The World Rugby guideline was intended to help coaches in the sport “understand how men and women are different.”
The World Rugby guideline was intended to help coaches in the sport “understand how men and women are different.”
World Rugby has apologised for publishing “misogynistic” guidance on how to coach women and girls which was based on an 18-year-old academic review.
The global governing body last week removed incendiary guidance from its website that was intended to help coaches in the sport “understand how men and women are different.”
The coaching framework was based on a literature review from 2006 and listed outdated gender stereotypes across six main areas, from how men and women differ in intellectual function to how they react to stress.
According to the research used to develop the coaching resource listed on its website, men use a “flight or fight” coping strategy in stressful situations, while women “tend and befriend”. It also outlined survival strategies used by both sexes, stating that men resort to “self interest, hierarchy and power” while women use “relationships, empathy and connections.”
The guidance sparked a social media backlash after it was flagged by Herald columnist Alice Soper, a New Zealand-based journalist and women’s sport advocate.
Soper shared a screenshot of the guidance on X, describing it as the most “steaming pile of misogynistic b------t I have encountered in quite some time.”
The advice offered by World Rugby in coach women and men.
Saracens prop Akina Gondwe was among hundreds to criticise rugby’s global governing body, posting on social media: “Citing work from 18 years ago … academically speaking, this would be considered outdated.”
The coaching framework was devised by a number of household names in rugby. Among the notable figures listed under the ‘acknowledgements’ section include Sir Wayne Smith, the former All Blacks assistant coach who was involved in New Zealand’s 2011 and 2015 World Cup triumphs before guiding the Black Ferns to World Cup glory in 2022.
Giselle Mather, the current coach of Trailfinders Women, is also listed as one of four individuals who helped develop the coaching resource, along with women’s rugby trailblazer Carol Isherwood. It is not known whether the trio had seen the coaching framework before it was made public.
The gaffe is understood to have caused major embarrassment among insiders at World Rugby, who removed the guidance within hours after Soper drew attention to it.
A World Rugby spokesperson told Telegraph Sport: “Unfortunately, last week a women and girls coaching framework was published on World Rugby’s Passport technical resource site containing language that does not reflect the international federation’s values and known commitment to gender equality.
“While quickly spotted and removed, reference to third party analysis within the resource outlining considerations for coaching the men’s and women’s games should not have been included, and we are deeply apologetic that this was published.
“World Rugby is passionate about advancing women and girls in rugby as a core pillar of its strategic plan to grow the game and we will work harder to ensure that this does not happen again. We would like to apologise to all who may have been offended.”
In a bizarre turn of events, former England World Cup winner Rachael Burford hailed the coaching framework as a “brilliant resource” for those who coach women and girls.
In an Instagram post that has since been deleted, the Harlequins player wrote: “It’s been awesome to support World Rugby on this project.”
The coaching guidance has since been replaced with an ‘Coaching Women and Girls’ module intended to encourage coaching methods to help recruit and retain more women and girls to the sport.
