SO HISTORY repeats itself. The last time two senior women's rugby teams appeared at Twickenham was in 1987. On that occasion Wasps were the victors and Richmond lost out.
Now, 14 years down the line, the same two clubs contest the RFUW Rugby World National Cup final at HQ, as a curtain-raiser to the main event, the Zurich Championship final.
But other things have changed. For a start there is now a full-blown Six Nations tournament for women, some of which was shown on television last year; this season's tournament, sadly, went largely unrecognised by broadcasters.
"It was probably because England did not start the tournament too well," said Nicki Jupp, who plays in the centre for Richmond, the cup holders, and England. In fact she was wrong. Sky wanted to be there, but there were organisational problems, which meant among other things that that there was no guaranteed foreign coverage. But as is so often the case with minor sports, when TV does not cover something, the rest of the media tends to overlook it as well.
Yet overall Jupp believes the profile of the women's game has been raised, and Paula George agrees. Shortly before high noon today the England captain will lead Wasps out on to the hallowed turf for another historic step on the long road to serious sporting recognition. Since that first flirtation with Twickenham there have been women's matches at the stadium, but only at student level, and George said: "This is really important for the women's game. It is an indication that we have been accepted into the upper echelons of rugby union. In 1990 I played at Cardiff Arms Park, and I have been waiting for the time when I could do so at Twickenham."
As shop windows go, this one is not so bad. The Rugby Football Union are bracing themselves to cope with a crowd of up to 50,000 for the two matches, and if the weather holds that is not an unrealistic expectation. And since these are two of the top four women's sides in England at present - the other two being Saracens and Clifton - who have been equally matched in the Premiership this season, there is every chance of a feast of quality rugby.
It is certainly what George is expecting from her crew. "We pride ourselves on our handling game and we try to play 15-woman rugby," she claimed. "We have a really exciting back-line. There is Lou Latter on the wing and our fly-half, Shelley Rae, who can place-kick with either foot. In fact in a recent club match this season Shelley bruised the big toe on her right foot and so kicked four successful conversions with her left. There are not many men who could do that."
Jupp countered with a list of Richmond's pluses, including Spain's scrum-half, Roccia Ramirez, and their wing Emily Feltham: "She will be the fastest person on the field, and on the other wing we have Jen Dickson, who is very quick, but also very skilful."
And provided Sky commentator Dewi Morris, the former England (men's) scrum-half, likes what he sees and persuades the viewers that the product is good, then the women's game may be able to square the vicious circle that has left them without serious long-term backing.
"We need backing to develop, but until we get the media coverage we won't attract sponsors," said Jupp. Not that the women's game is totally bereft of backers. England players do not have to fork out for quite as much as they used to, as George explained: "We used to have to buy our England shirt if we wanted to keep it, otherwise we had to hand it back. Now at least we are given a shirt, albeit for the season. But we still have some way to go to catch up with the England men, who are given two shirts per match."
No one would be advised to put their shirt on the result of this match, however. The last time these two sides met, 10 days ago in a Premiership game, Wasps, having trailed 0-8, came back to win 10-8. They lost the first meeting of the season, though, by a try.
"It will be close," said George. "Whoever gets on with it and does not dwell on the fact that television is there and it is Twickenham will have an advantage. I am going to tell my players that it is just another game, on just another pitch, and ignore the fact that it is an historic moment for the senior women's game."
Jupp is looking to the past for omens for today. Not the past of 14 years ago, but rather that of last season. She explained: "Last year we lost to Clifton in the league but went on to beat them in the cup, so I am hoping that history may be repeating itself." Which is where we came in.
The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (May 13, 2001): p12
Sunday, 13 May 2001
Scotland close in on European crown
Lewis Stuart
By the end of today, Scotland could be holding a European Championship title. The country's women rugby players face Spain, who they have already beaten 19 8 this season, in the final of the FIRA competition in Lille, France.
"It has been a fantastic team effort," Peter Brownlee, the coach, said yesterday. "We came to the competition with our hopes riding high, we have been 100 per cent focused on the game we wanted to play and we have been getting better and better as the competition has gone on.
