O2, Rugby Football Union and Women’s Sport Trust Close the Gender Awareness Gap in Rugby

O2, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Women’s Sport Trust (WST) has launched the UK’s first wearable report - an exclusive five-piece fashion collection created by Red Rose and Olympian rugby player, Ellie Kildunne, accompanied by creative Katherine Pickup, and creative platform 5022. Featuring findings from the new report, the collection is designed to both hero the achievements of women in rugby and tackle the gender awareness gap that still exists in the sport today.

The campaign – spearheaded by O2’s sport partnership agency partner M&C Saatchi - was born from an insight that women’s rugby has a fast-growing fanbase with the gen-z demographic, where popularity amongst 18-24 year olds has risen from 19% to 24% in just one year. The collection was created in order to communicate with and inspire action from younger fans and beyond, raising further awareness of the Red Roses and driving important conversations around equality in sport.

The unique fashion collection, made up of a hero retro rugby jersey and graphic t shirts, highlights key aspects of the new report including the delineation of rugby and the growth and change that is in motion. Other items from the collection shine a light on the growing presence of women’s rugby in media and the progress being made in closing the gender awareness gap.

Alex Teasdale, RFU Women’s game director, commented, ‘We know that 18-24 year olds are passionate about change, and they tap into modern influences such as fashion and design to tell their stories. We also know gen z value diversity and are focussed on intersectionality, and whilst we're talking about visibility of women in this report, we need to recognise women aren’t a homogenous group and that we still have a way to go in diversifying the game. There is a huge opportunity ahead to keep reaching audiences from all backgrounds.’

Key findings from the report include:

• Awareness of the women’s team is now just 15% less than the men’s, down from 25% in 2023.
  
• Although the Red Roses have won the past six consecutive Guinness Women’s Six Nations tournaments, 63% of rugby union fans aren’t yet able to name a player on the England’s women’s team.
• The Guinness Women’s Six Nations in 2024 was the most viewed on record with 8.1m tuning in for three minutes or more (33% more than in 2023).
• The popularity of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, amongst 18–24-year-old avid fans has risen from 19% to 24% year-on-year.
• Amongst National Representatives, association of the Red Roses brand with the England Women’s Rugby Union team has risen from 20% to 24%. 

The launch will be complemented with an extensive PR and Influencer campaign, designed to bring the sport and report findings directly to where gen z is today. Supported by agency partners M&C Saatchi and Hope & Glory, the PR campaign will span broadcast, fashion, lifestyle, consumer and sport media (with a focus on media outlets favoured by gen z) whilst O2 will feature and promote organic influencer content across its official social media channels.

Consumers will be able to engage with, share and support the campaign in several ways. Fashion items from the one-off, limited run collection will be given away exclusively to O2 and Virgin Media broadband customers via Priority, which reaches half of homes in the UK. They include a scannable QR code which takes users to see the report to learn more themselves. Wider audiences are encouraged to get involved and buy a ticket to see the Red Roses play their next game on home soil this September.

Gareth Griffiths, director, partnerships and sponsorships at Virgin Media O2, said, “O2 has supported England Rugby for 29 years and not simply as a shirt sponsor – we want to help drive positive change in the sport and gender parity is at the top of our priority list. Sometimes you have to make a statement to be heard and that’s exactly what this fashion collection does. We will never stop calling on fans to join us in stepping up for the Red Roses. Support this world-class team by following them online, wearing the Rose and joining us to cheer on the Red Roses at Allianz Stadium this month.”

Ellie Kildunne, Red Roses Player and founder of 5022, added, “To be part of the creation of the UK’s first wearable report in partnership with O2 has been a real moment of personal and professional importance to me.

“I am so proud of everything the Red Roses have achieved, and I hope that comes through in this collection. The stats from the report are enlightening and highlight the reality for me and women in rugby today. Now is the time for us to talk about these facts and bring about positive change – we can’t and mustn’t stop having these tough conversations.”

The campaign is O2’s latest commitment in championing gender parity in the sport. A partner of England rugby for 29 years, O2 was one of the first brands to put both the men’s and women’s teams side by side across all of its marketing campaigns. In 2021, O2 also committed to parity in marketing spend across both teams. Since then, it has also co-funded a behind-the -scenes documentary called “Wear the Rose: An England Rugby Dream” that aired on ITV1 last autumn, which supported raising the profile of the women’s team.