Bern urges other nations to invest
ENGLAND back rower Sarah Bern believes it’s time other unions invest in their women’s teams or they will ‘get left behind’.
Grand Slam winner Bern played in all five matches of England’s clean sweep in this year’s Six Nations, scoring an impressive five tries.
Bern, who was nominated for the player of the tournament award, says it’s vital other nations get on board with professionalism to close the gap on England.
“The other unions need to start investing in their women’s teams,” Bern told The Rugby Paper. “If you have a male side that’s peforming, I don’t see any reason why you can’t invest in your women’s side.
“For me, it’s a non-negotiable; you either join the ship that everyone else is joining or you get left behind. Wales coming third is brilliant, France had a brilliant Six Nations, but Scotland and Ireland didn’t do very well and if you want results you’ve got to look after the people you’re pushing.”
This year’s competition was broadcast live on BBC and enjoyed record viewing figures, crowds and interest, with the tournament being sponsored by TikTok increasing its exposure.
Bern said: “TikTok was really good as it’s one of the biggest social media platforms. At first, I was a bit dubious as I didn’t know how to use it, but they came in and helped us massively with content creation. We got lots of viewers just from TikTok and with the media coverage from the BBC, it’s changed the game for us.
“It was a brilliant tournament to play in. Our home games were phenomenal, the crowd at
Gloucester was immense and filled the whole stadium. It makes such a difference as you feel the energy going all round the ground.”
Bern has had a sensational season for both club and country, scoring seven tries and leading her Bristol Bears side to the play-offs via a third-place finish in the Premier 15s.
While disappointed at missing out on a place in the final, the 24-year-old is enjoying her rugby more than ever and credits Bristol’s improvement this season to the fact they use the same facilities as the men’s team.
She encourages other clubs in the league to do the same. “At Bristol we train with the men day in day out in the same facilities,” she said. “We’re training with world-class athletes and Olympic gold medallists. I don’t know any other women’s team that has the same level of access that their male team does. If we can get every club up to the same standard their male team is at, or at least training in similar facilities, the game will grow leaps and bounds.”
Bern is used to playing in high-pressure environments and relished the pressure of last weekend’s play-off. She said: “Pressure is a privilege. You’ve worked so hard that you can’t think about what’s going to happen. When I get nervous before a game, I just think how grateful I am to be playing rugby at a high level. You just have to think of what’s your job this second and what’s the best way I can do it.”
This year’s Premier 15s has been one of the most competitive yet and the quality increases year on year, shown by more of a level playing field than in recent seasons.
Bern said: “The standard of the Premier 15s is just shown by who’s in the top four. It won’t be the usual SaracensHarlequins final which is exciting. It hasn’t just been Saracens winning every game, there’s been shock scores against them. It’s been an interesting season.”
It was announced this month that England will be hosting the women’s World Cup in 2025, with the RFU quick to set a goal of selling out Twickenham for the final.
Bern believes having a home World Cup is a great opportunity for the game to grow and is relishing the chance of playing in front of packed out stadiums.
“I’m so excited for a home World Cup, it doesn’t come around often,” she added. “To be in the position that the Red Roses are in means it’s a really exciting time for us and we can really use it to drive the game going forward.
“If we can get thousands of fans at the World Cup then we can show the world where women’s rugby is at. I’m excited to see how fast it can grow.