A new kind of roar: The case for the 2021 British and Irish Lionesses
As the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour draws to a close, opinion will be divided on whether rugby’s last traditional travelling circus has a future in professional rugby’s congested schedule. The proposed trip to South Africa in 2021 will see the Lions play just eight matches instead of ten. But, as Scotty Stevenson ponders, what if we added another three tests without troubling the blokes at all?
If rugby in the UK continues to grow at its current rates, there could be up to 40,000 registered female players in England alone by the time of the next British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa. In 2016, a year ahead of schedule, the RFU reported it had reached its strategic target of 25,000 female players, up from 15,500 just three years before. England are the reigning world champions, have the benefit of a fully-fledged annual six-nations championship to ensure regular competition, and will this year launch the Super Rugby competition featuring ten professional female club teams.
Ireland, Scotland and Wales have some way to go to catch up the standards set by the England national team, which last month underlined its favouritism for this year’s women’s World Cup with a defeat of the Black Ferns in Rotorua, but all nations could benefit from copying England’s overarching management strategy. And perhaps Lions tours of the future could benefit from having the ladies involved, too.
With that, let’s discuss the 2021 British and Irish Lionesses.
I’ll let those of a certain traditional bent pick up the ice cubes they’ve just spat out before explaining that this isn’t my idea (I know a ‘Lionesses tour’ has been mooted before, but credit for this column goes to my mate Dan Tate who, apropos of absolutely nothing at all, sent me a message asking why there was not such a thing). I wish this was my idea. I love good ideas.
How good would it be to see the best female players from the home nations on a three-test tour that dovetails with the men’s? I’m talking about double-headers here, two test matches on the same day at the same ground. Suddenly you’re eight-game tour is an 11-game tour! Voila!
Imagine what that dangling carrot could do to further fast-track the growth of the women’s game in the home unions! Imagine what it could do for women’s rugby in South Africa! The appeal of the Olympic Games breathed life into the New Zealand Women’s sevens programme. An historical Lionesses series could do the same for women’s rugby in the Republic.
I realise that women’s rugby has a long way to go before it can claim to match the appeal of the men’s game (the fact that the sports media, which I am aware I am a part of, is to all intents and purposes a giant sausage sizzle does not aid in this) but where is the harm in creating something special to reflect the giant strides the women’s game has made both in both participation numbers and skill?
Some would counter that there are not sufficient revenue opportunities to launch a concurrent female touring party. I would say that if there are sufficient revenues to ship seven and half tonnes of gear, including bottled water and specialty coffee, and 800 playing jerseys, not to mention the estimated (and this may or may not be accurate) 4,327 support and management staff, all of whom seem to be filming something on a phone or walking about hurriedly in a stadium jacket looking for a purpose, then you can find the cash to fund a ground-breaking team.
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There must be sponsors out there who would jump at a chance like this. Surely they’d be queueing up like Lions fans at the beer tent to be the naming rights partners of the Lionesses. After all, in the UK, just as it is in New Zealand and in the USA, female participation in rugby is growing at a far faster rate than male participation. Rugby’s uniqueness as a game for all types of body shapes and sizes make it perfectly suited to those searching for a sport that does not lower the boom on participants purely because of physiology. That’s a powerful message to attach one’s brand to.
The power of the women in our game to be genuine change agents should not be ignored. The RFU estimates that 100,000 women are involved in some capacity with rugby in the UK. Would it not be a symbol of the sport’s appreciation and recognition of them to take steps toward a tour such as this?
I for one would be there watching if I could. And I would not be alone. Recently World Rugby announced that all three match days at Dublin’s UCD Bowl during next month’s women’s World Cup have sold out. That is tangible, calculable, evidence of the growing interest in the game.
That is the early rumbling of a new kind of roar.
Comments on RugbyPass
Seeing pictures of Jacques high-fiving it with Irish players breaks my heart. Too soon. I need more time.
1 Go to commentsquins is all over the place. The minute they get the ball they panic. Quins can still win tho just need to win all rucks otherwise just don't bother.
3 Go to commentsGreat win for the male & female kiwi sides. Ireland not far away..
1 Go to commentsWhy is this dude getting so much coverage? Usually knobs like this get cancelled.
2 Go to commentsWow. What was that? A 3 million word meandering article about what exactly?
1 Go to commentsNice piece of writing. And yes the Sharks pulled a rabbit from the hat and were a little lucky with that penalty try that wasn’t given… however the Sharks (with their resources) should be way more consistent and should be putting teams like Claremont away for breakfast. I expect more from them and hope they kick on now.
8 Go to commentsJust what the Sharks needed to get things going in the right direction Defence on the outside really creates havoc for the whole team and needs to be addressed.
8 Go to commentsWell done guys both teams will be ready to play knockout rugby.
1 Go to commentsSurprised that Ramos isn't starting at 15. But what a squad of galacticos!
2 Go to commentsWhy is it a snub? What journalistic garbage is that? Sure the guy is a great player, but there are plenty of loose forwards and not all of them can be Springboks. Also, I know of no-one who doubts Rassie’s judgment. South Africa has a conveyor belt of loose forwards that just keeps producing, so the competition is intense. I certainly wish him well, but there is no entitlement and there is no snub.
17 Go to commentsSkelton may be brought back for the Wallabies so that would be the only reason that may hinder Wilson. Easily the form, most skilful and game IQ of any Oz 8. Valentini’s best and favourite position is 6, but lineouts may be an issue with Skelton, Valentini and Wilson. Will be interesting what Schmidt goes for but for me Wilson should be picked on form. Schmidt rewards work rate, skill and consistency. All that glitters every so often won’t be in contention. Greely is one of those players that has a knack of making the right decision. A coach is going to love him because he knows week in week out he’s going to get the job done. The second try Greely wasn’t the guy who made the initial break it was Flook, Greely was at the bottom of the ruck when Flook was off along the sideline. Greely got up and made the effort to catch up with play but also read the play nicely and hit the pass from Campbell at pace and then held the pass beautifully to Ryan.
6 Go to commentsSpot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
6 Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
8 Go to commentsGood riddance
1 Go to commentswel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
6 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
6 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
6 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
8 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
8 Go to comments