“Rugby isn’t just about rugby,” says Shira Kilgallon, executive producer at the women’s rugby podcast The Good, The Scaz and The Rugby (GSR) – where discussions range from body image and confidence to self-belief and the sport itself. Having picked up the ball aged 12, she recalls the sense of belonging she felt as a girl among teammates who also prized being “strong” rather than “small”. “I discovered rugby was as much about what I took off the field, as what I did on it,” she says, of how the sport can help forge identity and friendship, as well as a powerful body.
It is the far-reaching impact of rugby that sits at the core of Vodafone’s EmpowHER programme – a team effort by Vodafone and GSR that gives young female players at university the tools to thrive in an elite arena. The partnership kicked off at Durham University, Cardiff University and the University of Edinburgh in the 2023-24 season, and has expanded to Cardiff Metropolitan University, Loughborough University, Hartpury University and the University of Exeter. This means that all seven teams playing in the top league of university rugby – BUCS Super Rugby – are now benefiting from targeted mentoring, tech-based insight and mental health support designed to raise their game.
