The Black Ferns celebrate with the trophy after winning the Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park in 2022. Photo / Photosport
The Black Ferns celebrate with the trophy after winning the Rugby World Cup final at Eden Park in 2022. Photo / Photosport
Opinion by Alice Soper
Alice Soper is a sports columnist for the Herald on Sunday. A former provincial rugby player and current club coach, she has a particular interest in telling stories of the emerging world of women's sports.
World Rugby confirmed the Women’s Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham is a sellout.
Ticket sales reached 375,000, marking an 80% sell-through and a 150% increase from the last tournament.
Rugby must embrace women’s growth, with World Rugby’s report highlighting opportunities to expand the fanbase.
I am writing this on the day I fly out to the Women’s Rugby World Cup. The day that World Rugby confirmed the Twickenham final is officially a sellout. That the total ticket sales have now climbed to 375,000, meaning 80% of the total tickets available have sold.
This marks a 150% increase in attendance from the groundbreaking tournament in Aotearoa just three years ago. As I board my flight to England, I know it is the women’s game that is about to take off.
This tournament is the last moments of the first act for our sport. We have established the character of the big four: England, New Zealand, Canada and France. We have learnt of their back story and experienced their rivalries. We understand more of the world they play in and the way it differs from the men’s game. The kickoff of this tournament is the inciting incident. It is the end of our beginning.
The way we meet this moment will be the rising action. Rugby at large must learn how to truly welcome their women as we enter the second act.
World Rugby knows this and just this week has released a 78-page report they are naming a Blueprint for Growth. The findings are echoes of the five-year plan for growth that was written in the wake of the 1998 World Cup.
The challenges and opportunities hinge on the same reckoning: rugby needs to get serious about the women’s game.
Black Ferns legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe scores against Wales at the last Rugby World Cup. Photo Photosport
The report backs up what we have long known as women’s rugby fans. That we are a unique demographic which is currently underserved within the wider rugby audience. About half of us may have come over from the men’s game but we do not carry with us the same type of tribal allegiances.
This report has found that 41% of women’s rugby fans are club-agnostic. They support the game, not teams, and those that do are likely to support more than one.
This is not a weakness, rather an opportunity for rugby teams to grow their fanbase beyond geographic ties. I am one data point but I am living proof of this research.
On the opening weekend, I’m travelling to Sunderland, Manchester and York. To witness the spectacle of the opening match between England and the USA, and the rivalry of Wales and Scotland; to cheer on not just our Black Ferns but also our neighbours, Australia and Samoa. Like the 47% of respondents in the World Rugby research, that’s because my reason for attending is tied to showing support of not just women’s rugby but women’s sport as a whole.
As the women’s game enters its second act, this is what rugby must reckon with. This tournament will be the catalyst for many fans to join. Bridges must be built beyond this moment, to enable these newbies to follow their favourite players back to their domestic competitions.
The women at the centre of the action are doing everything they can. Alongside the physical prep, they are flooding our timelines with behind-the-scenes action to connect in the exact way this report recommends.
It’s rugby administrators who need to step up. The game itself needs to gain a higher sense of who we are and what we are capable of if we are ever to transition to act three. If we are to reach any type of resolution, we need to not be surprised when the upcoming wave hits. The ticket sales alone should be the tsunami warning.
Meanwhile, I will keep my seatbelt fastened, ensure my seat is upright and the tray table is folded away, ready for this reckoning to land.
Alice Soper is a sports columnist for the Herald on Sunday. A former provincial rugby player and current club coach, she has a particular interest in telling stories of the emerging world of women’s sports.
