Media Release: Oceania Rugby dedicates September to: Women in Rugby…Respect!

From next Wednesday 1st September, and throughout the entire month, Oceania Rugby will celebrate the achievements of Women in Rugby to inspire the next generation - both on and off the field - to pick up a Rugby ball and enjoy everything that the game has to offer.

Themed, ‘Women in Rugby…Respect’, the month will showcase, celebrate and acknowledge girls and women across the game, all of whom deserve respect for their courage and contributions as elite rugby players, community participants including young girls, coaches, officials, volunteers, sport administrators and leaders. The very best of Oceania’s women in rugby across the region, will be celebrated.

With a 200% global increase of registered female rugby players over the last six years, the exponential growth of the sport among women and girls is topical. Scintillating and entertaining women’s Rugby Sevens at the recent 2020 Tokyo Olympics with New Zealand and Fiji taking Gold and Bronze medals respectively, has ignited broad-public admiration and interest in Women’s Rugby, which is hoped will inspire a whole new generation to play the game.

Respect for girls and women in all aspects of their sport of choice is vital to increasing engagement and normalising girls and women in rugby. So, the September campaign will focus on heightening respect and engaging new audiences.

Oceania Rugby General Manager, Bruce Cook said that there is a lot of excitement around the launch of Women in Rugby…Respect this September.

“Our Member Unions, partners and a range of programs over the past 4 years, have been dedicated to changing attitudes, making rugby safe and accessible to girls and women, providing a complete competition pathway, balancing boards, accelerating the development of women, and growing female representation in all roles both on and off the field,” Mr. Cook said.

“The initiatives are bearing fruit with unprecedented rates of participation by girls in the grassroots Get into Rugby programme across the region, a growing supporter base and increasing numbers of female Coaches, Match-Officials and Board Members, and flourishing elite level women’s competitions” he added.

“Oceania is spring boarding off wonderful success at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The women’s Rugby Sevens tournament was of outstanding quality, New Zealand Black Ferns won their first ever Olympic Gold medal in Rugby Sevens, and the Fijiana, through winning Bronze, made history with not only their first women’s rugby medal, but Fiji’s first Olympic medal for any women. It is the perfect foundation for what will be a fantastic month of inspiration, discussion, and celebration.

“Oceania Rugby is committed to supporting women involved in rugby by making the collective successes visible, shared learning, inspiring women and men to be unstoppable together, and creating dialogue about girls and women in rugby.

“This month gives us all the opportunity to focus our efforts on these worthy objectives and continue to grow girls and women’s rugby across the amazing region which is Oceania” Cook said.

Throughout September, Oceania Rugby will host four regional webinars that will address different Women in Rugby…Respect themes. Each webinar will feature diverse and impressive women in rugby from countries across the region. The webinars are aimed at showcasing the achievements and talent of women in the game and encouraging more women to be involved in the game in a range of ways.

1. Tuesday 7 September: The Olympic Experience
Featuring Olympic heroes from Australia, Fiji and New Zealand and critical off-field leaders who are pivotal in teams achieving success.
2. Thursday 16 September: Navigating the Coach Pathway
Highlighting coaching pathways through the experience of national and provincial coaches.
3. Thursday 23 September: Women in Rugby Leadership – Success stories to learn from
Hear from those who are involved in rugby governance from a provincial, national and regional perspective.
4. Tuesday 28 September: Women’s Rugby Strength & Conditioning
Gain insight into the Strength & Conditioning coach’s role within a women’s team and what the future of Strength & Conditioning looks like in Women’s Rugby.

National Unions within Oceania are joining the campaign in delivering local girls and women’s focused clinics, festivals, education courses, and sharing stories of their local Women in Rugby champions.

Rugby devotees and those new to the game, are encouraged to take advantage of these and the Oceania Rugby led opportunities.

Details of the September Women in Rugby…Respect month activities will be available on the Oceania Rugby website.

Women in Rugby…Respect month will finish on 30 September, marking 12 months until Rugby World Cup 2021 (playing in 2022) in New Zealand.