Since the Lionesses - the England women's football team - won the UEFA European Women's Championship for the first time back in July this year, it's safe to say that there has been an influx of interest in women in sport in general. Next Wednesday, September 14, Bristol's very own Ashton Gate will host its first ever international women's rugby match, when England's Red Roses take on Wales Women's Rugby - a match that will act as part of the crucial preparation for the team's Rugby World Cup campaign.
But is there really more of an interest in women's rugby and, if so, will it last? And what was behind the decision to finally bring international women's matches to the city of Bristol, a place that has already cemented itself as having some of the most passionate fans of the sport around?
Bristol Live spoke with Emily Liles, Communications Manager for the RFU (Rugby Football Union) to find out just what the future holds for women in the sporting world, not just as players but in other roles in the industry too.
Read more: Bristol Bears becomes first rugby club in the world to partner with the #HerGameToo campaign
Speaking with Emily on the day after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, sports matches - particularly rugby matches - across the weekend and even the next 10 days have been facing postponement and, at time of writing, Wednesday's match at Ashton Gate has not been confirmed to have been postponed. Five players from Bristol's women's team are set to play in the match against Wales, including Sarah Bern, Lark Davies, Abbie Ward, Amber Reed and Leanne Infante, according to the current squad announcement.
Speaking about the inspirational work of the late Queen Elizabeth II, especially when it came to women not just in the country but around the world, Emily said: "I think you only have to look at when she first took on that role and what she did for the country and she was running it at a very very young age. I think that longevity and the fact she's always been in the public eye, as well as the fact she's certainly held her own, always looked immaculate and conducted herself in the right way, (which is hard when you've been doing it for that long and probably don't always feel 100% at your best) are just some of the reasons why she's been a huge inspiration for women. It's a huge loss, it really is."
Emily believes that the push from the Lionesses' history-making win definitely impacted the world of women's sport here in the UK, but added that the movement had been 'building traction' even before then. She said: "It's gained some momentum really quickly from the Lionesses, but I think you could see before that the interest in women in sport was building. I know you only have to look at some of the media outlets now that focus so heavily and highly on women's sport which is absolutely fantastic.
"And I think in terms of rugby and any sport in general - you'd probably put cricket in there as well - it's a hugely hugely exciting time to be involved with the women's game and that's the incentive really, to try and continue to grow."
The RFU even has its own action plan, titled the 'Every Rose 2021-2027 Action Plan', which aims to build on the successful growth of women's rugby and to increase opportunities for women and girls to play in the sport, a key objective in England Rugby's strategic plan and something more than simply recruiting players. The plan defines itself as being about ensuring the sport has 'the right infrastructure and support in place, from grassroots to performance, to accelerate growth and create long-term value' and the strategy aims to make women's and girls' rugby 'accessible, successful, visible and commercially viable'.
According to official statistics from the RFU, there has been a 25% increase in the number of women (age 18+) registered to play rugby union since the return to rugby following the Covid-19 pandemic and there are now more women playing rugby union than ever before (some 19,000). The number of girls' teams at clubs has increased in all age categories in the past two years - U18s were up 111% to 360, U15s up 77% to 421 and U13s up 10% to 385.
And, in fact, thanks to the growth in popularity, there are now enough girls playing rugby in England to be able to introduce the additional age band at Under 12 and to reduce the U18 triple age band to a dual band.
Emily certainly has some words of wisdom for anyone thinking about getting into the sport, or even working within the sporting world in general, too. She said: "I think it's just 'give it a go' really because I think for the first time and probably over the last five or six years, girls can see that it can be a career now which, perhaps 20 years ago - certainly not in rugby, or even football - it wouldn't have been a realistic career choice for someone, for a young girl, I guess.
"Whereas now, if you enjoy something and find that you're quite talented and good at it, you now know it could be something you do as a job as opposed to a hobby or something you do purely on a part-time basis or additional to your own career, which I think is brilliant. And that obviously extends to other things as well, it's not just the playing it's also roles working with teams - whether it's medically or in the media, team management and all sorts of roles that both girls and boys could look to do that's working in that team environment and I think, as women's sport grows, those opportunities only increase.
"Perhaps some of those would have only been full-time jobs at men's teams or in men's sports before, whereas now they're both."
Emily herself knew that she wanted to work in the world of sport, having had a love of football from a young age - and she has gone on to work for a number of big names in the industry. She told Bristol Live: "I always wanted to do some kind of sports journalism originally and it just corresponded with the fact that I knew someone who had done a course in it.
"He explained to me how he'd got into that and so I did a course and was really fortunate that when I finished, an opportunity came up to work for Aston Villa on their media content team. I had the opportunity to work with all the teams there, including the women, which was great.
"I then went to the FA and worked there for a few years and I actually started off working more on the men's side and then ended up working with the Lionesses, so women's sport has always been quite a big part of what I've done and then, since July 2019 I've been here at the RFU as communications manager."
The women's and girls' game has enjoyed an average year-on-year increase of 12% over the past 10 years and more than 25,000 women have attended Allianz Inner Warrior Camps at community rugby clubs since January 2017, with many going on to join women's touch or contact rugby teams.
Allianz Inner Warrior is England Rugby's primary campaign to encourage more women and girls to play rugby and camps are designed as an introduction to the sport for those who have never played, or those who want to get back into it. Some 4,000 women and girls engaged with rugby through these camps between May and September 2021, with a record 162 camps running in May and 116 over August and September last year.