"The girls want to win this for themselves, and it would be a considerable achievement, but it would also do so much for the women's game in Scotland if we were able to come back with the title."
The team were already in the elite group, and started with a hard-fought 13-3 win over Wales, with Jennifer Dickinson, of Richmond, getting the try while Paula Chalmers, of Murrayfield Wanderers, kicked a conversion and two penalties. They followed that by coming from behind to beat France 9-6, with Chalmers getting all the points from kicks.
"Basically, we squeezed the life out of them," Brownlee said. "The forwards were magnificent and while I would rather they had played more of their rugby in the opposition 22, you can't complain."
Spain, who are previous European winners, will be no pushover after defeating England in their semi-final, but the Scots say they are ready for the physical challenge they pose. "There are not many surprises in store at this level," Brownlee said. "We don't expect to see much as far as back moves and three-quarter play is concerned, they will try to boot the ball down into our half and drive us from there.
"If the forwards can repeat their showing in earlier matches, then we can come home as European champions."
The Times (London, England) (May 12, 2001): p44
By the end of today, Scotland could be holding a European Championship title. The country's women rugby players face Spain, who they have already beaten 19 8 this season, in the final of the FIRA competition in Lille, France.
"It has been a fantastic team effort," Peter Brownlee, the coach, said yesterday. "We came to the competition with our hopes riding high, we have been 100 per cent focused on the game we wanted to play and we have been getting better and better as the competition has gone on.
"The girls want to win this for themselves, and it would be a considerable achievement, but it would also do so much for the women's game in Scotland if we were able to come back with the title."
The team were already in the elite group, and started with a hard-fought 13-3 win over Wales, with Jennifer Dickinson, of Richmond, getting the try while Paula Chalmers, of Murrayfield Wanderers, kicked a conversion and two penalties. They followed that by coming from behind to beat France 9-6, with Chalmers getting all the points from kicks.
"Basically, we squeezed the life out of them," Brownlee said. "The forwards were magnificent and while I would rather they had played more of their rugby in the opposition 22, you can't complain."
Spain, who are previous European winners, will be no pushover after defeating England in their semi-final, but the Scots say they are ready for the physical challenge they pose. "There are not many surprises in store at this level," Brownlee said. "We don't expect to see much as far as back moves and three-quarter play is concerned, they will try to boot the ball down into our half and drive us from there.
"If the forwards can repeat their showing in earlier matches, then we can come home as European champions."
The Times (London, England) (May 12, 2001): p44
Sunday, 3 December 2000
Letter: Taking issue with Girl Power.(Observer Sports Magazine)
Gill Burns and Emma Lindsey
I was pleased to see that your magazine recognises the role of women in sport with your 'Girl Power' section in OSM . I was, however, bitterly disappointed to see that you have ignored the rugby union players totally in your selection. Women's rugby is no longer a minority sport and I am sure the 10,000-plus women who play up and down the country each week will also be amazed that you have not recognised our sport.
Only today there was an article in your newspaper reporting on Kate Hoey's interest and support of our game and yet our international players from all over Britain have been ignored. England finished third at the 1998 World Cup and only last month beat the USA, who were ranked second, to go up one place. England also cruised to a victory in last seasons Five Nations Championships.Perhaps Paula George, our current captain, should have been included in the top 20 women sports stars? How can you ignore a team that is now ranked two in the world? There are only a few of your 20 choices who are ranked higher than the current England squad.
Gill Burns
England captain 1994-1999
Vice president, Womens Sports Foundation
Emma Lindsey - who masterminded the compiling of the list - replies:
Compiling a top 20 of the British sportswomen was always going to be problematic as much because of deciding who to leave out as who to include, especially given that women in sport don't get much of a look in on the back pages. Although there was an element of subjectivity in the decision-making, ultimately editorial concensus was reached on the grounds of achievement on an international stage, relative to the depth and standard of competition within each discipline, with an added proviso to give a shout (where appropriate) to champions in sports which receive no coverage at all.
The Observer (London, England) (Dec 3, 2000): p6
I was pleased to see that your magazine recognises the role of women in sport with your 'Girl Power' section in OSM . I was, however, bitterly disappointed to see that you have ignored the rugby union players totally in your selection. Women's rugby is no longer a minority sport and I am sure the 10,000-plus women who play up and down the country each week will also be amazed that you have not recognised our sport.
