Women's Super League Kick Off : kicking gender stereotypes off the pitch

Today the first ever Women's Rugby Super League kicked off and what a kick off it was. Bradford Bulls played Leeds Rhinos following an initial men's match between Coventry Bears and Bradford Bulls. The men's game ended in victory for Bradford but there is so much out there on men's rugby, I'm going to stick with the girls for this blog post.

Today was such a great day in the history of women's sports and rugby. I want this blog post to be happy and to celebrate the day but I also feel that it is really important to draw attention to a few negative aspects which together we can tackle (tackle, get it?) and eliminate from the sport. It would be unrealistic not to mention these issues. I tried my best to ignore anything negative but I can't help it because it REALLY gets to me when people do and say things that are counter-intuitive to promoting gender equality in sports. This is something that I feel very strongly about.

Anyway! Before the teams came on, girls from junior rugby teams took to the pitch. There were so many young girls in the stands cheering on both teams. This made me so happy, young girls watching strong women playing high quality rugby, what a fantastic way for young people to spend their afternoons. The moment that both teams came onto the pitch was very exciting, on they charged, ready to go.

Kick off and immediately both teams put on a very strong performance. A common misconception of women in sport is that they aren't very tough. These ladies took that stereotype and kicked it off the pitch and out of the stadium. You should have seen some of the tackles, excellent technique, energy and force. Some of them smashed down so hard that it made me shudder, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of any of those tackles.

But now for the little bit of negativity that I must voice. At one point, a male in the crowd decided to wolf-whistle one of the players. I mean come on, a wolf-whistle? You have got to be kidding me. Based on the description that I've just given you of the play, how on earth is a wolf-whistle even vaguely relevant? These women are highly athletic, trained, disciplined in their sport and extremely good at what they do. A wolf-whistle is the ultimate disrespect as far as I'm concerned. It's saying, "I only see you as a female, I have no respect for the professional performance that you're giving." If you were at the match and you know who did that wolf-whistle or made some kind of inappropriate comment, I ask you to challenge them and to tell them if that is their attitude, they are not welcome at the next game. Rugby League has no place for sexism.

Something else that made me really sad was that a lot of people left after the men's game. I appreciate that two games is quite time consuming and you might have had somewhere else to be but the people that left missed some really top quality rugby. I saw a lady with her young daughter of about seven years old leaving. What an opportunity wasted. As a parent of a daughter, surely you would want to show them that as a woman, they too could become a professional rugby player, that it isn't just a sport for the boys. By taking your young daughter out of that stadium, you are effectively telling your daughter that women's rugby isn't worth your time or support. This makes me feel very worried about the message that some fans are sending out.

On the other side, any young children that did remain to watch have been shown by their parents and carers that the Women's Super League is something to be celebrated and enjoyed. I saw on Twitter that @gazleeds92 took two children to the game, he tweeted that Emily who I think is his daughter, has set her target to play rugby when she is old enough. This makes me so happy, proof that a young girl has been inspired by today's game! The reaction on Twitter was overwhelmingly positive, what a great source it is for finding like minded people! I was a little concerned that many people didn't realise that this is the first Women's Super League to be launched, but now they know so we'll let that slide. That has more to do with a lack of coverage in the media, which the BBC has assured me it is looking to increase, watch this space.

Phil Caplan (@scratchingshed2) tweeted:
"Superb clash to start Women's Super League as @leedsrhinos win 32-16... Rhino's starting row front row immense"

Jo Phillips (@JojJojoelle) tweeted:
"An outstanding first half. Some real quality on display by both teams... All set up for a VERY competitive second-half. What an advertisement for Women's Super League."

The next time there is a Women's Super League game in your area I would strongly urge you to go and watch! The sport needs more support, more people in seats and more coverage. Everybody who was there watching today gave off amazing energy. This is because the quality of play was so extremely high. It is entertaining, exciting and such a great way to spend your weekend.

Well done to all the girls who played, it was a true joy to come and watch you play. You put on such a strong performance, both teams, and I had a really fun afternoon at the game. A special shout out to Charlotte Booth - I hope you're treating yourself to a Temple Donut after that performance.

If you've never really got into rugby maybe you should give the Women's Super League a try! (A try... again... pun intended). The energy is immense, the rugby absolutely superb and the women are empowering!

Make sure you tune in to the Super League show tomorrow 16th April, on the BBC at 23.30 (or maybe on i-player - 23.30 is quite late) to see Lois Forsell, Captain of Leeds Rhinos appear as a studio guest. Lois also put on an immense performance today, what a fantastic Captain.

All that's left to say is that the women's Bradford Bulls and Leeds Rhinos have shown us today that Leeds Girls Can.

Em x

P.S. If you want to see a bit of footage from the game, go and check out my Instagram story, but it was streamed live so it will only be up there for 24 hours from when I filmed it!

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