of national pride and good-natured hatred of other countries, and this is just as true in the Women’s tournament as the Men’s. Don your shirt adorned with whatever flower/farmyard animal your nationality dictates and belt out the anthems with pride, because the passion on display by players and spectators alike is no less than that of the higher-profile tournament. Plus any excuse to get drunk and cheer your country on tends to go down well.
The Brutality:
Corkery demonstrated some impressive mental gymnastics in his rant by declaring women’s rugby to be simultaneously not as entertaining as the men’s game, whilst also being overly physical and brutal. Apparently, women being “confrontational and aggressive” is “not what god intended”.
Seriously. I don’t know about anyone else, but the aggression and physicality is a huge part of why I love rugby, and some of the hits going in during this year’s tournament have been nothing short of brutal.
Of course there are issues of player safety to consider and there are plenty of people who find the whole thing a little too dangerous for their tastes. But if that’s your opinion then rugby as a whole isn’t for you, regardless of who’s playing it. Corkery should just be thankful Meya Bizer isn’t in the USA squad this year.
Conclusion:
Regardless of my amazingly well-written and objectively hilarious arguments here, there will be plenty of people who probably still agree with Corkery and think that the women’s game isn’t worth their time. There’s probably nothing that can be done to convince these people otherwise, which is a real shame.
But regardless of any sexism or misogyny at play, the main thing to take away from this is the simple fact that they’re missing out on some genuinely good rugby, played by phenomenal athletes in a brilliantly exciting tournament. Why not give it a chance?
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments