The IRFU has formally accepted all 30 recommendations of an independent review following the failure to qualify for women’s Rugby World Cup in 2021.
Following the release of the recommendations of the report - from Amanda Bennett, of FairPlay Ltd - the IRFU has announced an additional €1million investment in the women’s game, growing the annual budget to circa €4million, and the creation of a new role of head of women’s performance and pathways.
There will also be a full-time women’s XVs national team programme manager, despite this not being in the recommendations, with IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts today confirming that the latter role has already been filled by Gemma Crowley.
The Cork native was manager of the Ireland team that won a Grand Slam during the 2012 Women’s Six Nations Championship and finished fourth at the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup in France, and served as team operations manager for the British & Irish Lions in South Africa last year.
In a media briefing today, Potts accepted some of the IRFU’s failings with regard to women’s rugby in Ireland.
“Our vision for Irish rugby, as set out in our strategic plan 2018 - 2023, is based on ‘building success together’. We have fallen short of this aspiration in our women’s game. However, we are committed to putting this right and we regard the recommendations of this independent review as a solid basis from which to reignite the long-term development of women’s rugby in Ireland.”
He added: “For me, this was, first and foremost, about listening to the player group and understanding their concerns. It was also important to ensure that the players had faith in the process and in our desire to work collaboratively. I have already had several meetings with representatives of the player group and have formally apologised to them on behalf of the IRFU.”
Asked what he was apologising for and what message this was sending to the players, Potts said: “I guess what I’m sending out to the players and anyone involved in the women’s game is that I apologise for the lack of any confidence, or perceived lack of interest, that the IRFU have had in the women’s game and that going forward if they felt they weren’t being listened to they are now, and I will ensure that that continues.”
The IRFU said they have already begun implementing some of the recommendations and have held meetings with player representatives and Sport Ireland, while Bennett held a briefing with the players involved in the world Cup qualification campaign.
In response, the players’ representative group - Ciara Griffin, Claire Molloy, Cliodhna Moloney and Lindsay Peat - welcomed the IRFU’s acceptance of the recommendations and their publication.
“While they clearly highlight the many challenges surrounding the national 15s programme in Ireland, we believe that these recommendations and their implementation have the potential to make a significant and positive difference for women’s rugby in Ireland.”
They also welcomed Potts’ proactive and inclusive approach to the discussions, and his commitment to resolving the issues facing the women’s game and thanked him for his “leadership”.
“Today’s announcement by the IRFU is a welcome first step on a journey towards a new era for Irish women’s rugby, but it is a vitally important one.”
Review
The independent review was based on the outcome of interviews with players, high-performance and performance programme staff, among others. As many as 64 surveys were issued to the players, prompting a 53 per cent response rate, and 29 surveys to staff, which had a 31 per cent response rate, and although these figures seem small Bennett maintained they were in keeping with such reports.
The IRFU says it was unequivocally advised that publication of the full report could be seen as a breach of confidentiality for those who participated in it. Therefore Friday’s publication is focused on the recommendations.
Despite the timing of Anthony Eddy’s departure as the union’s director of sevens and women’s rugby a day beforehand, Potts maintained: “They’re not linked at all. Anthony informed the IRFU of his intention to pursue other opportunities as per his statement and we wish him well.”
With Eddy’s old role now effectively “gone”, Potts indicated that there may be a separate appointment for the sevens game.
There have been manifold suggestions that players were told not to speak out in the past but Potts said that the channels between the women’s players and the union would henceforth be “wide open”.
“I have an open channel of communication with the players. That is going to remain in place so long as I am CEO. I have built a very good relationship over the last number of months. It certainly wouldn’t be my policy or the IRFU’s policy to be asking people not to speak.”
He stressed that the absence of Moloney from the squad for the forthcoming TikTok Women’s Six Nations (Ireland host Wales in three weeks’ time at the RDS) was entirely form related rather than a consequence of her critiques of the departed Eddy.
“Absolutely guaranteed that is not the case. It’s form.”
As to whether the recommended contracts for women’s players should be hybrid or retainer, Potts said all options would be considered pending the appointment of a new head of women’s high performance but Fiona Steed, a member of the IRFU union committee & chair of IRFU women’s sub-committee, pointed to the “different iterations around the world as to what professionalism looks like.”
“You look at Wales with Nigel Walker bringing on board 12 full-time professionals, then what happens to the other 20-something? It’s exploring it and doing it right and not just throwing money at it because that’s what people would like to say - ‘we have a professional structure.’ We need something that is sustainable, something that ensures women can perform to their absolute best.
“What that looks like can’t be a knee-jerk reaction. It can’t be handing out contracts to 10 or 30 players. It needs to be what suits us. That’s very much what World Rugby’s guidance is on it. That can be different in different regions.”
Absent from today’s briefing was David Nucifora, the IRFU’s high performance director who was named along with Eddy in the letter written to the Government by 62 former and current players expressing their total lack of confidence in the union.
“David has been working away on putting in the implementation status that you had today,” explained Potts. “This is so important to the IRFU that I, as CEO, am dealing with this today. David is getting on with the tasks that need to be done.”
It is clear that Potts has prioritized the women’s game since succeeding Philip Browne as CEO in January and he vowed: “What I can say for certain is that there is total commitment of the IRFU to the women’s game, I can say that with certainty. The IRFU committee are totally committed to getting all of this right. The culture that was referred to in the players’ letter, I’d like to believe that they have more confidence than that now. It will probably take some more time, I would guess, but I can assure you of the total commitment of myself and the union committee to the women’s game.”
