A quarter-of-a-century on from men's rugby turning professional, and the women's sport is showing encouraging signs of closing the gap.
That side of the game has long been viewed as something of an after-thought, however, with numerous Premiership clubs still without a women's team. Even those who do make it to the top of their field must still maintain another job to make ends meet, which inevitably impacts their ability to train and recover properly.
It's a system set up to limit the development of women's players, or at least slow their progress in its current state. The cycle is showing signs of breaking, however, with the Women's Six Nations securing its first title sponsor in TikTok, while the sport in general is covered more expansively than ever before.
