Daley-mclean: Our game needs changes to grow
Former England captain questions match dates Crowd of 11,000 proves public interest, she says
Katy Daley-mclean, the England fly-half, believes the scheduling of the Women’s Six Nations should be re-examined.
Speaking after her side ran riot against Wales, scoring 10 tries in a 66-7 victory on Saturday, the player who captained England to their 2014 World Cup glory said options to help grow the women’s game needed to be investigated.
“I think over the next couple of years, when Six Nations and World
Rugby sit down, there need to be some questions like, ‘Do we need to play at the same time of year?’ and, ‘Does the women’s calendar need to replicate the men’s?’” she said.
There has been major criticism of the decision to shoehorn many of the women’s games into lunchtime slots, frequently with the games overlapping, meaning the tournament has been difficult for fans to follow. There is also the issue of the women playing on the same day as the men, giving the feeling they are a warm-up act.
Another criticism has been that the tournament decider between the two best-resourced nations, England and France, was held on the opening weekend to correspond with the men.
“If we think the girls’ game is good enough to stand on its own, then we [should] play on a different day to the men,” Daley-mclean said.
“I must admit I do like an England v Wales weekend, it has a really good vibe to it. Do we have to play on the same day?
“Do you look at playing on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the women, men and under-20s spread across it? There are so many avenues to go down. I think you’ll find the women’s game branches out because you are basically attracting a different audience.
“Yes, you have your rugby fans, but ultimately you probably had a lot of people here today that could access the Red Roses that don’t access the men’s game. I would hope possibilities could be endless and what they do is the best for the game and the supporters.”
The Wales part-timers struggled physically against players who train daily. Such is England’s strength that Poppy Cleall, a back-row forward, played in the second row and scored a hat-trick. She sealed a brace in the opening minutes before further first-half tries from Daley-mclean and Vicky Fleetwood.
The Wales pack began to look jaded and England ran in six tries in the second half. Such was the disparity Wales were delighted to be awarded a penalty try after an hour.
The attendance of 10,974 made Daley-mclean smile. “To get 11,000 to a women’s game really shows the appetite for it,” she said. “When I made my debut 13 years ago we were playing to crowds of between 50 and 200.”
Scores 5-0 P Cleall try, 7-0 Scarratt con, 12-0 P Cleall try, 14-0 Scarratt con, 19-0 Daley-mclean try, 24-0 Fleetwood try, 26-0 Scarratt con, 31-0 Millar-mills try, 33-0 Scarratt con, 38-0 Cleall try, 40-0 Scarratt con, 45-0 Cokayne try, 47-0 Scarratt con, 47-7 penalty try, 52-7 Aldcroft try, 54-7 Scarratt con, 59-7 Botterman try, 61-7 Scarratt con, 66-7 Mckenna try.
England E Scott (M Venner 40); L Thompson,
E Scarratt, A Reed (Z Harrison 63), S Mckenna; K Daley-mclean, L Riley (N Hunt 55); V Cornborough (H Botterman 48), A Cokayne (H Kerr 60), S Brown (S Bern 48), P Cleall, Z Aldcroft, H Millar-mills, V Fleetwood, S Beckett (S Hunter 55).
Wales K Powell (L George 56); C Lewis (H Bluck 53), H Jones, K Lake, L Neumann; R Wilkins, K Bevan
(F Lewis 67); G Pyrs (C Hope 67), K Jones, C Hale,
G Evans (G Crabb 46, M Kelly 72), N John, A Butchers, B Lewis (R Lock 32), S Lillicrap.
Referee Amber Mclachlan (Australia).