Rugby, Women and Health
May is Women’s Health Awareness month, and Simplyhealth, the UK’s leading health provider, is working with England Rugby to encourage women to talk openly about their bodies, their health and rugby.
The aim is to change the conversation around women’s health and challenge taboos when discussing subjects like periods and body image. It’s hoped that improving awareness and encouraging openness will help more women to enjoy and benefit from taking part in rugby.
As the trusted healthcare partner to England Rugby, Simplyhealth have provided tools, expertise and insights through content and community events outlining the challenges faced by sportswomen. The campaign also includes discussions on gender equality and the stereotypes that still exist when it comes to women’s rugby.
The partnership features a content series, focusing on three aspects and featuring inspiring sportswomen confident enough to have those difficult but tremendously important conversation.
Being Body Confident sees three England players and two Lichfield RUFC players discussing their perceptions of their bodies. They talk about being muscular and strong, being rugby players, the empowerment that the sport brings in an age when social media tells women and girls their bodies need to conform to airbrushed stereotypes.
England and Saracens flanker Vicky Fleetwood talks about the many body types in rugby and how, as an athlete before her rugby career, she was judged on what she looked like. England scrum half Leanne Infante says if she feels fit and strong on the pitch, she’s confident in how she looks. Loughborough Lightning and Red Rose hooker Lark Davies talks about how developing as a player meant being confident in herself and her body and knowing that the position she plays requires muscle mass.
Molly Sanghera from Lichfield says rugby saved her from depression, that players aren’t judged in the sport which is a powerful positive. And her team-mate Eloise Kirby agrees and says rugby has changed the way she sees her body.
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The Challenge Tradition episode sees Vicky explain that girls can now aspire to being a professional rugby player and that when she got her first England cap she was playing at a Canadian school with 50 people watching, whereas now the matches are regularly on TV and being played in front of a big crowd and a wider range of people.
Leanne talks about the Premiership clubs giving support to players to grow the game itself and ensure younger players coming through have the best support possible. And Lark is happy that strong, powerful women are being celebrated more.
Molly describes how she was welcomed into the rugby family in a way that made her want to be part of the sport, despite negative comments from others. And Eloise explains that although she knew women played rugby, she didn’t know to what level but found an environment that she wanted to be part of.
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The final episode Women’s Health in Sport sees the England players talking about puberty, periods and changing the way issues are seen, handled and talked about, while Molly explains that despite having older siblings these conversations weren’t happening as she grew up.