Only today there was an article in your newspaper reporting on Kate Hoey's interest and support of our game and yet our international players from all over Britain have been ignored. England finished third at the 1998 World Cup and only last month beat the USA, who were ranked second, to go up one place. England also cruised to a victory in last seasons Five Nations Championships.Perhaps Paula George, our current captain, should have been included in the top 20 women sports stars? How can you ignore a team that is now ranked two in the world? There are only a few of your 20 choices who are ranked higher than the current England squad.
Gill Burns
England captain 1994-1999
Vice president, Womens Sports Foundation
Emma Lindsey - who masterminded the compiling of the list - replies:
Compiling a top 20 of the British sportswomen was always going to be problematic as much because of deciding who to leave out as who to include, especially given that women in sport don't get much of a look in on the back pages. Although there was an element of subjectivity in the decision-making, ultimately editorial concensus was reached on the grounds of achievement on an international stage, relative to the depth and standard of competition within each discipline, with an added proviso to give a shout (where appropriate) to champions in sports which receive no coverage at all.
The Observer (London, England) (Dec 3, 2000): p6
Saturday, 26 August 2000
Richards to lead women into new era
A NEW era begins this weekend for England women's rugby when Geoff Richards, the former Wasps and Australia full back, becomes their first full-time coach (David Hands writes). He will meet his squad, many of whom helped to win the five nations title last season, for the first time at a training camp at Lilleshall before selecting the party to contest the Canada Cup in Winnipeg next month.
All the leading countries in the women's game are gearing up for the 2002 World Cup with professional appointments but Richards, who replaces Peter Kennedy and Steve Redfern, arrives with the experience of Australia A and under-21 men's squads behind him. He has also spent three years with the Australian Institute of Sport before taking up a two-year contract with England, funded by the Sports Council.
There is liaison with the senior men's game too, since Phil Larder and David Alred have worked on defence and kicking with the women's squad. Sadly, Richards will not have at his disposal for Canada the experience of Emma Mitchell, the Saracens scrum half, and the midfield duo of Sue Day and Nicky Jupp; all three are recovering from injury.
However, over the weekend he must perm 26 from the senior training squad of 36 for the party, as well as appointing ancillary coaching staff. His opponents will include New Zealand, the world champions, and the United States.
The Times (London, England) (August 26, 2000): p43.
All the leading countries in the women's game are gearing up for the 2002 World Cup with professional appointments but Richards, who replaces Peter Kennedy and Steve Redfern, arrives with the experience of Australia A and under-21 men's squads behind him. He has also spent three years with the Australian Institute of Sport before taking up a two-year contract with England, funded by the Sports Council.
There is liaison with the senior men's game too, since Phil Larder and David Alred have worked on defence and kicking with the women's squad. Sadly, Richards will not have at his disposal for Canada the experience of Emma Mitchell, the Saracens scrum half, and the midfield duo of Sue Day and Nicky Jupp; all three are recovering from injury.
However, over the weekend he must perm 26 from the senior training squad of 36 for the party, as well as appointing ancillary coaching staff. His opponents will include New Zealand, the world champions, and the United States.
The Times (London, England) (August 26, 2000): p43.
Monday, 8 May 2000
Lomu of women's game fired up for European title
Pete Nichols
It was a little over a month ago that the English women's rugby team wrapped up a Five Nations grand slam with a comprehensive 64-9 victory over Scotland at the Stewart's Melville ground in Edinburgh. Only one of the four matches had been close, that against France at Massey, near Paris, in February, when England scored in the final minute of time added on to snatch a 24-18 win. The remainder of the tournament had been a romp, confirming their status as the best team in Europe.
In the modest but hectic world of women's rugby, however, there is no resting on laurels. Today in Almeria, on the eastern wing of the Costa del Sol, the first games of the European championship take place and England have to prove their superiority all over again.The cast list is familiar, for Spain, Scotland, France and Wales contested the Five Nations with England and they form the core of Group A in the European event. The additional teams in the top group are Ireland, Italy and Kazakhstan, fifth in the 1999 event and against whom England open their championship today.
Europe takes on an elastic shape for sporting events, as evidenced by the participation of the Kazakhs, whose capital city Almaty is closer to Beijing than Moscow. Even so, rumours will definitely have reached them of the player in the England team they will have to stop if they are going to win.
Chris Diver always wanted to be a firefighter. As a child she would pass the fire station in Slough on the way to school. "I thought, they squirt water and climb ladders and that would be fun," she recalls. Even now, six years into the job, she has an undiminished love of her work. "It's better than I thought, although we don't save lives every minute like they do in London's Burning; we get our share of fires in rubbish bins and horses that have fallen into trenches."
Diver's rugby career developed in a more accidental fashion. Unsure of how the fire brigade would feel about women enlisting, she decided to go to university first. It was during her final two years at Chelsea College in Eastbourne, where she took a Bachelor of Education degree in PE and science, that the university formed a women's rugby team and she switched her allegiance from hockey.
On graduation she applied to West Sussex for a job as a firefighter and was posted to Crawley. If it had been Worthing or Bognor the rugby career might well have ended there, but in Crawley there was a women's team.
Work and pleasure dovetailed as the fitness for the job - "you've got to be able to sling 14st people over your shoulder" - paid dividends on the pitch. In 1997 she was spotted by Carol Isherwood, the England performance director, at a sevens tournament in Crawley and enlisted into the national squad.
From the start Diver, at 5ft 10in and 13st, could easily have been assigned to the pack, but she has always been a wing. "I've never done any serious running, the last time was at school, but I'm naturally quick," she says. Quick enough and strong enough to earn the highest of accolades. "I'm the female Jonah Lomu, I've been told," she says, laughing.
A series of stunning recent performances, culminating in the last-minute try that stole that England-France Five Nations game, have reinforced the image and the reputation. Yet it was not an easy ride to the top.
"Last season I had a very good game against Scotland and the success got to me a bit," she admits. She became anxious about her perfor mances and her game suffered. The pleasure principle was discarded. "I can't really explain it. I just felt a lot of pressure, so I started working with our psychologist, Kirsten Barnes. Now I don't dwell on matches a week before they happen. I just enjoy it. They [the tries] just happen," she says.
For the past three winters Diver has played for Saracens, who have just won the league title ahead of Richmond. The 28-year-old is full of praise for Nigel Wray, who owns the club. "We've had women's matches preceding the men's games, which is great. He's been so supportive of us," she says.
She is eager for her sport to move more into the mainstream - "I'd love to play at Twickenham, wouldn't anyone?" - but the future of women's rugby is in the balance. With no television or gate money to feed the coffers, women's rugby union in the UK is dependent on lottery funding.
Recently the Scotland team lost a government grant worth Pounds 79,000 because they came only third in the Five Nations, and everyone connected with the England team tells you how tenuous is the hold on their funding should they not justify their ranking as favourites in Almeria.
On the other hand, the World Cup comes around again in 2002. The last edition was held in the Netherlands and won by New Zealand - the Black Ferns, as they are known in the women's game. The encounter that settled the issue came in the semi-final against England when the heat of the battle became so intense that two English players ended up in hospital, one with a broken nose, the other with cracked ribs.
England are one of the two countries bidding to host the 2002 event. What a pleasure it would be if the female Jonah Lomu, from Crawley, could put one over the world champions. It would be only fair, given the number of occasions the All Blacks' male Chris Diver has done it to us.
The Guardian (London, England) (May 8, 2000): p7.
It was a little over a month ago that the English women's rugby team wrapped up a Five Nations grand slam with a comprehensive 64-9 victory over Scotland at the Stewart's Melville ground in Edinburgh. Only one of the four matches had been close, that against France at Massey, near Paris, in February, when England scored in the final minute of time added on to snatch a 24-18 win. The remainder of the tournament had been a romp, confirming their status as the best team in Europe.
In the modest but hectic world of women's rugby, however, there is no resting on laurels. Today in Almeria, on the eastern wing of the Costa del Sol, the first games of the European championship take place and England have to prove their superiority all over again.The cast list is familiar, for Spain, Scotland, France and Wales contested the Five Nations with England and they form the core of Group A in the European event. The additional teams in the top group are Ireland, Italy and Kazakhstan, fifth in the 1999 event and against whom England open their championship today.
Europe takes on an elastic shape for sporting events, as evidenced by the participation of the Kazakhs, whose capital city Almaty is closer to Beijing than Moscow. Even so, rumours will definitely have reached them of the player in the England team they will have to stop if they are going to win.
Chris Diver always wanted to be a firefighter. As a child she would pass the fire station in Slough on the way to school. "I thought, they squirt water and climb ladders and that would be fun," she recalls. Even now, six years into the job, she has an undiminished love of her work. "It's better than I thought, although we don't save lives every minute like they do in London's Burning; we get our share of fires in rubbish bins and horses that have fallen into trenches."
Diver's rugby career developed in a more accidental fashion. Unsure of how the fire brigade would feel about women enlisting, she decided to go to university first. It was during her final two years at Chelsea College in Eastbourne, where she took a Bachelor of Education degree in PE and science, that the university formed a women's rugby team and she switched her allegiance from hockey.
On graduation she applied to West Sussex for a job as a firefighter and was posted to Crawley. If it had been Worthing or Bognor the rugby career might well have ended there, but in Crawley there was a women's team.
Work and pleasure dovetailed as the fitness for the job - "you've got to be able to sling 14st people over your shoulder" - paid dividends on the pitch. In 1997 she was spotted by Carol Isherwood, the England performance director, at a sevens tournament in Crawley and enlisted into the national squad.
From the start Diver, at 5ft 10in and 13st, could easily have been assigned to the pack, but she has always been a wing. "I've never done any serious running, the last time was at school, but I'm naturally quick," she says. Quick enough and strong enough to earn the highest of accolades. "I'm the female Jonah Lomu, I've been told," she says, laughing.
A series of stunning recent performances, culminating in the last-minute try that stole that England-France Five Nations game, have reinforced the image and the reputation. Yet it was not an easy ride to the top.
"Last season I had a very good game against Scotland and the success got to me a bit," she admits. She became anxious about her perfor mances and her game suffered. The pleasure principle was discarded. "I can't really explain it. I just felt a lot of pressure, so I started working with our psychologist, Kirsten Barnes. Now I don't dwell on matches a week before they happen. I just enjoy it. They [the tries] just happen," she says.
For the past three winters Diver has played for Saracens, who have just won the league title ahead of Richmond. The 28-year-old is full of praise for Nigel Wray, who owns the club. "We've had women's matches preceding the men's games, which is great. He's been so supportive of us," she says.
She is eager for her sport to move more into the mainstream - "I'd love to play at Twickenham, wouldn't anyone?" - but the future of women's rugby is in the balance. With no television or gate money to feed the coffers, women's rugby union in the UK is dependent on lottery funding.
Recently the Scotland team lost a government grant worth Pounds 79,000 because they came only third in the Five Nations, and everyone connected with the England team tells you how tenuous is the hold on their funding should they not justify their ranking as favourites in Almeria.
On the other hand, the World Cup comes around again in 2002. The last edition was held in the Netherlands and won by New Zealand - the Black Ferns, as they are known in the women's game. The encounter that settled the issue came in the semi-final against England when the heat of the battle became so intense that two English players ended up in hospital, one with a broken nose, the other with cracked ribs.
England are one of the two countries bidding to host the 2002 event. What a pleasure it would be if the female Jonah Lomu, from Crawley, could put one over the world champions. It would be only fair, given the number of occasions the All Blacks' male Chris Diver has done it to us.
The Guardian (London, England) (May 8, 2000): p7.
Thursday, 13 April 2000
England v Scotland
Meanwhile...(Sport).
The England Women's rugby team defeated Scotland 64-9 in Edinburgh to complete their second successive Grand Slam... Midlander Karl Keska finished second in his 10,000m debut in the European Challenge in Lisbon last night... Spain's Miguel Angel Perdiguero edged out Laurent Jalabert to win the second Miguel Indurain Grand Prix... Ford driver Colin McRae led fellow Briton Richard Burns by 3.3 seconds after the eighth stage on the Catalunya Rally... Chris Byrd pulled off a surprise win to claim the WBO heavyweight title after Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko quit with an injured shoulder at the start the tenth.
The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (April 2, 2000): p17.
England serve a tasty treat
THE England women's rugby team ripped their Scotland opponents to shreds to claim an emphatic 64-9 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wonderfully destructive in the tackle and ruinous on the break, England inflicted on Scotland their second-highest defeat and the measure of their superiority was such that they could have beaten the 76-0 margin set by New Zealand against the Scots two years ago. As it was, they seemed more concerned with flinging on every available substitute in the closing minutes.
Chris Diver and Nicola Jupp scored a hat-trick of tries each, while Selina Rudge, Jenny Foster, Jenny Sutton and Emily Feltham were the other scorers. Foster sent over four conversions with Diver kicking three as Scotland's haul was restricted to three penalties by Paula Chalmers.
The Times (London, England) (April 3, 2000): p37.
The England Women's rugby team defeated Scotland 64-9 in Edinburgh to complete their second successive Grand Slam... Midlander Karl Keska finished second in his 10,000m debut in the European Challenge in Lisbon last night... Spain's Miguel Angel Perdiguero edged out Laurent Jalabert to win the second Miguel Indurain Grand Prix... Ford driver Colin McRae led fellow Briton Richard Burns by 3.3 seconds after the eighth stage on the Catalunya Rally... Chris Byrd pulled off a surprise win to claim the WBO heavyweight title after Ukraine's Vitali Klitschko quit with an injured shoulder at the start the tenth.
The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (April 2, 2000): p17.
England serve a tasty treat
THE England women's rugby team ripped their Scotland opponents to shreds to claim an emphatic 64-9 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wonderfully destructive in the tackle and ruinous on the break, England inflicted on Scotland their second-highest defeat and the measure of their superiority was such that they could have beaten the 76-0 margin set by New Zealand against the Scots two years ago. As it was, they seemed more concerned with flinging on every available substitute in the closing minutes.
Chris Diver and Nicola Jupp scored a hat-trick of tries each, while Selina Rudge, Jenny Foster, Jenny Sutton and Emily Feltham were the other scorers. Foster sent over four conversions with Diver kicking three as Scotland's haul was restricted to three penalties by Paula Chalmers.
The Times (London, England) (April 3, 2000): p37.
Sunday, 26 March 2000
Rugby Union - March of Paula's army; Alan Hubbard finds that England's women rugby players are matching the men's achievements.
SHOULD ENGLAND beat Scotland next week and secure rugby union's Grand Slam, doubtless they will celebrate by singing a few bawdy songs, throwing their coach into the bath and doing their best to get blotto in the bar. Ah well, girls will be girls.
It isn't just Matt Dawson's men who will be behaving much like rugby players are expected to behave should success come their way at Murrayfield on Sunday. Twenty- four hours earlier, Paula George will be happy if there is a modest outburst of unladylike horseplay down the road in Edinburgh at Stewart's Melville, where her women's team also take on the Scots in what could be the first leg of an historic double.
"Yeah, we'll be having a few beers and a bit of a knees-up if we win," says the 31-year-old captain and full-back, who hopes to be leading her team to triumph in their own Five Nations Tournament for the second successive year. "Rugby's a bit like that. You train hard, play hard and go out and enjoy yourselves."
Enjoyment did not seem that high on the agenda on a sunny morning at Bisham last week, though, where 45 of England's finest female ruckers and maulers had gathered for their final full-scale preparation. It wasn't for the faint-hearted, on the field or off. "C'mon guys, crouch, sink, hit, two-three-four," came the shouted command as the burly front row thudded their shoulders into the scrum machine, aptly labelled Rhino. When push comes to shove, England's lady forwards are an intimidating bunch and, judging from the liberally sprinkled fruity expletives, there isn't too much they could learn from their male counterparts about the niceties of the game.
Across the park, things were slightly more decorous as the willowy George and the backs practised some impressive running, passing and dummying under the tuition of head coach Peter Kennedy, who shares his duties between the England women and Exeter Chiefs. Like Steve Redfern, ex-Leicester and England, who looks after the forwards, Kennedy admires the endeavour and application of these women in the roughest of team sports. "They are prepared to listen and take things on board," he says. "They are quick learners and always want to do the right thing. They're great to coach."
