Sweet fifteen.

SIMON BARNES

As the new rugby season gets into its stride, one of the quietest revolutions in sport continues. We all know about the meteoric rise of American football as a participant sport in Britain - but women's rugby has been growing just as quickly. At the end of the 1985 season there were 12 clubs; now there are 52, in two divisions. Some put up two teams a week, and a few, like Richmond, 'we are just as committed as the men. When we make a tackle, we mean it. But our game is less violent.' The women's game is mostly about running, and kicking is a decided weakness. 'Girls are not brought up to kick from the age of four,' said Miss Watkins, 'but we're getting there.' And the men's attitude? 'Naturally a lot of them are pretty suspicious of us but each club has enough people who are truly sympathetic and who make it work.' Copyright (C) The Times, 1987

Source Citation
"Sporting Diary: Sweet fifteen." Times [London, England] 26 Sept. 1987