Harlequins’ ‘Big Game’ the latest milestone along a whirlwind journey for women’s rugby

Harlequins take on Wasps in a Premier 15s match on Monday but this one is like no other and is yet another milestone women’s rugby has hit in recent years.

The match is part of Quins’ Big Game, which is hosted at Twickenham Stadium, and will be a doubleheader with the men. It will be the first women’s league match held at the home of English rugby and will be broadcast live on BT Sport 1.

This historic fixture is another example of how the women’s game is going from strength to strength, and the quick progression is thanks to the introduction of the Premier 15s.

The league was founded in 2017 and it created a more competitive stage for players to compete in. It wasn’t, and still isn’t, perfect with not all athletes being paid. But it created a platform for the players to develop and demand what they deserve.

So how far has women’s rugby come in England?

Fast forward to January 2019, in the second season of the Premier 15s, and the Rugby Football Union introduce fully professional contracts for their England players – the first nation to do so in women’s rugby. This inspired some clubs, including Worcester Warriors and Saracens, to bring in match fees in late 2019. But what should have been the best season yet instead highlighted how far the game had to go.

The 2019-20 league was curtailed and not finished, unlike the men’s, due to Covid restrictions. But while the competition was halted, the march towards progression was firmly on course.

2020-21 was bigger than ever. Allianz announced their investment and media coverage was higher than before. The Women’s Six Nations was given its own window separate to the men, and the competition was shown across the BBC. The Premier 15s was broadcast on TV for the first time with the final between Quins and Saracens on BT Sport.

This is where the impact of developments in the women’s game started to seep into public consciousness as the significance of a platform like TV was highlighted. Quins’ Shaunagh Brown’s post-match interview went viral. She became emotional after winning the league title for the first time and used her voice to promote the women’s game.

She said: “This is not just about rugby, this is not just about the sport. It is about women and it’s about women’s sport. It’s about putting us on a platform, and knowing we can do it.

“We have come out and put an international standard of rugby in front of fans. This is what rugby should be, week in week out, men or women’s. We are here and I challenge anyone to say women’s rugby is not good enough, and women are not good enough – because we are.”

The powerful and stirring interview raised the question, what’s the next step?

In the summer of 2021, The Independent asked newly appointed Bristol Bears head coach Dave Ward that exact question and he replied: “I would love to see more games on TV.”

He didn’t have to wait long for the step to be reached with the BBC committing to showing a match of the league per round on iPlayer. This was in reaction to England’s autumn internationals being viewed by millions in October and November.

And now we are here. Harlequins will play Wasps in the Big Game at England’s biggest stage for rugby, no longer in the shadow across the road at the Twickenham Stoop but in the spotlight.

More than 65,000 fans are expected to watch a Premier 15s game live – a record for the league. The exciting element is that women’s rugby is only just getting started.