Sir, – I wish to thank The Irish Timesfor recent coverage of the ladies' games including the Women's Six Nations coverage (Sport, February 14th). It is appreciated so much by the players.
I, however, hold the IRFU completely accountable for the situation that developed on Saturday. I have been through the system, I know the way it works and I believe it is about time that the IRFU began taking the ladies’ game seriously and started acting equally.
It is often highlighted how women in sport are treated and while the situation is constantly improving, the experiences faced by the ladies’ rugby team over the weekend brings things back decades in terms of equality.
As a recent former player with the team, I have first-hand experience of the inequalities experienced. However, a brief synopsis of the weekend brings things into sharp focus and makes my previous experiences pale in comparison.
The ladies’ team were playing their Six Nations fixture in Pau in the South of France, with a 3.30pm kick-off time scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The ladies left Dublin on Friday afternoon arriving into Paris where a coach awaited them to bring them to the train station to get them to the south of France. Why did the team travel on the Friday afternoon for a fixture on a Saturday afternoon, instead of maybe an earlier flight on the Friday morning (perhaps on the chartered flight organised for the men) or on Thursday night?
This resulted in very little preparation time and down time had things gone smoothly.
My second question is, why were they expected to get a train to the south of France when there are numerous airports and airlines that do the journey! The bus, unsurprisingly, got caught in Paris Friday evening traffic resulting in the girls and management missing their train. They then had to get an overnight train (where, it is needless to say sleep is severely disrupted, with some of the girls not sleeping at all, and the comfort of the “beds” highly questionable – hardly ideal preparation for an international fixture!) and arrived at their hotel at 7am on Saturday to prepare for and play a game that afternoon!
After three hours’(!) sleep, the girls then had to have pre-match meals, meetings and get ready to play. Some sources have criticised having the game in Pau, which is clearly away from the main thoroughfare from an Irish perspective. However, 11,000 spectators attended this game on Saturday.
If one considers that at the Ladies World Cup Final in 2010, 13,000 people from rugby nations all over the world attended, this 11,000 at a Six Nations fixture in the heart of rugby land in France is completely justified. The IRFU is accountable for making sure that the team arrive in time and have ample preparation, regardless of location. While the French Union have come in for a lot of criticism in relation to the debacle of the men’s game, I believe that the French Union definitely got the location right for this Ladies fixture and that decision was well justified.
The girls played the game with the pride and passion that only these girls know how and lost 8-7! The Irish ladies are constantly facing battles in terms of equality. While the situation has improved in recent years, a comparison of the support received by the other Six Nations teams makes for stark reading.
For example, the girls’ preparation for this Six Nations tournament comprised four training weekends in January. Those four weekends were the only time the squad has met up as a group since last year’s Six Nations, 10 months earlier.
England on the other hand played five autumn internationals in November against France and New Zealand as well as a Nations Cup in Canada in August. Scotland played the Netherlands in an autumn international and Italy played France. While Wales did not have an official autumn international, the WRU have focused on the development of a Sevens squad which will compete in the European qualifiers for the World Cup and have granted access to the ladies to play an international fixture in the Millennium Stadium for the first time ever during this Six Nations campaign.
In addition, Ireland will not be competing in the European Championships this summer and due to the non-existence of an IRFU Sevens team, they will not be playing in the European Sevens competition either (Ireland are the only top-tier nation to not be competing in this tournament and of the continent’s 37 playing nations, Ireland, Luxembourg and Slovenia are the only ones not competing!)
So, in essence, there is a possibility that the Irish squad will not be meeting again after the culmination of this Six Nations until the commencement of the next Six Nations, while their competition continue their development and structured focus throughout the summer. Ludicrous!
What these girls do and give up for the honour of representing their country is simply astounding. It has often been highlighted how they have to combine training and full-time jobs on a daily basis. It is often stated that the resources available to them pale in comparison to other nations they play. However, it is also often quoted how much heart they have in games they play. How much passion they bring to the green jersey. How proud they are to give everything for their country and how much pride they give to their families and friends and communities who they represent every time they play for their country. And in addition to all this, these girls are excellent athletes.
They have and continue to compete with and often overcome some of the best teams in the world. In my opinion, the IRFU has a lot to answer for. Not only has it inadvertently deprived the girls of winning their first ever Six Nations game on French soil through outrageous logistical planning, it is also depriving them of developing to the standards that they are capable of.
The Irish girls have finished third in the last three Six Nations tournaments in spite of the lack of foresight and development offered to them from their Union. However, the situation can improve and the situation has to improve. These girls deserve it. – Yours, etc,