IRFU must listen, learn, and then act to save women's rugby

Although what the players are ultimately asking for is no quick fix, there are many areas that can be improved speedily and without massive wads of cash

A sport that receives state funding must reflect the country around it and it will never do that if those tasked with making all its decisions are from one demographic. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

When the history of Irish women’s rugby is written, the events of the past 10 days will likely loom large as a pivotal moment in the sport.

Although nothing has changed yet, the combination of a unified approach from the players — which included a meeting with ministers on Tuesday — their consistent message that women are being let down by the IRFU, and the noises from politicians that funding should be withheld till this mess is sorted out, puts the IRFU in a difficult position.

The disastrous initial response might well be the real IRFU, reflecting perfectly how difficult the players have found it to change from within, but whoever replaces Philip Browne as CEO next year would be well advised to make this a top priority.

Although what the players are ultimately asking for is no quick fix — genuine organisational cultural change never is — there are many areas that can be improved speedily and without massive wads of cash.

Regardless of how uncomfortable the publication of reviews next year may be for all involved — players included — they must be the clean slate from which change will come and from which solutions are agreed.

And then the IRFU must open its ears, not just to its elite players, but to the game from grassroots and up and introduce genuine lines of communication so that women and girls will never be able to say they feel voiceless within the sport again.

To take one example of how poor communication has been — last year all of the clubs from the top division in the All-Ireland League sent a detailed and extremely well thought out plan to the IRFU committee making a wide number of restructuring suggestions.

They didn’t even get a reply.

It would be worth it for the IRFU top brass to reach into their email archives to dig it out now, because changes to the women’s league are well overdue, especially when you glance across to England and France, whose leagues are accelerating at a furious pace.

Structural changes should be addressed quickly too including aligning the calendar so that we don’t face the ludicrous situation like earlier this year when the women’s interprovincial competition, some of it live on television, took place with all the Ireland players missing.

Running top domestic competitions with purpose and focus which seek to drive standards and showcase the game in the best possible light should be a given from a national governing body.

Improved communication, addressing the negative environment around the national programme, ending the situation where those running the women’s game have multiple other jobs at the same time — these too are all challenges that with will and commitment can be resolved sooner rather than later.

A deeper challenge raised repeatedly by the players in recent weeks has been around the governance of the game and the dearth of women across almost all of the places where decisions are made.

Governance is not a sexy topic in sport, but when it comes to gender equality and ensuring that insight from women is an integral part of decision making, it is vital.

Just 13% of the IRFU’s top committee are women, while the union’s executive team and remaining committees are heavily male dominated. The women’s All-Ireland League has no representation on any committee in the IRFU, which is remarkable.

And this really matters.

A sport that receives state funding must reflect the country around it and it will never do that if those tasked with making all its decisions are from one demographic.

The inclusion of women on decision-making groups isn’t just important for women’s rugby either — there is a plethora of evidence that more diverse boards, who have a variety of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences help you make better and more profitable decisions for your whole organisation.

I imagine there are many with a passing interest in women’s rugby who have been baffled by this controversy, wondering why exactly the players are so upset.

To this, I would say that people should imagine what it’s like when you can see problems for years and you have thoughts and ideas around how to fix those problems but actually you spend most of your time trying to prove to the people who have the power to do that, that there is a problem in the first place.

It’s exhausting and frustrating and the players had clearly reached the end of the road in trying to open the eyes of the IRFU. And thank goodness they did. With their brave move, these 62 players may well just change the women’s game in Ireland forever.

- Ali Donnelly is the founder of award-winning women’s rugby website scrumqueens.com