World Rugby has announced the establishment of a dedicated player welfare steering group for women's rugby.
The group will exclusively focus on the advancement of player welfare initiatives and interventions designed specifically for the women’s game at all levels.
As women's rugby grows throughout the world, both in terms of participation and interest, World Rugby says they are committed to ensuring a 'dedicated focus on women’s welfare advancement, and will not just replicate or adopt measures in place for the men’s game.'
They have committed that the approach also supports the approach outlined in the transformational 2017-25 Women’s Plan.
The independent steering group will provide expert, evidence-based recommendations to key World Rugby decision-making bodies to advance welfare for girls and women at all levels.
These include injury surveillance studies and game analysis to track the evolution of the women’s games as well as research specifically related to the women’s game to identify priorities for future research funding.
The group will also consider findings from existing women’s research with the aim to determine what impact this has on laws and regulatory evolution while also aiming to identify elements of the game that would benefit from a women’s specific approach such as training or education.
The group will be chaired by former Canada international, former World Rugby Executive Leadership Scholarship recipient and consultant psychiatrist Dr Araba Chintoh.
The 13-person steering group will comprise of a diverse group of independent and World Rugby expert medical and legal professionals, science and research experts, former international players and administrators from across the global game.
Former Ireland and Munster doctor Dr. Éanna Falvey who is now World Rugby Chief Medical Officer and Yvonne Nolan, World Rugby Regulations Committee member will both be part of the group.
