Jeff Probyn: Go for it girls…just don’t ask my daughter to play!

With the Commonwealth Games Sevens over and South Africa surprisingly taking the spoils, it’s now time for women’s rugby to take centre stage.
With 12 countries taking part, the Women’s Rugby World Cup is a chance for the girls to showcase how far their game has evolved in a relatively short period of time and hopefully bring more support to what is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.
It’s hard to believe that the Women’s World Cup started just four years after the men’s contest in 1987 and has been up and running for more than 20 years and is now in its seventh incarnation.
I say hard to believe, because until the 2010 Cup final played at the Stoop Memorial Ground opposite Twickenham, attracting 13,253 spectators and a half million TV audience – a world record for the women’s game – it had been pretty much ‘under the radar’.
It may come as a surprise to many people but I am a big fan of the women’s game because I think it is technically far better than the men’s game.
Part of the reason is, women lack the physicality of the modern professional male players and are less likely to be sucked into the power game where bigger is best. Women rugby players rely more on team work and skills to create space, rather than trying to bash through tackles.
Add to that the kicking game in women’s rugby tends to be much shorter, which encourages running as a more viable option to gain ground.
Some may remember that in 1994, following an appearance on BBC Rugby Special, I was sent to take part in a training session with the Richmond women’s team because of comments made during the show.
Wasps had played Bath and Norm Hadley, the Canadian second row, and I were asked to appear on the show.
I had received a stamp on the head during the game and my ear had become infected and was swollen to four times its usual size. After commenting on our game, presenter John Inverdale cut to England women verses Holland.
After the game John asked for our opinions of the game and women’s rugby in general. I commented that I thought it was a good game but that I would not want my daughter to play because of the risk of injuries like mine while pointing at my ear but clarified that if girls wanted to play they should.
Norm was then asked the same question and he just said, “I wouldn’t want my girlfriend to look like Jeff Probyn.” Inverdale laughed and then wound up the show.
The next week, I received a call from Rugby Special saying that after the show the switchboard had gone mad with callers complaining about the show and the comments made about the women’s rugby, so much so, that it was the one and only time that Rugby Special has appeared on Points of View!
It is ironic that as a parent I was expressing the concern that all parents feel when their children take part in any contact sport, whether boys or girls, even though we all accept that in taking part in such sports there is a risk of serious injury, no matter how small.
Also, whether we like it or not, some of the less serious injuries that happen in rugby such as broken noses, cauliflower ears, broken teeth etc, are deemed more acceptable to a male in society than a female.
That said, I will watch the Cup in the hope that England’s women can go one better than they have over the last three competitions and repeat their spectacular win in ‘94.
Meanwhile, the men’s game continues on its mission to discredit itself with political machinations over-shadowing almost every Union worldwide.
In Wales, the negotiations between the WRU and Regions continue, leaving all players worried about their future with Adam Jones the current ‘poster boy’ of their troubles.
Out of contract and seemingly unable to sign for Ospreys, the WRU or a foreign club, Jones has been left in limbo as talks continue.
He is regarded currently as one of the best props in the world and will find an employer whether the WRU and Regions reach and agreement or not, unlike the majority of players in contract with the Welsh Regions which, if no participation agreement is reached, could face financial problems.
France and South Africa have power struggles at the top of their Unions as the various candidates vying for presidential and coaching rolls stake their claims.
The Australian Union continue to balance on the edge of a financial precipice while New Zealand suffer the threat of player strikes because of the numbers of Island players filling their squads.
Talking of New Zealand, news that the All Blacks are to be paid $1,000,000 to ‘cover their costs’ of playing a game against the USA Eagles in Chicago is, to say the least, distressing.
How can it cost the All Blacks a million dollars to stop off on the way to Europe for the autumn series?
I know that it is now the fashion for each of the tier one countries to charge for playing an extra match and, as with any business, you have to pay more for the best – but the game against the USA is about developing and expanding the sport into new markets.
Surely such development should be done at cost to enable USA Rugby to keep more of the money and grow the game, so unless each of the squad are flying in their own private jet, I would hope the IRB will ask the All Blacks to rethink their costs!
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on August 3.