Women's rugby: Former England captain Catherine Spencer positive about game's future

Former England rugby captain Catherine Spencer is optimistic about the future of the women's game because aspiring youngsters now have recognisable female role models playing the sport.

The sport has seen its profile boosted further following England’s recent Women's Rugby World Cup triumph after a run of three successive final defeats to New Zealand.

And Spencer, who retired in 2011, pointed to increased visibility and better accessibility to some of England's world-class players as a clear indication the women's game has excellent prospects.

“With better coverage - particularly around the World Cup - people have been able to see that these girls are just normal people,” Spencer told Sky Sports.

“They're mums, daughters, sisters and teachers and it's been great for people to be able to see their personalities and characters.

“Girls are now able to say ‘I want to be like that - I want to be Katy McLean, I want to be England fly-half and captain and actually I'd love to be a teacher as well’.

“Maggie Alphonsi had always been there as the most famous player in women's rugby and also a fairly famous rugby player full stop in her own right.

“But now there are others like Nolli Waterman, Emily Scarratt and Sarah Hunter who are becoming really well-known names in women’s rugby.

“It’s great for kids to grow up and want to be like them. I thought Martin Johnson was a great England rugby captain but I also had my own female role models in women’s sport although they were few and far between when I was growing up.

“It’s great for girls to be able to see these players now on television and social media. They’re so much more accessible now and that’s also nice for the players themselves whether they are rugby players footballers or netballers,

“It’s great for them to see that there is value attached to them and naturally people want to see and hear from them. It’s nice for them to see that playing out in everyday life.”

Earlier this month, Minister for Sport and Equalities Helen Grant said “the future of women’s rugby at the elite level is bright”. 

And Spencer believes a key contributory factor to this is the number of opportunities for girls to start playing at an early age.

“The sport is growing in schools but also in the club game now there are U18, U15 and seven-a-side U13 age groups for girls,” she added.

“Ten to twelve years back a lot of women only started playing rugby when they went to university so they weren't able to play to as high a standard as today’s world-class rugby players who are continually developing their skills on the pitch.

“But there is now a really good pathway for girls to start playing rugby and there are definitely more opportunities for girls out there.”