Irish rugby’s shameful reality and the inadequate response from Greg McWilliams
2023 was set to be a big year for Irish rugby.
Their five-year strategic plan is coming to a sparkling climax with a grand slam win and their World Cup fate in their own hands. The club system is flourishing and the U20s side is rampaging across Europe. All is well.
Sorry, did I forget to mention that the same cannot be said for women?
Five years ago, the IRFU presented a vision of the future in which we are now living. In their plan, they outlined, “The values and standards of all involved, from player, coach, volunteer to spectator are vital to the work and reputation of the game. Our values are our moral compass, on and off the pitch.”
Reports of sexism, exclusion, and an institution governed by “an old-boys culture,” were finally put at the feet of head coach Greg McWilliams as his team announcement for this weekend’s Six Nations fixture against Italy turned into a trial of the IRFU.
The compass that guides the IRFU has failed its best female players and McWilliams was foolish to quickly dismiss Fiona Thomas’ damning article.
He said: “I read the article. I think it would be wrong of me to not read the article but I think lots of it is historic, it is the same things that you could have talked about last year.
“It’s an interesting article but it’s nearly irrelevant at this stage. We’re moving forward and we’ve got a great plan and good resources around us.
History has a funny way of coming back to bite people and on this occasion, these so-called irrelevant claims surfaced back in 2021 shortly after McWilliams took charge when the IRFU were confronted with a letter from 62 players who expressed their loss of trust and faith in the national governing body after historic failings.
At the time the group explained: “Ultimately recent events simply reflect multiple cycles of substandard commitment from the union, inequitable and untrustworthy leadership, a lack of transparency in the governance and operation of the women’s game…and an overall total lack of ambition about what it could achieve.”
The IRFU “refuted the overall tenor of the document which questions the IRFU’s commitment to, and leadership of, the women’s game in Ireland.”
When asked yesterday he thought his union was sexist, McWilliams categorically denied anything of the sort.
However, with cries of “Who gives a f**k about women’s rugby?” echoing around a recent president’s dinner in Dublin, McWilliams is foolish to ignore those who stain the women’s game in Ireland.
https://twitter.com/stellamills__/status/1646527281438035977?s=20
As per the IRFU strategic plan, respect is one of the hallmarks on their road to “building success, together.” In particular, respect for all those involved in the rugby family, the wider community and oneself.
McWilliams’ instant dismissal of concerns about the comment that was allegedly made was a shortcoming of someone tasked with rejuvenating the women’s game in his country.
“I don’t [have concerns]. And that’s not me being flippant, that’s me being true to myself. I can’t affect what anybody writes. If somebody wants to write what they are doing 48hrs before kick-off of probably this team’s most important fixture, I can’t change that.
“I can’t control any of that external noise, my job and the coaches’ job and the players’ job is to put Ireland rugby back on the map and that’s something that I’m actually loving.
“I’ve always been a sucker for working with teams that have always been on the back foot a little bit, right down to when I was in school and I took up a role with a senior cup team in Michael’s, they had never won a cup before. It was really appealing to try and be with the group who did it for the first time. Same with the Irish women’s side when I was with them first. They had nothing, they were losing matches by massive score lines and I wanted to be a part of that and help them.”
This Irish squad is not some sort of sob story or a Hollywood zero-to-hero movie script. Since they won their first and only grand slam 10 years ago, the IRFU has failed to provide the opportunities to sustain Ireland as a dominant force in the women’s game.
McWilliams was previously part of the coaching squad that delivered that historic grand slam and he has returned from the United States to a team that has slipped further and further away from the top table.
Alarm bells seem to have only started ringing when Ireland failed to qualify for the 2021 World Cup, miserably falling short of what seems now a delirious target of a sixth-place finish.
McWilliams spoke about recent changes in staffing that have been implemented: “I was the only full-time staff member on the first of December.
https://twitter.com/offtheball/status/1646629331697913857?s=20
“We now have seven full-time staff members, we have eight contractors that come into the sport in competition week, we have eight new employments along our pathways in our centres of excellence so there has been a massive growth in that time.”
It is no wonder that the team has fallen short of the unachievable expectations, including qualification for the 2020 Olympics 7s and finishing in the top three of the Six Nations table thrice.
However, there are asterisks next to the 2020 tournament as the side only played four games and 2021 due to the tournament being played in two pools meaning they did not get the opportunity to play the other five teams.
While I don’t doubt the ambitions and desire that McWilliams brings to the squad, there still lacks a culture that truly empowers the players he is responsible for.
“Without getting too corny about it, I’m like their dad, and they’re my daughters. You care for them and you want them to do well.”
"Without getting too corny, I'm kinda like their dad and they're my daughters".
What sort of patriarchal, creepy and unprofessional muck is this? They're your colleagues. You're their boss. Treat them as equals, not children.
This made my skin crawl. https://t.co/NhAEzmGNHn
— IrishWomensRugbySupportersClub (@IrishWomens) April 14, 2023
If this is the sort of power dynamic that McWilliams is looking to establish whilst, to coin his phrase, turning the ship around and getting Ireland competitive again, then it should come as no surprise that players are using a newspaper to voice their concerns and frustrations rather than feeling they have the support to escalate them in their union.
This imagery of his players as youthful fledglings continued throughout his press conference when asked about where the comments originated from.
“That player could have been someone who is 19 years of age, who’s never been a professional before, who’s never been in the spotlight before and they will learn the ways of being a professional athlete.
“We always talk that we’re entitled to nothing and grateful for everything and I think if you have that as part of your DNA you are going to go places and you are going to make mistakes along the way.”
It leaves you wondering who in the NGB is going to stand up and support the players in their fight for equality, do they have any allies in the corridors of power?
2023 is a big year for Irish rugby. This union is not ready for the reckoning that has been simmering in the shadows.
After triumphing in the 2013 & 2015 Six Nations and securing 4th place at the 2014 World Cup, the squad demonstrated their capabilities only for the IRFU to close the door on them for seven years before awarding the first professional contracts.
The players expect a union that shows they aspire to do the right thing and endeavour not to be bystanders whilst working together to be a vibrant, respectful organisation.
Those words are straight from the strategic plan, not mine.