No one argues any more that rugby shouldn't be a game for girls. It is now one of the two fastest- growing sporting activities among females, the other being football. And while women's football talks of going professional in 2003, women's rugby, in a way, is already there. "If you like, we're professional with a small `p'," says the Twickenham-based women's RFU performance director, Carol Isherwood, a former Great Britain captain and the country's top female coach. "We have 35 players on Lottery funding, which means they only need to work part-time." Three of the elite squad are married; one to an Army major, and another has a 15-year-old son. The rest are the usual collection of PE teachers, physios and students. There are two policewomen and a firefighter, and one of the front row works for a brewery. The hooker, Nicky Ponsford, with 42 caps, is an administrator with Sport England.
Nationwide, there are 270 women's teams, including those attached to illustrious clubs such as Wasps, Saracens, Harlequins and Richmond, with around 6,000 players. There are half-a-dozen leagues, two cup competitions and 60 youth sections. An active recruitment programme in schools, says Isherwood, will help transform a game that has been essentially middle- class because of its genesis in universities. Meantime, they will be lucky to muster a crowd of more than a few hundred in Edinburgh on Saturday, though in France, where they take women's sport far more seriously, some 4,000 watched them beat the French 24-18. Victories over Spain (31- 7) and Wales (51-0) have put England in pole position for the Grand Slam.
The women's game would love a higher profile, though they'll probably stop short of posing topless or spraying on the body paint to get themselves in the public prints. Anyway, scrum caps don't do much for sex appeal and those blood-red lips come by courtesy of Lonsdale gumshields rather than Revlon.
The nearest women's rugby has got to the tabloid treatment came when one of the sport's sponsors attempted a hard sell with a survey among the players which asked the question: "Who would you most like to snog?" Nicky Jupp, the centre, who, according to the survey, "at 6ft and a slim size 12 turns the heads with her good looks", said she could not decide between Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves.
There's a popular misconception that women's rugby is all butch and biceps. There's a flavour of that, but by and large it is a game played, if not always with a degree of elegance, at least with zest and dash. There's the odd broken collarbone and torn ligament, but no history of serious injury in the 20 years women have been playing the game. Isher-wood admits: "Some of the games can be a bit brutal, though there's a place for this with women just as there is with men. You need to be a certain type to play it, but then you do if you are a guy. Basically, what attracts the girls to the game is the same thing that attracts the men."
George agrees. "Physically, I can't think of a harder sport for women. For me it is the most complete sport and I've played all of them, from netball to hockey. Nothing has the same excitement, the same pace, requires you to make decisions under pressure, or more all-round skills." In the women's game, she is likened to Jeremy Guscott. Fast and flamboyant, she has played everywhere from full-back to flanker for her club, Wasps.
She works one day a week, teaching PE and A-level psychology at a Middlesex school and has an American father, Scottish mother and was born in Wales. A maternal grandmother gives her qualification for England, so there is no question over eligibility. Like most, she was converted to the sport "as a bit of a dare" at university. That was 11 years ago. Now she is about to collect her 40th England cap. "If someone asked me whether there's anything I would like to change in my life, I couldn't think of anything. It may sound strange, but when I play rugby, I'm living my dream."
The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (March 26, 2000): p18.
It isn't just Matt Dawson's men who will be behaving much like rugby players are expected to behave should success come their way at Murrayfield on Sunday. Twenty- four hours earlier, Paula George will be happy if there is a modest outburst of unladylike horseplay down the road in Edinburgh at Stewart's Melville, where her women's team also take on the Scots in what could be the first leg of an historic double.
"Yeah, we'll be having a few beers and a bit of a knees-up if we win," says the 31-year-old captain and full-back, who hopes to be leading her team to triumph in their own Five Nations Tournament for the second successive year. "Rugby's a bit like that. You train hard, play hard and go out and enjoy yourselves."
