Power and biases: A female grassroots player and exclusion
A player shares their experience of grassroots women's sport, biases and belonging
We have seen power and bias mainly through coaching decisions. For example - a previous coach ignored the team’s inclusive values and used selection as a way to favour people he personally liked, with the result that some players received minimal to no game time.
Older players, quieter players, and anyone who didn’t fit his idea of “real rugby” were sidelined. Complaints weren’t taken seriously, and he dismissed inclusion as “pandering”.
This situation made me lose trust in the coaching setup. It felt pointless trying to build an inclusive team culture when the person in charge didn’t believe in it. It also made me more protective of teammates who were being overlooked, and ultimately created a large rift within the team between the favoured ones, and everyone else.
It really hurt some of the players. One older player who was technically strong was repeatedly benched in favour of the coach’s preferred player, and it knocked her confidence.
Others barely got any game time and felt like they didn’t belong. We had frequent conversations with players that were considering leaving because they felt invisible.
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When people see bias and favouritism, they stop seeing rugby as welcoming. It makes the sport look cliquey and political, especially for women and gender‑diverse players who already face barriers.
This is especially true in a small town, where everyone knows someone. One dismissive comment can be mistaken for being an entire team’s ethos, which was certainly not the case.
A lot of it comes from people being put in positions of power without training or oversight. Some coaches bring old‑school attitudes, and at grassroots level, people often get away with things because there’s no real accountability.
Especially within the women’s game, and in regard to coaching, it is very much still a “you get what you’re given” type situation – and if you raise a problem with this, support to correct attitudes and issues varies greatly depending on the attitude of your Club as a whole.
Both Clubs and Teams need to be clear about their values and actually enforce them, in a cascade approach from the top, with no room for poor behaviour. Coaches should have training in inclusion and player development.
Complaints should be taken seriously, and there should be consequences when someone ignores the club’s ethos.
The Active Bystander training, and the RFU’s Speak Up are great resources for helping with this, but ultimately the problem is likely to remain a problem until people are comfortable with confronting these behaviours consistently at source.
What I would like to see
I’d like women’s grassroots rugby to have proper support, proper coaching standards, and a culture that values development, coming all the way down from top Executive levels.
I want players to feel valued, to get fair game time, and to have coaches who actually develop them. Everyone should feel like they belong, no matter their age, ability, or background.
I want coaches to have proper training in inclusion and player development, and to be held accountable when they misuse their role. Good coaches should be supported; bad behaviour shouldn’t be ignored.
As women, we place a lot of value on transparency. This can be translated into sport into transparency in selection, clear expectations around behaviour, and leaders who actually live the values they talk about. Bias thrives in silence — so the more open and accountable things are, the better.
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