Rugby Football Union Reveals Ambitious Strategy to Boost Female Rugby and Build on the Red Roses' Global Championship Victory

The RFU has vowed to keeping up forward drive by launching a long-term blueprint designed to build on the success of the Red Roses' Women’s Rugby World Cup win.

Key Goals of the Strategy

Titled Our Time: Every Rose, the plan sets out several ambitious objectives, among them becoming the first England side to achieve back-to-back World Cup titles.

Another major aim is to increase participation to 100,000 female players taking part in rugby across the UK by 2030, rising from the present number of sixty thousand.

Economic and Support Goals

English rugby’s governing body is also working to increase twofold its income from the women's sport to £60 million, enabling greater funding in grassroots rugby.

Moreover, the strategy sets out a goal of attracting 3m passionate Red Roses fans.

“The stakes have never been higher,” commented the executive director, responsible for women's rugby. “The chance has never been bigger, but sitting still is not an option because the movement are now underway.”

Fostering a Future for Women’s Rugby

Teasdale emphasized that female rugby has progressed significantly since joining at the governing body in over a decade ago, when there were just 12,500 members.

She recalled that in some clubs, although women could technically play, they certainly weren’t welcomed too.

Despite the advancements made, she maintained that additional work is required to strengthen the game, despite a financial pressures.

Record-breaking Milestone and Forward-looking Vision

“Recently, we saw an extraordinary milestone as 82,000 fans came into the stadium at Allianz Stadium to see our England women win the global championship,” she remarked.

“Planning for the future to 2030, we aim to keep this momentum going.”

Obstacles and Opportunities

The director explained that the body works in an environment where funds are limited, which can result in difficult discussions.

“Bold initiatives, notably for the women's sport, naturally question the current situation,” she noted. “But the fact is obvious: the future of the sport depends on the female rugby.”

Support Base and Future Dedication

At the same time, the RFU chief executive, Bill Sweeney, highlighted that of the 400,000 attendees who were present at the Women’s Rugby World Cup, thirty percent had not previously watched a fixture before.

“Maybe the figure that truly enthuses us is that the vast majority said they wish to return and do it all over again,” he remarked. “But we can’t be satisfied. We need to maintain momentum.”

Tracey Nichols
Tracey Nichols

A software engineer passionate about open-source ecosystems, with over a decade of experience in Linux administration and Python development.