Addendum

Girls in rugby

Just before the publication of this book, we received the findings from a study, on female rugby players in New Zealand.

The research provided insights into why girls choose to play rugby and what puts them off it. It was interesting to hear many of their concerns and positive statements were similar to the boys’ views, which reiterated the need to make some changes, but also reminded us what they love about the sport.

Currently there are about 22,000 female players in New Zealand; a whopping 15,000 are Small Blacks; 5,100 teenagers; and 1,500 are aged 20 and older.

The research showed us that 54% of teenage girls are interested in rugby and 16% LOVE rugby, indicating that interest is high with huge potential to grow.

So where does that potential lie? Well, 23% of females surveyed had never played rugby before, and the 19% who have played before but were not currently playing, indicated they were keen to play again - be it Rippa Rugby, Touch Rugby, Sevens or Fifteens.

Only 4% of all girls are committed rugby players and 1% of all girls who play rugby are at risk of giving up.

The key for us is making rugby more accessible. Funnily enough, respondents gave us a pretty good indication of how we could make that happen. So let’s focus a little more on the different groups and what they told us.

1. Committed Players

Research showed girls that identified themselves as being committed players are more likely to be Māori and Pacific Islanders and have played more than one type of rugby competitively. They have also played rugby longer than girls in other groups and the key drivers for them to play are the social, fitness and competitive elements of the game.

We need to focus on these girls in order to reinforce their love of and commitment to rugby to ensure they continue to play. Similar to their committed male counterparts, not much needs to change to retain their passion and interest. However, they did indicate they would like more contact with elite players, more opportunities to play tournaments, better resources, better referees and better tools to manage the risk of injury.

“The opportunities that I have got through rugby are incredible. I absolutely love the sport! This is my third year at the [Top 4] tournament and it is what I look forward to all year!”

“I love playing rugby, I am very passionate about it. For someone of my culture [Samoan] I like the social concept of meeting new people and making good friendships with team members but also coaches and helpers/supporters.”

2. At Risk Current Players

Girls at risk of dropping out of the sport were more likely to be Year 13 students who hadn’t played as many types of competitive rugby as the committed players. They tend to not have played rugby for very long and the key barriers for staying in the game include the belief that there are too few opportunities to play after they leave school and that rugby takes up too much time.

We need to encourage these girls to stay in the game and show them rugby can be just as enjoyable and rewarding after they leave school. In particular, we should address their concerns

around time commitment and provide a better structure for coaching and practices. Their concerns about injury are totally valid and something that needs to be addressed, as well as looking at providing them with more playing opportunities.

“Having the Top 4 tournament has given me motivation to keep playing and I have learned so much playing good teams at Top 4. I wish I had the opportunity to keep playing, but I don’t … there are no teams [for me to play in next year] in [Town/City]”. [Year 13 student]

“[I won’t continue to play next year] because I would be finished at school and [I’m] too old for the current club team I’m in.”

3. Interested Past Players

Interested past players are the sports-oriented girls who probably stopped playing rugby in primary school after playing for about two years. Many have dabbled in other sport such as football or hockey for school and club and many have played less organised forms of rugby, such as social tournaments.

Girls in this group have indicated they would be very likely to get back into rugby if the opportunity arose - our job is to provide a clear framework for them to do so.

One option for enticing these interested past players back into the sport could be establishing a social league, as well as retaining the competitive league. Benefits of a new social league would include better balance in terms of player ability, more weight grade options and more opportunities to play.

“When I came to High School, there weren’t any touch rugby teams.”

“The girls were no longer able to play with the boys and there was no female team for me to play for.”

“When I changed schools I didn’t really fit in with the others because they all already knew each other.”

Where to from here?

Practically speaking, we need to position rugby as “a game girls can play as well as boys”. We also need to reinforce the existing beliefs and positive perceptions about rugby because 83% of the girls we surveyed believe ‘girls should have the same opportunity to play rugby as boys’ and 72% believe ‘rugby is a great social sport for making friends’.

“Make it more available to girls, and let us have the same opportunities as boys do. We’re not delicate.”

“Rugby is not just a sport for boys, it’s for girls too, and also it will be good for them to gain more confidence in playing a sport that a girl would never play”.

“I think that girls should get more opportunities to play rugby. I think all girls should have a go and get the same resources as the boys because we are just as talented as them”.

We need to increase the visibility of girls’ and women’s rugby in schools, communities and the media. Our study showed 50% of girls think the achievements of female rugby teams and players should be promoted and celebrated and 44% want more opportunities to watch New Zealand women’s rugby teams play.

“We as a community should definitely go into more detail about New Zealand female rugby players, and why people should play. Rugby is a really fun sport to play and a great experience to meet new people and have fun with your friends. At the moment I feel like our schools don’t really tell us this.”

“Publicise - Black Ferns need to be shown on the news. The All Blacks get a 10-minute section on being at a kindergarten, and the Black Ferns only get a 30 second mention of winning a World Cup.”

It’s clear we need to address the negative perceptions among girls, parents and schools about the risk of injury, as 73% of secondary school girls believe they can easily get injured playing rugby.

“Rugby is a good sport to play but you can get hurt really easy.”

“Girls’ rugby should be promoted and not be the sport where people say, oh you’re a girl, you can’t play because you will get hurt”.

Judging by the results of our survey, some practical changes and additions to the game are necessary for secondary school girls’ rugby.

Feedback showed us we need to make changes to the way the playing season is organised and add extra weight grades to make the sport more attractive to females. Similar to feedback from the teen boys, the girls told us they want to be better resourced with better coaches and referees.

“[We have] biased referees.”

“Poor management of the school team.”

We need to ensure there is better coordination between secondary school girls’ rugby and club rugby, given the attrition occurring at Year 13, and it’s our responsibility to make these girls aware of their options to play rugby after they have left school.

“[I will be] busy at university. The environment won’t be the same.”

“Because I would be finished at school and [I’m] too old for the current club team I’m in.”

CONCLUSION

There is significant potential to grow female participation in New Zealand rugby, as interest is high and there is a strong expectation that girls should have the same opportunities as boys.

Realising this potential will require New Zealand Rugby to make a major investment in girls’ and women’s rugby, including investment in a high-level strategy that positions the female game for players, parents, schools and the wider community.

We must provide more opportunities to play, address the risk of injury (by introducing more weight and ability grades), provide better resources, introduce a social league and develop the current competitive game.

The establishment of a Women’s Rugby Development Team at NZ Rugby has already shown positive results and long may in continue.