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‘A missing generation’: why are there are no female head coaches in Women’s Six Nations?

A new scheme will attempt to address the glaring lack of diversity among top coaches in elite women’s rugby unionA 10-point plan will be introduced by Premiership Women’s Rugby next season that aims to increase the number of female coaches at international level, with only one top-10 nation currently being led by a woman.The scheme aims to create a springboard for more women at the elite tier of the sport, where there is a glaring lack of diversity among top coaches. Whitney Hansen is in charge of New Zealand, but, Jo Yapp and Gaëlle Mignot stood down from their positions after last year’s Rugby World Cup, with the Wallaroos and France respectively. Continue reading...

3 hours ago

Women’s Elite Rugby enters season two with lessons learned, a pop star investor and ambition for US game

The semi-pro league gets under way with aims of elevating the sport ahead of the 2033 World Cup on American soilDr Jessica Hammond-Graf is president and chief sporting officer of Women’s Elite Rugby, the US semi-professional rugby union competition that kicks off its second season on Saturday in Massachusetts and Illinois. Like most Americans, she did not grow up with the game.An Army kid, she spent a lot of time playing soccer. In the early 90s, at the University of Connecticut, she tried out for the round ball and then played Ultimate Frisbee. Then, one fateful day, a woman on her floor said, “Hey, you should come try rugby, OK?” Hammond-Graf agreed, then found herself starting her very first game at fly-half, responsible for directing a team. Continue reading...

1 day ago