Why players need help making most of TikTok opportunity
After what seems like forever, the Women’s Six Nations finally has its first partnership; TikTok. It’s a move in my eyes which can only be seen as a smart one, the sheer scale of individuals that can be reached via the platform is huge. We need to be ensuring for the future growth of the sport that we are making rugby as inclusive and diverse as it can be, and that starts by branching out to new audiences.
We finally have a commercial partner that has committed to the women’s game, TikTok have come in and said ‘yes, we are going to run with it’. We have never had a tournament partnership before across anything internationally, some might say it’s a high risk, but it’s also got huge possible rewards associated with it too.
Added to this, comes a new wave of credibility that has now been attached to the women’s game. A platform as big as TikTok wouldn’t have taken this decision to invest lightly, there was likely months of negotiations going on behind the scenes. For all those who once looked to the sport and didn’t see its potential, people will now be looking to women’s rugby with higher levels of credibility, now that TikTok has attached its brand to the game.
“The significance of our partnership with @TikTokSports cannot be understated. The very first Title Partner in the history of the Women’s Six Nations Championship is something to be incredibly excited about."#TikTokWomensSixNations #WhereAllFansPlayhttps://t.co/EQCYX7F0vA
— Guinness Women's Six Nations (@Womens6Nations) January 27, 2022
So often, women’s rugby is looking to other sports thinking ‘we could have done that’, and for once, we aren’t behind, we are at the forefront leading the way into creative and innovative growth, which speaks volumes to the potential of this sport.
Although we don’t know the finer details of the deal, and what it is going to look like in reality, what this means for the future of the sport is huge.
Looking to what we have seen so far, there is a hungry rugby focused crowd on TikTok. Joe Marler and Maro Itoje nearly broke the internet with both of their entrances onto the app, which is good for the men’s game, and I only hope similar focus is applied to world class women’s players when they take the plunge and download the app.
However, I would be interested to understand exactly what support is being given to players around this app. Of course, each club is different, but I would like to think with the news of this partnership that Premier 15’s clubs are ensuring they secure proper training for players on how to best use the platform, and social media in general.
There is always some form of do’s and don’ts of social media, which are obvious, however to my knowledge there hasn’t been any real direct social media training on TikTok, which makes it difficult for players to know what they can and can’t post and to understand how they can maximise the platform. In such an instrumental time for women’s rugby, players need to recognise and understand the power that social media platforms like TikTok hold, and that will only come about with specific guidance on the app.
Players need support and education on the platform, because they could end up doing something that hurts them in the long run. For example, you can talk about things you aren’t happy with, but as a player you have to remember you can’t go too far as there could be ramifications on that.
There is a fine balance to social media, it’s like an artform.
For example, at Quins we are already having conversations internally on how we can as individuals and a team use it as a platform to grow with the audience we want to target.
Epic news for our game! @Womens6Nations @tiktok_uk https://t.co/iZltbej4Aj
— Rachael Burford (@RachaelBurf12) January 28, 2022
You also have to remember that the Six Nations won’t want TikTok to be a five-week event, they will hopefully want to ensure that the four-year partnership stems into every level of women’s rugby to ensure the game is growing in a positive direction.
This starts front and centre with getting the players on board. The app currently has a vast range of rugby focused content creators, and it will be interesting to see which players really embrace it and which players steer clear!
In my opinion, the RFU and Premier 15’s clubs should be working together proactively to encourage this, ultimately it’s the RFU’s league and they will only want it to grow so surely by collaborating with TikTok this will only seek to serve the best interests of the sport?
Making content on TikTok is not easy, it takes time. Don’t get me wrong, I know some content takes two minutes to do but other more polished videos do take a fair amount of time to get right. The audience on the app is certainly there for the taking, and clubs should be switched on to this. As the women’s game and the fan base grows, we will see more and more rugby fans, which will be ripe for the clubs to pick from and encourage them to align and become fans of what they are doing.
Ultimately, this new partnership presents a massive opportunity in the sport, and with a monumental year ahead it gives us an opportunity to get women’s rugby out to some fresh eyes. However, the way this growth will be navigated will be key to ensuring the long-term success of the sport. Players will need support and guidance throughout this time, and shouldn’t be left to find their own way through.
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments