World Rugby boss eager to make women's game as 'equally valuable' as men's

World Rugby boss Brett Gosper has stated he believes female players will eventually hold the same commercial value as males after the global governing body launched a new campaign to promote the women's game.

The "Try and Stop Us" campaign was launched yesterday aimed at increasing participation and engagement among fans, audiences, players and investors in the women’s game.

Gosper said World Rugby is eager to continue pushing the momentum gathering behind the women's game globally.

"The development of women in rugby is the single biggest opportunity for our sport to grow over the next decade," Gosper said.

World Rugby said currently participation levels are at an all-time high with 2.7 million players globally – making up more than a quarter of the global playing population – and a 28 per cent increase in registered players since 2017. 

They also noted for the second year running, more young girls have gotten into rugby globally than boys.

Gosper said the next step is to monetise the women's game through big brands, sponsors, and broadcasting so it can become self-sustainable.

"That's the future. You've got to believe that at some point in time, and it's hard to put a date on it, that the women's game will be equally valuable as the men's game," Gosper said. "That is some time in the future but we've got to build that future as fast as we can.

"The values are becoming very apparent. It's our job to grow those so the women's game is not just self-funding but actually profitable.

"The tendency from now is the women's game will be far more marketed on its own merits rather than bundled as an afterthought into the men's package.

"We're not just going to bolt it on but often sell some of these commercial assets specifically for the women's game."

Sevens currently draws the most attention for female players with the allure of Olympic Games and full-time contracts up for grabs.

Gosper said while it's amazing to see how well the shortened format is doing for women's rugby, World Rugby will put time and effort into getting the 15-a-side game to the same appeal level.

"There will be efforts to redress that to a certain extent, to reinforce some of the regional XVs competitions. In the plans for the Nations Championship there is also a women's Nations Championship."