The value of International Women’s Day in a rugby sense is to realise that the Queensland Reds and the code in general is far more than 15 blokes running around with a footy.
Rugby would struggle to exist without the workforce and energy of women in key roles.
We’re not talking about the 1970s when the Queensland Rugby Union ran an annual “Miss Rugby” competition although it invariably recognised someone devoted to the game.
We’re talking about the women of rugby in roles across the game. We’re talking about the women working as dieticians and medicos. There’s Hayley Cronin working as Reds Player Development Manager. Catherine Clark sits on the QRU board.
QRU Vice-President Libby Nankivell is a constant advocate of women’s rugby.
Jane Ballantyne has come in as the Reds Chief Operating Officer from her background in sports marketing, commercial and consumer brand management across sports as varied as AFL, football, horseracing and motor racing.
There are women in top roles at clubs like Wests Bulldogs General Manager Felicity Bennetts or Everton Park Junior Rugby Club President Julia Thurgood.
That’s not even getting to the referees, volunteers, coaches, team managers, wives, mums of juniors and sisters who contribute every week of a long season. And grandmothers. Reds prop Zane Nonggorr tells the story of first coming to Queensland from his highlands home in Papua New Guinea.
It was his grandmother Beryl who took care of him while his parents travelled up and back from PNG.
“She was the one who drove me to and from my early rugby games as a boy. She loved watching my games on TV,” Nonggorr said.
Sadly, she passed away last year before his Test debut but she was alive to feel the pride of hearing he had made his first Wallabies squad.
Don’t be the type who flippantly dismisses women in rugby as some woke development of the past decade. You’re a dinosaur if you do.
Someone like Bennetts has literally lived rugby from the cradle.
In the early 1980s, mum Linda would settle Felicity and sister Courtney on a sheepskin rug inside a washing basket as toddlers, tuck the DIY “crib” behind a speaker at Wests and dive into a boisterous evening of club life.
Linda was made the first female Life Member of Wests for her devoted care as a physio over decades.
That tale came straight into mind during the Buildcorp Super Rugby Women’s Season Launch in the Murrayfield Room at the BMS National Rugby Training Centre on Wednesday night.
New Reds Super W skipper Cecilia Smith spoke on stage of the honour of being named captain for the season that opens at Ballymore Stadium on Sunday 17 March against Fijian Drua.
“It’s an honour to lead the girls but also to be a role model for my daughter Ruby (8). She said she was proud of me when I told her and gave me a big hug,” Smith said.
Melbourne Rebels captain Melanie Kawa even flew to Brisbane with her baby daughter Nola, a surprise and welcome guest at the launch.
Rugby and its team values are such a magnet within her life she will be playing this season less than nine months after giving birth.
Nankivell actively promotes roles for women in rugby and what the visibility of Super W means for the new generation.
“It is wonderful to see young girls playing sport and pathways for the truly talented players. What excites me the most is the ability for athletes to be in control and be their own promotors across social media, helping themselves and their sport to be seen,” Nankivell said.
“The saying ‘you can't be, if you can't see’ is so very true.
“Creating new economic opportunities for the athletes and their sports, from increased sponsorship deals to higher viewership numbers, is part of the next stage.”
The TV exposure for the Wallaroos, Super W and the champion Australian women’s sevens team is a game-changer. It is when you think sevens star Charlotte Caslick couldn’t even play sevens at her high school because they didn’t have a team in 2012.
“The expanded WXV competition and the accessibility of games on Stan Sport and Channel Nine showcases some incredible athletes. It means that young girls can see their role models in action which helps to break down stereotypes and demonstrates that rugby is a sport for everyone.
“On a broader level, it is so important to hear and see strong females advocating for women across sports, including the players, fans, coaches, match officials, board members and all the volunteers.
“Seeing their role models as strong, fierce and athletic teaches girls to believe in themselves and their capabilities, both on and off the field.”
Presenting rugby as a game for men and women is the major reason there is an exciting centre of excellence at Ballymore Stadium for the entire code to benefit from.
The strength and importance of women in rugby is something to celebrate all season long not just on International Women’s Day.
