The recently concluded Women’s Rugby World Cup in England broke records and set the standard for the sport.
But as the curtain closed on the tournament, the common whispers were “good luck Australia”, and a serious nervousness of “you’ve got a big job to follow” in continuing this massive momentum for women’s rugby.
The rugby landscape is vastly different between Australia and England, and Rugby Australia (RA) and World Rugby face an enormous task building up to the 2029 tournament here, as this cannot be a crescendo or a moment in time for the women’s game, it must be a movement that flows throughout the globe for generations to come.
And as I landed back on Australian soil after the high that I was left feeling from RWC25, it has honestly been a real wake-up call as to how far ahead the northern hemisphere is, firstly in terms of their rugby.
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From a geography point of view, six of the eight of the top ranked teams are located north of the equator and the Australian women, known as the Wallaroos, are ranked seventh, after bowing out in the quarterfinals to eventual silver medallist, Canada.
From a regional playing perspective, the Australian domestic season, the Super Rugby Women’s, has five teams — four based in Australia, and the Fijian Drua, with seven games maximum for a side if it makes the final. The Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) in England has 18 regular season rounds plus finals.
This year saw the Wallaroos play their most Tests in a single year, with seven games played prior to the World Cup and four during the tournament.
As a top-level player if you competed in every game of the domestic season and every international, you were exposed to a total of 16 games — two less than total regular season games available in the English domestic season.
This doesn’t even include their internationals, which features the annual Women’s Six Nations.
The New Zealand domestic league, Super Rugby Aupiki, is in the same boat as Australia with six rounds plus a grand final across four teams, and the first ever cross border final was played earlier this year between the Blues and NSW Waratahs.
In comparison, Rugby Canada does not have a professional domestic league but 11 of the 23 that played in the RWC final have played or are playing in the PWR — the best domestic competition in the world.
A further two play in the French domestic league, and the remaining outside backs regularly feature in the World Rugby Sevens Series.
Sevens synergy
Outside of the number of games, England has also delivered excellence in its women’s program for more than seven years now.
England has long been a dominant force in the women’s fifteen-a-side game. (Getty Images: Mike Hewitt)
The Red Roses have lost one international match in two RWC cycles — the final in 2022.
The Wallaroos have a 43 per cent win rate over the last two years and have been knocked out of the RWC in the quarterfinals the last two cycles.
On the flip side, the Australian women’s rugby sevens team is the most consistent rugby team in Australia, having remained in the top two over the past nine years, winning multiple Sevens Series titles, Commonwealth Games gold and silver, and the sport’s inaugural gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Canada has now won silver at the past two major women’s rugby events (RWC 25 and Paris Olympics 2024) and is a perfect example of the sevens and XV’s blend mixing smoothly together.
Canada proved it is amongst the powerhouses of the sport by making the final. (Getty Images/CameraSport: Bob Bradford)
They have national contracts with players moving across both codes with greater emphasis on pinnacle events each year.
All awards nominees for World Rugby XV’s player of the year have also played on the World Rugby Sevens Series circuit.
Rugby Canada also used crowdfunding to boost the women’s program ahead of the World Cup, raising $1 million to go from a sustainable program that participated, to legitimate title contenders.
Alignment between the sevens and XVs programs in Australia is therefore a critical pillar in this next four-year cycle.
Need to act now
Numbers and stats aside, across the sporting landscape in Australia the Wallaroos are also competing with other major women’s domestic competitions including the NRLW, AFLW, A-League Women and Super Netball for talent.
All those competitions have longer seasons, greater pay, and more visibility on Australian TV/streaming.
While the picture looks challenging, I am a true optimist and the feeling I had watching 81,885 fans pack out Twickenham for the final will motivate and inspire me for years to come, and I want our Wallaroos to have their own similar moment.
The Wallaroos made it to the quarterfinals for the second straight tournament. (AP: PA/Danny Lawson)
But to create generational change and build sustainability before and beyond 2029 we need to be aware of these hurdles and drive creativity in mauling right through them.
It needs a multi-pronged attack that has Australian culture, sporting excellence and enjoyment at the core of it.
There have been so many lessons laid out by Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English governing body, around global collaborations and exposure, including its major sponsor guaranteeing equal investment for the men’s and women’s teams, and a ‘girl power’ themed merchandising partnership with the Spice Girls.
The biggest take out though is how they pushed authenticity and supported players to unapologetically be themselves.
Fans filled Twickenham in London for the final. (Getty Images: World Rugby/Morgan Harlow )
There is a four-year runway to build hype, build international Test exposure against the top four teams including France, England, and Canada, and enhance Australia’s international calendar with more Tests against teams closer to home, like Japan, New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa and Samoa.
An improved and extended domestic competition seems to be the most obvious and logical step for RA too.
In doing so Australia can increase the competitiveness of the Wallaroos, their reach, and the impact they can have on women’s rugby through visibility, fan engagement, and revenue generation.
And if the talent pool is being drained, a nation-wide recruitment may need to be implemented again, like the successful drive for sevens talent ahead of the Rio Olympics.
England has laid down a foundation not just for women’s rugby but women’s sport around the world, and whatever RA decides to do, it needs to act now.
It does beg the question will four years be enough? I believe it must be, because Rugby Australia cannot wait. The entire rugby world is watching.
Alicia Lucas is a former member of the Australian women’s rugby sevens team, and won gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She is now a rugby commentator/expert.