{"id":296749,"date":"2023-11-17T17:28:46","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T17:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=296749"},"modified":"2023-11-17T17:28:46","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T17:28:46","slug":"premiership-womens-rugby-launches-new-era-for-the-domestic-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/rugby-union\/premiership-womens-rugby-launches-new-era-for-the-domestic-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Premiership Women\u2019s Rugby launches new era for the domestic game"},"content":{"rendered":"

One game a week from the retitled English top flight will be shown live on TNT Sports <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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It felt like an appropriate location for the launch of a new era of domestic women\u2019s rugby. On Wednesday evening, the great and the good of English rugby crowded into a room around the corner from Battersea Power Station, celebrating the rebirth of Premiership Women\u2019s Rugby (PWR), the retitled, reinvigorated top division of English domestic women\u2019s rugby and the next step in the sport\u2019s evolution.<\/p>\n

Syntax lovers look away, but the league\u2019s new initials are, obviously, no coincidence. Formerly known as Premier 15s, this rebrand was born out of a desire to strengthen the footprint of the competition and progress towards financial sustainability under the leadership of a new limited company headed by Belinda Moore.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are seeing now is a really exciting growth in the interest in women\u2019s rugby,\u201d Moore told The Independent <\/em>earlier this year. \u201cYou saw that in some of the TV viewing figures around the World Cup final,\u00a0the day at Twickenham during the Six Nations. You can start to see the growth coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost like being on the edge of a springboard and waiting to dive into this huge opportunity that waits ahead of us. It is about making sure that we absolutely capitalise upon it for the good of the sport. I can\u2019t wait.\u201d<\/p>\n

A flagship launch campaign \u2013 \u201cPowered Differently\u201d \u2013 has seen a selection of players photographed in innovative dress designed to showcase their personalities and show a different side of the sport. A landmark TV deal has been agreed with TNT Sports, a broadly positive step even if the financial details are undisclosed and a move away from a free-to-air agreement with BBC iPlayer is not ideal.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The \u2018Powered Differently\u2019 campaign hopes to showcase players\u2019 personalities <\/p>\n

On the pitch, though, the English top flight is already established as the optimal place for the world\u2019s best women\u2019s rugby players to play. While much is made of the Red Roses\u2019 progress within the professional structures that the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has put around them, it is the competitive nature of the league which they call home for most of the year that has really driven the English side on.<\/p>\n

Another handful of global superstars have joined the league\u2019s ranks this season. Sophie de Goede \u2013 the goal-kicking No 8 and all-action captain of Canada \u2013 has returned to Saracens to add another world-class back-row option to Alex Austerberry\u2019s squad as the Premier 15s queens bid to take back their throne after a semi-final exit last season.<\/p>\n

Imaginative Italian playmaker Beatrice Rigoni has signed for Sale, who have also added breakthrough England youngster Morwenna Talling, while ambitious Trailfinders Women have invested heavily \u2013 USA skipper Kate Zackary and England flyer Abby Dow should thrive under the tutelage of Giselle Mather.<\/p>\n

Leicester Tigers are new additions, too, one of the big beasts of the men\u2019s game ready to roar in their first season in the top tier of women\u2019s rugby. Defending champions Gloucester-Hartpury, beaten finalists Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins and Bristol Bears all appear in fine fettle, too \u2013 there will be no easy games.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Canada No 8 Sophie de Goede has re-signed for Saracens <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is really exciting for the league as a whole,\u201d said Marlie Packer, World Rugby\u2019s Player of the Year, this week ahead of Saracens\u2019 opener against Loughborough Lightning. \u201cWe want to be tested week in, week out. It\u2019s not just about rocking up and playing, you need to put in an 80-minute performance. You can\u2019t knock off. I\u2019m really looking forward to what Trailfinders Women and Leicester Tigers are going to bring.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so exciting to play in it. I think it is the best league in the world, you see that from players from other nations who want to come and play in our league and keep pushing. Having TNT on board showing our games is phenomenal. We need to keep getting on TV as much as possible \u2013 the more you see it, you can believe and want to do it. It\u2019s about inspiring future rugby players, boys and girls, to enjoy the game that has given me so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not all is well. This new season was meant to launch with 10 teams, but already Warriors Women have been lost, the continuing fallout from the collapse of Worcester last year having significant ramifications. The women\u2019s operation at Sixways had been taken over by local company Cube International but their sudden withdrawal just weeks before the new season has highlighted the financial realities on the pathway towards professionalisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe support just doesn\u2019t exist for it," Andy Moss, Cube\u2019s chairman, told the BBC, citing a figure of \u00a31m a season to run the club. \u201cQuite simply, it wasn\u2019t financially viable. The men\u2019s teams are generating anywhere between 6,000 and 20,000 people watching a game \u2013 all buying a ticket and supporting the club and generating revenue. We\u2019ve got no one coming to watch [the women], no commercial interest \u2013 it\u2019s not a viable proposition at this moment."<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

England\u2019s players are only just back from winning the inaugural edition of WXV <\/p>\n

Club coaches have also expressed concern that the international calendar will impinge on the league. England and Wales players who featured in WXV1 have been back with their clubs for just a couple of training sessions. While the league is no longer under the control of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), those with Red Roses central contracts are still closely managed, sometimes held out of club games in which they want to play to preserve their energy for England camps and fixtures down the line.<\/p>\n

Yet there is no doubt a sense of optimism on season\u2019s eve. There are continuing negotiations over a possible free-to-air broadcast partner and additional sponsors. The product on the pitch is already strong and there are promising signs off it, too, for a revamp that could power up the women\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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