Problems in women's rugby in Ireland are a bit like Russian dolls. You see the biggest one, but within it there's another one, and within that, another one, albeit smaller. We see the questions about equal rules, the 142 point difference in an AIL game at the weekend, and the gaps in its pathways and structures to name a few.
The recent Vodafone Interprovincial Championships aren't immune to this. It itself prompted questions (Where were the media reports for games? Why was it played when Irish squad players weren't available? Who approved the now infamous decision about changing room facilities?), and one of the smaller but ultimately costly points is that of travel expenses.
Like the GAA the women's interprovincial rugby teams are elite, but amateur, but as we've recently seen, women's rugby is lower down the pecking order. Unlike the GAA, interprovincial players making their way to training in Newforge Country Club in Belfast, Buccaneers RFC in Westmeath, the Sportsground in Galway, St Gerard's School in Wicklow, the King's Hospital School in Dublin, Thomond Park or Castletroy College in Limerick do so entirely at their own cost and do not receive any travel expenses.
Fuel expenses are not provided to any team for training. Pre-Covid, buses were provided for matches. In Munster and Connacht, travel expenses were provided for the three Interpro matches, instead of these buses. The (professional) men's team and underage squads also do not receive travel expenses. In Connacht, "on occasions where there has been residual budget available at the end of the season, a nominal payment is provided to players who may have incurred excess expenses. This policy is reviewed every year in respect of the financial position of the organisation and will be considered again at the end of our current financial year".
It is a big ask for players to attend training without expenses when they are balancing careers, studying, and the lives that fund their ability to play. Not all players play in their province, with many working and studying further afield. Take for example, players heading to the Sportsground for Connacht training twice a week. The journey from Suttonians RFC, Dublin 13 is 2.5 hours one way and just over two hours from Barnhall.
A round trip for training after work could take five hours, with players having to roll around and begin a day's work a matter of hours after returning from training only to do it all again a day or two later. Suddenly, the sacrifice isn't just one of time and energy, but also financial, as diesel/petrol/train/bus tickets add up. For those travelling to train at the Newforge Country Club, it's a two hour drive from Barnhall, Leixlip, Co Kildare, Old Belvedere RFC, Ballsbridge Co Dublin, and Railway Union, Co Dublin. Similarly in Munster, training at Thomond Park means a 2 hour 20 minute drive from Railway Union, Blackrock and Old Belvedere.
That's not to say that players aren't catered for. All teams now have an extensive support system, and the provincial bodies take pride in providing for their women's teams. Leinster, in 2019, facilitated the first ever women's club game to be played in Twickenham between Leinster and Harlequins. During the pandemic Munster had access to HUDL, the performance analysis platform. Tailored athletic development programmes were provided so that players could participate in sessions remotely and in their own time.
Gym sessions were supervised by an appointed strength and conditioning coach. Connacht had a bonding/training weekend in Sligo in late July, which incorporated a two-night stay with all food and nutrition paid for. Ulster had video analysis, one-to-one feedback, and Zoom calls - both as a team and as individuals - on technical and tactical learning.
In addition, players who participate in commercial partnerships are paid while jersey unveilings are increasingly being done alongside the men's teams (The Ulster team debuted the 2021/22 Ulster home kit during their home fixture against Munster at the Kingspan Stadium - ahead of their male counterparts.) The provinces, as well as clubs across the country, have an army of volunteers in women's rugby, propping up the game.
And yet, players are satisfied to bear the financial brunt in order to play.
"Expenses would remove obstacles and make rugby playing easier" says Leinster's Jenny Murphy. "If you're playing rugby for your province, it shouldn't be the most difficult thing, getting the body ready as opposed to getting there. As a student, those expenses might have hurt a bit more but it's a small thing.
“Maybe I’ve acclimatised, but you don’t go into women’s rugby for the money. It’s [expenses] not something I’d stress about. Some things are enraging and frustrating but athletes, in particular female athletes, have to be really smart about picking their battles. If they pick too many or if they pick the wrong ones, it’s ‘they’re always complaining’, which again is frustrating. If you want big change you have to be strategic about it.”
Pick your battles: why would players complain about travel expenses when they are grateful to just be playing? Why would players ask about travel expenses when they’d, best case scenario, be looking for more gametime at this level? How could this crop of players ask for travel expenses when they’re leaps ahead of the teams that came before them?
Players volunteer their time, and talent out of love for the game, but having them pay to get to training, to get to the opportunity to play provincially that only comes around once a year, to hopefully be put in a position where an Irish coach is watching is perhaps one ask too many. These are the kind of cracks that talent can slip through. Are there players who couldn’t justify the time and expense of travelling for training? Is there talent that we’re not able to develop because they couldn’t make it? Playing is always a privilege, both to represent the jersey and as a result of years of being able to train, but at this level, if we truly want to give women equality of opportunity in provincial rugby, this expense should be paid, so that players don’t pay to play.
