Launching a strategy to grow the game, the message from the Rugby Football Union is that "modern women’s values correlate entirely with what the game can bring," according to Owen Slot of the LONDON TIMES. The RFU "kicked off its new campaign to bring another 10,000 women into the game." Rugby Development Dir Steve Grainger said that the objective was to normalize women in rugby. The campaign is "helped by the success of the England team in winning the women’s World Cup in France." The next stage "is to spread the word and take the game to a wider playing audience." To do so, "the message from the RFU challenges stereotypes too long applied to rugby, women and sport." As the RFU’s launch document acknowledges, “The barriers to participation are often compounded by deeply entrenched perceptions.” Grainger explained, "Our key aim is normalizing women’s involvement in rugby and positioning the sport as something that has athleticism, strength and toughness. All of our research shows that those aren’t things women are afraid of. They’re things they’re proud of, so we have a real asset" (LONDON TIMES, 9/4).
