The "gold-medal effect" has everyone wanting "a piece of the Australian women," according to Georgina Robinson of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. They are "gutsy," they are "spunky" and now, on the biggest stage of all, they are "world beaters." How "long will it last?" When the "hype settles, the Australian Rugby Union cannot afford to let the good news die with the television interest." ARU CEO Bill Pulver said, "The really interesting thing that I don't think people have fully grasped yet is that the growth we want to achieve in the women's game will directly influence the growth of the men's game. Once you normalize the role of women in rugby you will start to see growth in men's rugby. The Gold Medal is a very important achievement for our team that will pay wonderful dividends for the whole game." With profile and professionalism "come unique challenges for one of the only professional women's contact sports." The Rugby Union Players' Association is "working on a pregnancy and parenthood policy that will outline the responsibilities and rights of elite players who have children." RUPA CEO Ross Xenos said, "We want to create a framework in which it is OK to be a mother. We've got a good foundation through national legislation around the leave entitlements and benefits for maternity leave but the uniqueness of sevens being a contact team sport does present some unique challenges around how we address players taking time away from the game from the moment they know that they may be pregnant." The RUPA will "also go into bat for pay rises for the women, whose base salaries languish" about 25% below the men (SMH, 8/12).
