Good Things Come to Those Who Invest

Chief-Cum-Lately has put his writing shoes on again and has provided us with a thought-provoking artice on the Chiefs Women's team's achievements in the Premier 15s competition.  I'm sure it will generate as much interest and response as his last contribution.

In the biggest shock of Premier 15s history newly-formed Exeter Chiefs beat title holders Saracens 22-14 at Sandy Park! And then this seasons league leader Harlequins 7-6. Saracens and Quins between them have long dominated the Premier 15s. Susie Appleby’s Exeter Chiefs side, on the other hand, played their first ever game of Premier 15s rugby against Gloucester-Hartpury on 10 October 2020, losing 34-14. Despite their newcomer status and underwhelming welcome, the team managed to secure a decisive win to end Saracens’ 33 match winning streak.”
So what did the press have to say about this remarkable turn of events? Not a lot as it happened. Only two journalists David Parsley from the i and Fiona Tomas from the Telegraph were there. Jess Hayden however, writing for Rugby Pass did highlight where this result came from. She later wrote ‘Shock Exeter Chiefs result shows good things come to those that invest. ‘This result hasn’t come from nowhere, it is the result of building an Exeter side with investment from the board into the women’s squad’ she wrote. Above all, yesterday’s game between two semi-professional women’s rugby sides highlighted exactly what happens when you invest in women’s rugby, and why it absolutely deserves to be broadcast on television. It was a thrilling, skilful, and exciting 70 minutes of rugby.
Last year, Tony Rowe CEO of Exeter Rugby said Red Roses fans will remember that in autumn 2019, England played at Exeter Chiefs home ground Sandy Park against France, which, at the time, was a record-breaking audience for a Women’s Six Nations game in England, with an audience of 10,545 rugby fans. “When we looked at the demographics of the people who were buying those tickets, they were mostly, 95 per cent, sold in Devon, Cornwall, and Somerset, so we know there’s a big appetite down here for women’s rugby’’.
In a move that can be likened to the early days of the Chiefs men’s team Rowe and his board decided to invest, first in a Girls academy at Exeter college and then made an application to join the RFU Premier15s to which they were eventually admitted in April 2020. Not unlike although much faster than Chiefs rise into the premiership 10 years ago.
Rowe’s vision is ambitious. “Exeter Chiefs Women will play their games at Sandy Park and our intention is for them to be a main act’’. We will play the women on a different day to the men. We think there’s enough support for them down here to attract their own supporters and start their own fanbase.” Rowe was clear and maybe this was one of the things which has attracted overseas players – it was to be a single club the women’s team was to be integral to the club. Not a separate women’s club. Exeter Chiefs Women will also grow their academy to allow local players to climb through the ranks, but Appleby the Chief’s Women’s head coach has made it clear that first Exeter needs to be a truly competitive side.
Exeter’s triumph over Saracens is a welcome relief to women’s rugby fans who want a more exciting and competitive domestic competition. It’s a sign of what’s to come, those reporters who weren’t there didn’t just miss an excellent game of rugby, they missed Premier 15s history – the biggest upset the league has ever seen. That’s right, Exeter v Saracens. The biggest grudge match in English rugby. This time, however, it was the women taking the field in this Premier 15s match but, really, why should that make a difference? Maybe that’s why Tony Rowe chose to be at Sandy Park watching the women play Saracens rather than being in Worcester for the men’s game. One journalist described him as ‘behaving like a turbo charged superfan’ in the absence of a supporting crowd.
And not only for the Saracens game. He was at Sandy Park again the following week when the current table toppers Harlequins Women visited. They like Saracens before them had a perfect record for this season with 7 bonus point wins out of 7 and a long history in the top flight. As against Saracens the Exeter Women refused to be cowed by their opponent’s reputation and took the game to Harlequins. The result winning by a single point was not as emphatic as it was against Saracens, some journalists even suggesting that luck was with the Chiefs but Chiefs men have built a reputation for making their own luck. Watching the women battle fiercely for long periods on their own try line to keep the league leaders tryless for 70 minutes it was easy to believe that the women are out to emulate the men’s side and build their own luck.
Up to now the Premier15s has tended to be a two horse race between Quins and Saracens at the top – but is there now a new horse in the race? It is probably too late for Chiefs to finish in the play off spots this season, having started the season with too large a handicap in their first season but next season could be the year for a new Exeter Double with both men’s and women’s championships – maybe even a treble eventually.

Funding will of course be a challenge for all rugby clubs. In October Tony Rowe announced that in the absence of crowds Sandy Park was losing £1 million per month. At the same time he said that Exeter would continue to fund the Women’s team whilst the RFU have reduced their investment in the women’s game by 25%. However Investment in the rugby hotspot of Devon may prove to be a wise move. Maybe there really isn’t the appetite for domestic women’s rugby on television yet, but with games as exciting as this, and rivalries as big as Saracens v Exeter now exclusively playing out in the women’s game, it’s genuinely riveting rugby. Women’s rugby is ready for the spotlight – if only someone would shine it in their direction. A great opportunity for a free to air broadcaster or maybe BT. As Tony Rowe predicted there can be little doubt that the Exeter Women will build their own fan base if they continue to put in such engaging performances. What is perhaps more surprising is the reaction of the existing Exeter Chiefs fanbase many of whom might be thought to be, shall we say, reluctant to ‘watch women’s rugby’.
During the short period when limited numbers of spectators were allowed in to Sandy Park there was an enthusiastic 4 figure crowd for the first game against Sale Sharks drawn primarily from the existing STH, and encouraging ticket sales for the follow on games before live spectators were banned once again. However the following three games against Bristol Bears, Saracens and Quins were live streamed and were followed with interest by the men’s fan base some of whom admit to having been converted. It’s interesting to note that on the Chiefs Pow Wow blog mainly frequented by season ticket holders the threads on the Quins women’s game and on the Saracens Women’s threads both had more posts than either the 6 Nations England v Scotland game or the men’s Newcastle game so the interest is certainly there although maybe the relative lack of interest in the 6 nations game could be caused by the dire England performance.
Eventually of course the Women will be expected to be self financing. Not just for financial reasons but also for the self respect of the team themselves. No doubt supporters will have to contribute. Hopefully the club will not make the mistake of forcing supporters to choose between separate women’s and men’s season tickets A more sensible approach would be to add tickets for women’s games to existing season tickets in the same way as for continuation games where for a limited period STHs could buy their normal seat but at a reduced price say £15 per ticket. In addition to day ticket sales.

What do others think? What will be the best strategy for Exeter Chiefs to balance growing the game and support base whilst generating sufficient income to fund the Women’s game in the long run?