I enjoy watching many disciplines of women’s sport. But full contact sports are not those. By full contact I mean rugby union xv’s and rugby league xiii’s.
I think that Women's Rugby will have a limited potential for a number of reasons, the contact aspect and associated gruesome injuries will turn of many viewers.
I love seeing blood in sport, boxing is one of my favourites and I have fond memories of players like David Croft splitting their bald heads and seeing the blood flow.
Maybe this is a sign of misogynism, but I don't like seeing blood on female athletes.
I think there are a number of factors that made the Womens World Cup a success, apart from the off side rule, you can basically learn the rules in about 30 seconds and many people came to a game they don't traditionally follow because they felt like they could have input into conversations about a sporting contest that they may not previously had an interest in.
How long would it take to teach someone the laws of rugby 15's? The game is limited by its laws, I love Rugby but appreciate that it is too hard for some passing fans to understand exactly what is happening.
I don't think Womens Rugby is as marketable as Womens Football, all of the athletes that play Rugby should be admired for their skills and fitness but I dont think that due to the different body sizes required for rugby that some positions will ever headline a major sponsorship agreement.
I realise that this is a totally sexist male point of view, but even if you look at athletes who are on the covers of a womens magazine not too many are going to be props.
I want our Womens 15's team to be a success but they have to start from somewhere and unfortunately I don't see them being more popular than NRL, AFL or A-League women.