On seeing more women and young girls get into rugby and more people going to watch women's matches, Emily said: "It probably has a bit of a way to go but I know, for example, in terms of participation levels, they're much higher, as is general interest so I would certainly echo that for sure. And I know it's definitely a sort of massive, massive growth area in the game and I think you only have to look at the demographic of people that go to the England games and see that yes, you do have your traditional male following but you do have a number of children - boys and young girls there - which I think is equally as important.
"Because yes, the girls element is vital but actually you want young boys to want to join as well don't you?"
Before Covid-19, there were 40,000 female players registered in clubs of all ages and the RFU are forecasting a year-on-year increase of circa 17%. The aim is to reach 100,000 registered players by 2027 (hence the Every Rose Action Plan) as a result of Rugby World Cup Legacy when England host the women's Rugby World Cup in 2025, which would be an increase of 60,000 players.
And, what's more, in addition to the current 40,000 club players, there is a growing pipeline of 80,000 girls playing in schools, colleges and universities. But what challenges face women and girls in the world of rugby right now?
Emily said: "I think with a lot of people it's probably, like anything, quite a time commitment for people, but I think there are ways the game is trying to help that - certainly on the men's side, you've seen that with fewer fixtures, people are still able to play but not having to fill as many fixtures and stuff like that. But I think it's certainly a lot more accessible than it used to be for sure."
As for pay, Emily described a range of different situations female players find themselves in, in this modern day and age, saying: "If you take the Premier-15s , the vast majority of players are semi-professional or I guess there's a broad kind of remuneration across the board really. So you've got the 30 contracted England players, a number of the Welsh players are contracted, but then you've also got players that are playing in the same league in the same teams that are essentially getting expenses, or a sort of match fee if you like.
"So I'd imagine pay is a concern for some but I guess those individuals who are on the other side of it often have other careers or are students or are at a different stage in their life really."
"It just wouldn't have been the conversation we would have had as kids"
But when it comes to the attitudes of supporters, Emily recalled moments she spent watching the women's football team surrounded by men who treated the players just as they would those of a men's team, criticising them only for their skills on the pitch. She said: "I was really really lucky to go to the Lionesses final and it was something so incredible and it was interesting because when I grew up I was always into men's football because that was what was at the forefront really.
"And I still absolutely love men's football and I know it's not for everyone, but you grow up with the chants and rivalry and there was almost a little bit of that, in terms of a lot of people around us who were just groups of men that were going to watch the game together and it didn't matter that it was 22 women on the pitch, they were there to watch football.
"And they weren't abusive or anything like that - and you never want to see or hear that - but the way they were talking about the tactics and the players being in the right position or the wrong position, it was just refreshing because they weren't seeing it as different. They're just talking about a female right-back as they would a male right-back."
She went on to say: "One of the big things I know we are quite conscious and mindful of generally - and obviously inspiring little girls is really important and if everything goes as planned everyone will see that on Wednesday at Ashton Gate, the amount of time players spend with the fans afterwards - but a lot of those are little boys as well as little girls which is equally as important. And I think we're hearing a lot of people now asking 'oh are you talking about the England women's rugby team or the England men's rugby team'?
"And that, to be honest, wouldn't have been the thoughts of people when I was growing up as you would have just assumed that someone was referring to the men's team. I've noticed it in football with the little boys of the family who will ask if we're talking about striker Ellen White, or striker Harry Kane and things like that, which is remarkable because, again, it just wouldn't have been the conversation that we would have had as kids."
"Ashton Gate is a fantastic facility"
Last month, Bristol Bears became the first rugby club in the world to partner with the #HerGameToo campaign, which aims to raise awareness of sexist abuse within the sport. The voluntary fan-led organisation, which focuses on ensuring women and girls are welcomed and respected equally within sport, was first launched in May 2021.
It has already partnered with Bristol City, another of the clubs under the Bristol Sport umbrella, as well as a number of other professional football clubs. Bristol Bears said: "We're committed to increasing female participation in the game, ensuring an enjoyable environment for our whole community."
So it's no wonder that Ashton Gate will play host to its first international women's rugby match next week and Emily told us how the Red Roses are feeling ahead of the game. She said: "So actually everyone meets up again in Bristol today (September 9).
"So everyone went home last Sunday from Exeter after the game at Sandy Park and will train later today and then over the weekend. And then we'll go into a team run at Ashton Gate on Tuesday and then obviously play on Wednesday night.
"Everyone's excited about it and in terms of Ashton Gate as a venue, I think it's one of those where it obviously is a fantastic facility, it's got everything the team need. A lot of work goes into the areas of rugby and where we know there's interest and in terms of data capture and that side of things.
"So I guess a lot of venues are selected for these reasons. Bristol is a big rugby region and yet is close to the border with Wales too, so I think this was certainly a factor in the decision - trying to ensure that there's good support for both teams."
Whether or not the Red Roses win the match on Wednesday is a different battle in itself but, when it comes to women in the sport - and other sports in general - there are predictions that things are about to get much bigger and far more exciting, something that Emily believes can inspire the younger generation, help those currently looking to turn professional and can be helped by the media. She said: "I think it's really really exciting, it'll only get bigger and that's kind of across the board really in women's sport. You only have to look at what the plans are for the Premier 15's side of things in terms of professionalising the league in 10 years' time which I think is a big aim but is also quite realistic.
"It's not trying to run before you can walk. It's quite important to remember that yes, women's sport is growing, but from a commercial point of view it's still got a way to go to generate the revenue that nations and clubs need. But yes, I think it's extremely exciting and the increased coverage will only help that."
Red Roses take on Wales Women's Rugby on Wednesday, September 14 at Ashton Gate. Kick off is at 7:30pm and you can find out more, here.
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