Enjoyment did not seem that high on the agenda on a sunny morning at Bisham last week, though, where 45 of England's finest female ruckers and maulers had gathered for their final full-scale preparation. It wasn't for the faint-hearted, on the field or off. "C'mon guys, crouch, sink, hit, two-three-four," came the shouted command as the burly front row thudded their shoulders into the scrum machine, aptly labelled Rhino. When push comes to shove, England's lady forwards are an intimidating bunch and, judging from the liberally sprinkled fruity expletives, there isn't too much they could learn from their male counterparts about the niceties of the game.
Across the park, things were slightly more decorous as the willowy George and the backs practised some impressive running, passing and dummying under the tuition of head coach Peter Kennedy, who shares his duties between the England women and Exeter Chiefs. Like Steve Redfern, ex-Leicester and England, who looks after the forwards, Kennedy admires the endeavour and application of these women in the roughest of team sports. "They are prepared to listen and take things on board," he says. "They are quick learners and always want to do the right thing. They're great to coach."
No one argues any more that rugby shouldn't be a game for girls. It is now one of the two fastest- growing sporting activities among females, the other being football. And while women's football talks of going professional in 2003, women's rugby, in a way, is already there. "If you like, we're professional with a small `p'," says the Twickenham-based women's RFU performance director, Carol Isherwood, a former Great Britain captain and the country's top female coach. "We have 35 players on Lottery funding, which means they only need to work part-time." Three of the elite squad are married; one to an Army major, and another has a 15-year-old son. The rest are the usual collection of PE teachers, physios and students. There are two policewomen and a firefighter, and one of the front row works for a brewery. The hooker, Nicky Ponsford, with 42 caps, is an administrator with Sport England.
Nationwide, there are 270 women's teams, including those attached to illustrious clubs such as Wasps, Saracens, Harlequins and Richmond, with around 6,000 players. There are half-a-dozen leagues, two cup competitions and 60 youth sections. An active recruitment programme in schools, says Isherwood, will help transform a game that has been essentially middle- class because of its genesis in universities. Meantime, they will be lucky to muster a crowd of more than a few hundred in Edinburgh on Saturday, though in France, where they take women's sport far more seriously, some 4,000 watched them beat the French 24-18. Victories over Spain (31- 7) and Wales (51-0) have put England in pole position for the Grand Slam.
The women's game would love a higher profile, though they'll probably stop short of posing topless or spraying on the body paint to get themselves in the public prints. Anyway, scrum caps don't do much for sex appeal and those blood-red lips come by courtesy of Lonsdale gumshields rather than Revlon.
The nearest women's rugby has got to the tabloid treatment came when one of the sport's sponsors attempted a hard sell with a survey among the players which asked the question: "Who would you most like to snog?" Nicky Jupp, the centre, who, according to the survey, "at 6ft and a slim size 12 turns the heads with her good looks", said she could not decide between Brad Pitt and Keanu Reeves.
There's a popular misconception that women's rugby is all butch and biceps. There's a flavour of that, but by and large it is a game played, if not always with a degree of elegance, at least with zest and dash. There's the odd broken collarbone and torn ligament, but no history of serious injury in the 20 years women have been playing the game. Isher-wood admits: "Some of the games can be a bit brutal, though there's a place for this with women just as there is with men. You need to be a certain type to play it, but then you do if you are a guy. Basically, what attracts the girls to the game is the same thing that attracts the men."
George agrees. "Physically, I can't think of a harder sport for women. For me it is the most complete sport and I've played all of them, from netball to hockey. Nothing has the same excitement, the same pace, requires you to make decisions under pressure, or more all-round skills." In the women's game, she is likened to Jeremy Guscott. Fast and flamboyant, she has played everywhere from full-back to flanker for her club, Wasps.
She works one day a week, teaching PE and A-level psychology at a Middlesex school and has an American father, Scottish mother and was born in Wales. A maternal grandmother gives her qualification for England, so there is no question over eligibility. Like most, she was converted to the sport "as a bit of a dare" at university. That was 11 years ago. Now she is about to collect her 40th England cap. "If someone asked me whether there's anything I would like to change in my life, I couldn't think of anything. It may sound strange, but when I play rugby, I'm living my dream."
The Independent on Sunday (London, England) (March 26, 2000): p18.
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