This is a boom-time for women’s team sports, with the cricket World Cup capturing the imagination of the UK public thanks to a dramatic final at Lord’s and this evening’s Euro 17 final between Holland and Denmark expected to attract unprecedented viewing figures. Now, the Rugby World Cup. For the next couple of weeks, UCD becomes the centre of the rugby universe, as more than 300 Amazonian warriors invade the university campus and the consciousness of the sporting public, too.
Last Wednesday, we were given a walk-through by the rather more wiry figure of tournament director Garrett Tubridy — from the tournament office in the student centre, across to the drop-in pitch at Billings Park (capacity 2,500), past the fan-zone to the main UCD Bowl Arena (new capacity 3,500) where the television gantries were still being erected.
Tubridy walks and talks at a frantic pace but then this is the culmination of a two-year planning process ever since he left a similar, albeit less frantic role as tournaments director with European Rugby Cup Limited. He talks a good game, too, safe in the knowledge that he has a willing audience of event junkies. Tickets for the pools stages sold out in the jig time, and he’s hopeful for the finals phase in Belfast, too.
“This is without precedent, in terms of the scale and in terms of profile,” Tubridy says. “We’ve had more tickets available for this Women’s World Cup than any previous one and more broadcast interest. Eir Sport will be showing all games, mostly live, some deferred and it’s going to be available globally, so we already know it’s going to be the most viewed Women’s World Cup.
“It’s good for the country that we can show we can put on events like this, to show that the public can get behind it. For example, the public are adopting different teams, not just Ireland, because they’ll be able to go and see different games on the same priced ticket. We’ve also got a ‘Bring your boots’ festival and mini world cups. Look at the trophy tour. In France three years ago, there were eight events. We’re at 278 events across 32 counties. It’s going into schools, getting a rugby ball into the hands of young girl or boy for the first time, getting them closer to the sport, it’s creating heroes.”
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The festival feel will be enhanced by having 18 pool games played across three days, kicking off with reigning champions England against Spain at the Bowl next Wednesday afternoon and Ireland playing their first game against Australia there later that evening (kick-off 7pm). Given that tickets were snapped up so quickly, does Tubridy not wonder whether the event requires a bigger venue?
“Not really,” he says. “We might have been able to price tickets higher but we wanted to get people in the gate. Consider the average ticket sales for a Women’s Six Nations game here is about 2,000. We had to look at it from the point of view that we needed 6,000 spectators per day in UCD, in August, outside of the rugby season. It’s not about making money, it’s more about selling and celebrating the sport. This model — using a campus for the pool stages and then branching out for the later phases — has worked for the past two tournaments. It should work again.”
There will be a buzz, undoubtedly. There’s also a danger of that buzz dissipating by moving the whole shebang to Belfast — something of a no-woman’s land for rugby — for the semi-final and final stages two weeks from now.
However, Tubridy points out that the RDS wasn’t available at this time of year because of the Horse Show, while the Aviva stadium is simply too big. Besides, this an Irish World Cup, not a Dublin one.
“We can’t be too Dublin-centric about it,” he says. “The facilities at Kingspan stadium are outstanding and I’d rather have a rocking 18,000 capacity Kingspan than a crowd 25,000 lost inside the Aviva. The players have said the same thing.
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“I’m confident we will sell Belfast on the strength of the pool stages — as things stand, we’ve about 14,000 sold for finals day. Once people realise that they’re guaranteed to see Ireland play a placing game, regardless of whether they have qualified for the semis or the final, they’ll see the value available.” Ticket information is available on rwcwomens.com.
Even if this is the biggest and best Women’s World Cup, there’s a strange possibility that it might also be the last. Women’s rugby is growing in popularity but just not in the 15s format.
An editorial on the excellent scrumqueens.com website pointed out that the number of nations applying for entry was down to 18, including the seven who were granted automatic places. The Asia/Africa/Oceania qualifier descended into farce when three participants in the 2014 tournament pulled out of the running for this one. Consider that Australia have played only (15-a-side) five Test matches since 2014.
It’s also surely instructive that the England players, reigning champions and tournament favourites, have been advised by the RFU that their full-time professional contracts will be terminated after the tournament. Sevens is clearly seen as the way forward for the women’s game, even if this means it’s no longer a game for all shapes and sizes. The inclusion of sevens as an Olympic sport has changed everything.
It may also be instructive that World Rugby have yet to designate a host for the next WRWC — if there is one — or even to instigate a bidding process. So enjoy this tournament while it lasts, a celebration of a sport which has grown quickly in popularity, yet which might not last long in its current incarnation.