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October 4, 2024
England’s Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) has launched ‘I’m Powered Differently,’ a campaign to showcase how players balance elite-level rugby alongside demanding careers ahead of tomorrow’s season opener. The campaign will spotlight the “unique strength, resilience and determination” of women rugby players through the story of nine players.
According to a survey of players from the Women’s Seven Series and last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup, dual careers are common for women rugby players. Only 42% of players say they can live off their income from rugby and 60% are supplementing their rugby income with another job.
Irish rugby star, Grace Moore, has balanced the entirety of her rugby career with being an A&E doctor. She explains that women’s rugby salaries are often tight due to the cost-of-living crisis and other unique factors. “They are not getting massive salaries. £400 a year for boots, that could be a finance that stops them buying the groceries they want and the food they need,” she told Sky Sports.
“What we’ll probably see in years to come is that this model of rugby has to be very careful not to price out people from lower income backgrounds, and that whole talent pool being excluded. Because financially, families can’t support these players to develop to become athletes the way the more affluent can.”
PWR’s ‘I’m Powered Differently’ not only celebrates rugby players who have both on-pitch and off-pitch careers but also raises awareness of the reality for these women through storytelling. The new initiative builds on PWR’s 2023 campaign. The project was shortlisted for three awards and was highly commended at the prestigious Sport Industry Awards.
“Excitement is building ahead of this Saturday’s PWR kick-off as part of the build-up we want to take the chance to provide a platform for women rugby players to share their stories, encouraging young women and girls to take up the sport,” said Belinda Moore, PWR Chief Executive. “As we see from the nine stories in the series female athletes draw strength from their individuality. The stories show us each player’s journey is unique, and their diversity is what powers them. There is far more to our players than the rugby on the pitch, and they are undoubtedly inspiring role models.”
The players featured include Sale Sharks’ Amber Schonert (tattoo artist), Exeter Chiefs’ Lucy Nye (RAF flight lieutenant), Harlequins’ Freya Aucken (marine biologist), Leicester Tigers’ Roisin McBrien (financial advisor), Trailfinders’ Carys Cox (nurse), Gloucester-Hartpury’s Lizzie Goulden (solicitor), Loughborough Lightning’s Isla Curphey (quantity surveyor), Saracens’ Sydney Gregson (teacher) and Bristol Bears’ Simi Pam (doctor).
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