Lack of secure funding and team support continues to contribute to apparent inequalities that hamper the Maties Women’s Rugby team. This was according to Shaun February, Maties Rugby coordinator.
February praised the progress of the women’s team, but said that “women’s rugby is not where it should be.”
There has, however, been an increase in the number of women in positional leadership in rugby, February said. Maties Rugby, for example, currently has a woman as the assistant coach for the men’s team.
Maties Women’s Rugby was created in 2017.
Former Maties Women’s Rugby player, Karen Truter, in action. PHOTO: Francois Lombard
“I think there is a big imbalance in the money spent on women’s sports in comparison to that which is spent on men’s sports,” said Blaine Apollos, who has been on the team for a year. The same goes for marketing and the exposure that women’s sports receive, she said. According to Apollos, this inequality is also seen in the number of supporters that attend events.
The current Maties Women’s Rugby coach, Johann Zeier, said that his approach to providing this support is making female athletes feel valued and appreciated.
“Female sports can no longer remain on the bottom of the agenda,” said Zeier
“In a male-dominated area, where there is such a great potential for females to start making careers out of sport, it is our job, as males, to do whatever we can to try and assist the athletes and push them in the right direction, and offer guidance when necessary,” said Zeier.
Maties Women’s Rugby team has made great progress, ranking 7th out of 15 teams in their first University Sports South Africa (USSA) tournament in Johannesburg. The Maties Women’s Rugby team also hosted the Maties Women’s Touch Rugby Tournament this year. Last year, the team won a trip to go watch the Rugby World Cup in Tokyo, Japan.
The Maties Women’s Rugby team preparing to go to Japan after winning the DHL team competition last year. PHOTO: Francois Lombard
In male-dominated sporting codes, gender inequality is prevalent, especially in rugby, stated February. He said that there was a need to empower women “to achieve equality in the sporting sector”.
Zeier acknowledges that female athletes face tougher conditions and that the gap between males and females in sports needs to be bridged. “The university needs to look at how we can boost female sports and our sportswomen.” he said.