Before more than 81,000 fans — the largest crowd ever for a women’s rugby match — the England Red Roses became world champions.
Undefeated since their heartbreak four years ago, they have shown not just power and skill, but integrity, grit, and joy in everything they do.
And here’s the irony.
While mothers in the Red Roses squad return to international rugby after carrying children, giving birth, and raising families, their male counterparts collapse in theatrical agony at the merest tap of a boot.
Nine months of pregnancy, hours of labour, and a lifetime of responsibility versus a grazed shin.
One earns quiet respect; the other earns a standing ovation for best actor.
While the Red Roses speak openly about who they are — many proudly LGBTQ+ — far too many men in professional sport still hide behind silence.
The women’s game wears honesty as a badge of honour.
The men’s game too often wears a mask.
While women support one another with genuine togetherness — celebrating each other’s success as their own — men’s football and rugby too often fall into the trap of ego, excuses, and finger-pointing.
And yet, some still dismiss women’s rugby by saying “they’re not as strong as the men.”
True, biology gives the men more bulk.
But when it comes to vision, skill, and spotting opportunities to score, the women are arguably better.
Perhaps if the men studied them more closely, we’d see fewer fumbled passes and squandered chances.
What makes the Red Roses so refreshing is their authenticity.
They love the game.
They play for each other.
They don’t fake, they don’t posture, they don’t hide.
In an age of overpaid egos and endless VAR debates, that honesty is priceless.
And this legacy stretches beyond England.
Who could forget Samoa’s delight in scoring their first ever World Cup points?
Or the roar of English fans celebrating with them?
That is what sport is meant to be — not division, not theatre, but pure shared joy.
So let’s be clear: the Red Roses are not just world champions.
They are the standard-bearers of how sport should be played — with honesty, courage, and unity.
And perhaps the greatest irony of all is this: it is the women in sport who now set the example the men need to follow.
Leave a comment