The Ireland team stand for the national anthem before the 2021 Rugby World Cup European Qualifying Tournament against Italy in Italy last September
This afternoon.
Dear Ministers,
We write to you as a deeply discouraged group of current and former Irish women’s rugby players having sadly lost all trust and confidence in the IRFU and its leadership after historic failings.
The aim of this letter is to seek your support now to enable meaningful change for all levels of the women’s game in Ireland from grassroots to green shirts.
We write in the wake of a series of recent disappointments for the international team, on and off the field, but ultimately recent events simply reflect multiple cycles of substandard commitment from the union, inequitable and untrustworthy leadership, a lack of transparency in the governance and operation of the women’s game both domestically and at international level, and an overall total lack of ambition about what it could achieve.
In 2014, the Irish XV team finished the season ranked fourth in the world, having won a Six Nations Grand Slam the year before. This triggered the beginning of a new World Cup cycle and new leadership within Irish rugby with David Nucifora and Anthony Eddy overseeing the women’s programme.
The end of this cycle ended in bitter disappointment as the team finished eighth in their home World Cup in 2017, crashing out in the pool stages.
In response, the IRFU produced an action plan for the game with a number of high level targets. However we find ourselves at the end of 2021 with those plans in disarray and with a large majority of those targets missed, including the XV team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup and the sevens team’s failure to qualify for the Olympics.
Notwithstanding the challenges of the pandemic, these facts represent significant failure.
This is not just a recent issue. At the end of every World Cup cycle in the Irish women’s game, there has been a review.
None of these reviews have ever been made public, with the IRFU cherry picking a handful of findings to present to the public. Many of us have felt that the range of stakeholders asked to take part in these reviews have not always reliably represented the game well enough to capture accurate, independent data and insight – neither do all of us feel fully confident that the information submitted has been factual and designed to act in the best interest of the women’s game.
There are now two ongoing reviews – one into the failure to qualify for the World Cup, and a second looking at the implementation of the current ‘Women in Rugby Action Plan’ which was due to run till 2023 and which covers all aspects of the game across Ireland.
Despite there being well-qualified independent leads running these, we have no faith that in the end that these will do anything significantly different to all those which have gone before and therefore the overarching objective of this letter is to ask for your help to intervene in these processes to make them genuinely transparent and meaningful.
A large group of current players, including some who have recently retired, have collectively submitted a more detailed overview for the World Cup Qualifier review, which we are happy to privately share with you.
This gives greater context to some of the current disillusionment but there is a wider and historic element to all of this and that is why we are asking for your support with the following.
– We ask that you meet with the IRFU to confirm appropriate guarantees of meaningful change so the women’s game can move forward positively.
– We ask that you request oversight of the ongoing reviews; help guarantee the findings are transparent and help ensure that they maintain their independence.
– We ask for your support in gaining assurances that both the findings and the recommendations of these reviews will be made fully available to the players and that relevant details and full recommendations are published publicly and following that, that leadership with the necessary authority and appropriate governance is put in place alongside a serious action plan and new targets to help move the game forward.
Unresolved, the many challenges facing the women’s game at all levels have the potential to have a significant knock-on effect not just at the top end but also on the grassroots game. There are increasing numbers of young girls taking up rugby across Ireland but the IRFU’s failure to create meaningful pathways significantly impacts the quality of the system and structures these community players are experiencing.
All of this is happening at a time when women’s rugby around the world is on a massive upward trajectory. Playing numbers, TV audiences, crowds and investments are on the rise but we fear Ireland will be left further and further behind and the opportunity for growth will disappear at a time when surely we ought to be promoting as many sporting opportunities for women and girls across the country as possible.
We appreciate that your roles oversee all sport across the country and these are specific issues, but we have tried to work constructively with the IRFU for decades and much of the same problems persist.
Many of us have been part of previous attempts via private intervention to work constructively with the IRFU to help them to understand how the players have felt over many years and to support them to make changes which would create the right environment for women’s rugby at all levels to thrive. These have failed and so we feel we have to resort to requesting your help and to publishing this letter.
We want to make clear that a small number of current players who either work for the IRFU or have playing contracts with them were not asked to sign this letter, for obvious reasons.
We have always believed that with the right structures, processes and support that Ireland could become a leading women’s rugby nation, providing opportunities for everyone at all levels, and even with all of the recent challenges, we are certain that with your support we can come out of this better and stronger.
