The women’s rugby side Gloucester-Hartpury have had a pretty good season. On March 16 they won their third Premiership Women’s Rugby Championship in a row, beating Saracens 31-19 in the final.
But the sport as a whole is enjoying an impressive run too. Fellow Premiership side Harlequins broke the world attendance record for a women’s rugby club game at the Allianz Stadium (Twickenham) in December 2024, with a crowd of 18,055. And ticket sales for the Women’s Rugby World Cup in August (hosted by England) have already broken records.
There has also been a surge in commercial interest. Research I was involved in suggests that rugby is following a trend seen in other women’s sports, including football and basketball, where brands previously not associated with sport are finally joining the party. The skincare brand Clinique is now a key sponsor of Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR), for example.
