By james art As part of the transformational legacy program linked to the 2025 Rugby World Cup, the game’s governing body is removing barriers to the participation of women and girls by providing sanitation to more than 500 rugby clubs across the country for their players, members and visitors.
Impact ’25 aims to encourage more women and girls to get involved in rugby by increasing opportunities and improving experiences for female players, and as well as bringing clubs up to a minimum acceptable level of sanitation, the fund also raises awareness of the importance of appropriate sanitary conditions in rugby clubs and to break taboos around the cycle and women’s sport.
Packer said: “I think clubs offering these facilities just make it more inclusive. Just the simple stuff of sanitary bins.
“I know it sounds a bit silly but we’ve never seen it just in the toilets and dressing rooms of clubs but it’s normal.
“And now to see sanitary containers and products, whether it’s a sanitary napkin or a pad just on the side, that you can pick up and use when you need it, when you’ve been caught off guard. This is a really fantastic scheme.
Research by Women In Sport, funded by Sport England, found that 7 out of 10 teenage girls avoid activity when they have their period, with 62% of these citing ‘fear of leakage’.
Surveys have also shown that providing sanitation in clubs is one of the top three most impactful changes for women in the game and is a top priority for 50% of women.
Research has also revealed that period poverty is a barrier to sport for girls and women and therefore, as a thought leader in this space, England Rugby wants to tackle this issue by providing sanitary products to clubs.
As part of the initiative, over 300 packages have already been distributed to clubs across the country, with approx. 1,000 sanitary products are being installed in clubs across the country. It’s all thanks to funding from the £7m Impact ’25 Facilities Investment Fund, which aims to improve the women’s rugby club experience by improving toilets, refurbishing changing rooms and developing social spaces.
In addition to this project, England Rugby has developed a ground-breaking women’s health toolkit to help remove barriers to participation and accelerate cultural and behavioral change at clubs.
Both the Women’s Health Toolkit and the Sanitation Project are in line with England Rugby’s ‘Every Rose’ strategy, which aims to improve access for women and girls in the game, with a target of 100,000 women and girls playing the sport by 2027