We thank you for your ongoing support
Ciara Griffin; Lynne Cantwell; Fiona Coghlan; Grace Davitt; Claire Molloy; Paula Fitzpatrick; Mairead Kelly; Laura Guest; Ailish Eagn; Lauren Day; Allison Miller; Marie Louise Reilly; Jen Murphy; Heather O’Brien; Deirdre O’Brien; Shannon Houston; Ruth O’Reilly; Nikki Caughey; Stacey Lee Kennedy; Jackie Sheils; Orla Fitzsimons; Sharon Lynch; Siobhan Fleming; Sarah Mimnagh, Mairead Coyne, Fiona Reidy, Nicole Fowley, Ilse Van Staden. Alisa Hughes, Anna Caplice. Louise Galvin, Laura Feely, Edel McMahon. Michelle Claffey. Aoife McDermott, Cliodhna Moloney. Lindsay Peat Ciara Cooney, Leah Lyons, Chloe Pearse. Nichola Fryday, Sene Naoupu, Laura Sheehan, Lauren Delany, Emma Hooban, Ellen Murphy, Anne-Marie O’Hora, Kathryn Dane, Judy Bobett. Neve Jones, Katie O’Dwyer, Aoife Doyle, Hannah O’Connor, Eimear Considine. Victoria Dabonovich O’Mahony, Shannon Touhy, Catherine Buggy, Sam Monaghan, Ciara Cooney, Leah Lyons, Chloe Pearse, Nichola Fryday, Sene Naoupu, Laura Sheehan, Lauren Delany, Emma Hooban. Ellen Murphy. Anne-Marie O’Hora, Kathryn Dane, Judy Bobett, Neve Jones, Katie O’Dwyer, Aoife Doyle, Hannah O’Connor, Eimear Considine, Victoria Dabonovich O’Mahony. Shannon Touhy, Catherine Buggy, Sam Monaghan and Hannah Tyrell.
In fairness.
Irish players write to government to express loss of trust in IRFU (RTÉ)
Pic: INPHO via Rugby.ie
I don’t follow what the difficulty here is?
Is this another rant and finger wagging that one part of society feels aggrieved they don’t get enough attention?
Are people no longer epected take responsibility for their position in life; but instead, find somebody to blame for your failures or shortcomings.
“I don’t follow what the difficulty here is” .. that’s where your comment should’ve ended.
Irish Rugby has a massive steroids problem. They should be concentrating on that. Performance enhancing drugs are widespread in the game, female and male.
big unsubstantiated claim aside .. who “should be concentrating on that”?
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/widespread-use-of-steroids-as-much-a-part-of-rugby-s-culture-as-tying-your-laces-1.2445354
https://www.balls.ie/rugby/neil-francis-irish-rugby-peds-381692
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-news/james-cronin-drugs-ban-ireland-18120814
ok, that’s steroids in rugby backed up somewhat. now what’s it got to do with the women letter?
Because in my view many who signed that letter are using steroids.
They clearly weren’t taking enough steroids when they were playing..
It doesn’t. Source: Play rugby and have taken steroids.
So what exactly is specifically the problem/failure here? The letter is a long ramble that doesn’t actually say what they want changed.
says the man who obviously didn’t read it all. honestly, the reaction of different men to this is eye opening. most don’t read it, or understand what’s going on, and then decide that they themselves in fact know the problem, even with no experience or knowledge, and that the problem is ‘de wimin’.. mouthy little upstarts who can’t take responsibility. if only they had a noble and wise man like you to lead them.
Yeah, it’s funny dat Dr Fart. I read it, they want the results, recommendations & comments from the two ongoing enquiries to be made available to all the stakeholders, not smothered by the IRFU & made public, only if it suits them. They feel they need an honest broker as trust in the IRFU is not forthcoming. Quite simple.
The way the wheels fell off the wagon after the Grand Slam was spectacular & deserves scrutiny.
IRFU is not making the cash they used too due to the pandemic. The women’s game does not bring in the cash unfortunately like the men’s game does. It does not get the crowds or the following……. yet. It’s a long, long way off though. The skill levels are not the same either. Of course it needs investment though but its going to be a long time before its next to near on a par to the men’s game in world wide popularity, following and skill.
The profile of some of the players have improved, with advertisement and adding them to the men’s games for punditry (not always popular choice). The games are there to go to and also watch on tv but they are not getting the following. Majority of the public would struggle to name any of the team. This is one of the main reasons for the lack of cash.
What if we break down all barriers and have 14 aside, 7 men, 7 women on each team. Have to have a equal spread in forward and backs…. Full rules. That would be interesting. You would have crowds going to see that but I do fear the out come in a full contact game.
The athletics was very interesting in the relay teams.
strange oul comment. didn’t see it going that way. I got ur point about people not watching women’s rugby and how that makes it suffer. and when u said they raise the profile of some players.. although when they do that they always use eimear considine and sene noupa, because they’re hot. but then you finished on a really weird note.. 14 aside (not 15) mixed teams. such an odd idea. although I would have loved to have played against women in my younger days. hanging on tightly. clinching in the tackle. id have loved it! I’d love sene noupa to tackle me. a textbook tackle, arms wrapped, cheek to cheek. id love it.
I don’t think anyone would enjoy playing with you though with a name like yours
It’s a Dutch name. Although it is apt, I do have exceptional gas issues.
Well if fatalities floats your boat – maybe go for full on mixed teams. Because that is what would potentially happen. Concussion return to play protocols would be the least of the players’ worries. Presume this part of your comment was a wind-up?
so no trans on rugby teams then…just boxing and weight lifting … ducks
Trans women will make less progress in team sports because even the team the trans woman is part of will struggle with the legitamcy of playing biological men.
In individual sports just one person is required to cheat. All sports should remain seperated by sex, gender identity should be irrelevant, only objective biological sex differences matter, not what someone imagines themselves to be.
Which one is Amy Huberman again?