Northern | US

England stars back Georgia Evans to be 'authentic self' after online abuse

reporting from Brighton & Hove

Wales' number 8 Georgia Evans warms up ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup pool B match between Canada and Wales at Salford Community Stadium, Manchester, northwest England, on August 30, 2025. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP) (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Comments
Comment

England duo Rosie Galligan and Zoe Harrison have rallied behind their Saracens teammate Georgia Evans, after she hit back at abuse she received on social media during Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.

ADVERTISEMENT

Wales lock Evans wrote on Instagram that “a rugby player is no longer defined by your gender or what you look like” following online criticism of her appearance during her country’s 42-0 defeat to Canada last weekend.

Evans, who had her hair tied in ribbons during the game, received support from the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) in the wake of her post.

Video Spacer

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe receives Women’s Top 50 award

New Zealand Women’s superstar Portia Woodman-Wickliffe spoke to RugbyPass after receiving the prestigious, inaugural RugbyPass Women’s Top 50 award this week.

View Top 50

Video Spacer

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe receives Women’s Top 50 award

New Zealand Women’s superstar Portia Woodman-Wickliffe spoke to RugbyPass after receiving the prestigious, inaugural RugbyPass Women’s Top 50 award this week.

And her two Saracens colleagues followed suit as they spoke to media at England’s training base in Brighton on Tuesday.

“I think you’ve had a few people get behind her publicly, but I think it’s also about that private support that people won’t know about,” Galligan said.

“G is an incredible player and she’s also a fantastic human, she’s so funny. She does bring that feminine appeal to the game, but some little girls and people out there are going to love that.

“And it’s just about being yourself… we call it being your authentic self and being able to showcase who you want.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related

“I personally don’t wear a load of makeup, but I don’t do that in my normal life. But that is G and that’s what she wants to do. So, we’re all behind G and we’re behind anyone else that is faced with abuse online.”

Harrison added: “I don’t really understand what the need is to comment, but obviously people will have their opinions, people do this online.

“But [Evans should] just carry on what she’s doing because ultimately I play with her at Saracens and I know she’s an amazing rugby player so I don’t think [the fact] she turns up with a bow in her hair could be a problem.”

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Video
LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Long Reads

Comments on RugbyPass

N
NoLongerARuck 55 minutes ago
The data shows Dave Rennie's All Blacks can test the all-conquering Springboks to the max

I think many writers talk about the way the game should be played and the problems with playing this way or that and are very biased in one way or the other. Many pundits clearly have agendas like Ben Smith (All Blacks biased and Bok Bashing), Jake White ( pro South Africa but also biased in terms of his own coaching experience) and TV pundits like Matt Williams, Jeff Wilson, Nick Mallett, Schalk Burger or even the Stan Sport crew. I would say that NB is clearly an example of a writer who may have his own opinions but who does not let that get in the way of the facts. He presents them methodically and scientifically and leaves his own preferences for the game out of the equation. He presents arguments for and against and lets us decide for ourselves in the comments section. This is quality jounalism at its best which presents an unrivalled deep dive statistical rugby analysis from a professional analyst that you are unlikely to find anywhere else. When you add the level of engagement the writer endeavours to provide then it becomes quickly apparent that this man is a treasure to rugby fans on this site and rightfully so. I truly do not see the anti bok narrative some fans see, not when the writer presents facts about why the AB’s could challenge the Boks and why the Boks could remain on top after the encounter by explaining where they are strong. Two sides of the arguments presented, we draw our own conclusions. The facts explained, both sides of the argument explored, it sounds like unbiased writing to me.

464 Go to comments
Close Panel
Close Panel

Edition & Time Zone

{{current.name}}
Set time zone automatically
{{selectedTimezoneTitle}} (auto)
Choose a different time zone
Close Panel

Editions

Close Panel

Change Time Zone

Close
ADVERTISEMENT
Copied to clipboard

Share Article close