'Netball with attitude!'

Sports England research tells us that only 39% of women are fit enough to be healthy – yet more than 13 million women said they would like to do more exercise.

Sports Direct-funded research reported in 2022 that 56% of women who do exercise stop completely in the winter months. 

And a recent report commissioned by sportswear brand Asics, into women and exercise, revealed that more than 50% of women who exercise are dropping out anyway, regardless of the time of year.  

The gender gap in health, happiness and wellbeing is a real thing.

Could rugby be the answer?

At Southwark Tigers RFC, we have a women’s touch rugby team. We are largely non-competitive, having only played a few matches. Our players range in age from women in their 30s to visitors playing well into their 70s.

The players are largely mums or relatives of the children who play for the club. We train at the same time as the youngsters. We don’t expect players to have any special equipment and we have our own kit.
We are self-styled as The Lillies, a play on the band of warriors from the children’s book Peter Pan, led by Tiger Lily.

Different needs for coaching women and girls

Here is a good reminder about making assumptions around different backgrounds and the complexity of the issues around women and girls and sport.

One of the mums was watching her kids play; a new family to our club. She was also watching us, the women, play. 

She was wearing a modest dress, associated with some religious cultures and communities, including a scarf. I invited her to join us, asking her to tuck in the ends of her scarf for safety.

“What are we doing?”, she asked. “Touch rugby," I said. "Like netball, with attitude!”. On she went, nodding in acknowledgement – or so I thought – and she joined in with great gusto.

During one of the gaps in play, she asked: "How am I doing?". “You are doing great”, I reassured her, before asking: “What sort of sport did you play as a kid?".

It transpired she was from Afghanistan. She had never played sport before, never run before, nor exercised in public or in private. 

In her country of origin, of course, women and girls were not allowed to.

How did we start?

About five years ago, having tried many different ways to start a women’s and girls’ section at our club, I invited mums, at our end-of-season awards event, to play a short game of touch rugby against their children.  They loved it.

The following September, I spoke to mums on the touchline and invited them to join our rugby fitness group. 

Some of the mums used the time while their kids were training to go for a run. Others stood in the cold, trainers on, and just watched.

I asked if they would like to join us in training, playing "netball with a bit of attitude". 

The women essentially got the idea – no contact, team sport with a bit of something fun. 

From there, it started to evolve. The hook was free fitness training. They were going to be there for their kids anyway – so why not?

One player said: "When my son was four, we brought him to the mini-rugby, and Maggie recruited me on the sidelines. I had never played before, nor had it occurred to me to try touch rugby." She was concerned she wasn’t going to understand the game and would let people and herself down.

Some still do voice fears about joining the Lillies. They are worried about:

• Time commitment: Not being able to turn up each week or being late
• Confidence: Fears about injury, particularly given work and being a caregiver, plus the complicated rules
• Cost: The family’s financial priorities may lie elsewhere
• Fitness: Levels of fitness and memories of team sport at school – can’t catch, chosen last, looking and feeling stupid, etc.