Ex-England rugby player Shaunagh Brown has called out sport governing bodies she feels treat female athletes like “small men” to the detriment of their health and performance.
The 33-year-old retired from the Red Roses in December after earning 30 caps for her country, and also represented England in the hammer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
While the former prop has witnessed some positive change, she remains adamant that not enough consideration is directed to the unique needs of women, from the impact of menstrual cycles to a higher risk of certain injuries – including the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) issues that ended the World Cup dreams of England footballers Beth Mead and Leah Williamson.
“(It needs to) be based in the research why we’re rehabbing this way, why we’re asked to do this activity, why we’re using this training programme, because what you’ll find is a lot of it has come from men,” Brown told a Parliamentary Women and Equalities Committee session.
“Whether that’s concussion protocols, for me it just doesn’t sound right that male and female concussion protocols are exactly the same.
“It’s just because so often we are treated as small men as opposed to completely different needs as women. Where it’s all come from, there is no base at the moment. It’s changing slowly, more people are looking into it.
“I’d say there’s more looking after people of a different age and potentially different weight categories than there is of a gender category. I’m heavy for a woman, I’m 16 stone, and I’d be expected to basically just train like a 16-stone man.
“But if I was a lot lighter, I’d probably have a different training programme. If I was weaker or stronger, I’d have a different training programme.”
Next month, England will begin their quest for a maiden football World Cup without several of the most recognisable names from their Euro 2022 triumph.
Two of the injured – captain Williamson and forward Mead – are ruled out with ACL injuries, an issue that disproportionately affects women, who according to the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA) have three-to-six times higher risk than males.
Williamson and Mead are among a worrying number of female footballers, including their Arsenal team-mates Vivianne Miedema and Laura Wienroither, to have suffered the same injury this season.
A BOA report released on Tuesday read: “One anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in your squad is unfortunate. A second is really bad luck. By the time you’re at your fourth, including both the current Lioness captain and the reigning BBC Sports Personality of the Year, there’s clearly an intrinsic problem that needs to be addressed.
“What is happening this season at the elite level is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The report, co-authored by surgeons Morgan Bailey and Nathanael Ahearn, revealed that of groups of young athletes the biggest rise in ACL injuries was observed by their organisation in teenage girls, who have taken up football in significant numbers following the Lionesses’ victory.
The doctors cautioned against writing off the discrepancy as simply due to biological differences, including hormonal influences and limb alignment, instead agreeing with Brown that “the gendered environment has a greater part to play.”
Contributing factors include a lack of equipment designed for women and a difference in quality when it comes to both pitches and coaching – with preventative training critical in reducing ACL injuries.
Like Brown, the BOA report authors warned efforts to make things simply the same for men and women are misguided.
They concluded: “As more women and young girls take up football, the seemingly most straightforward method for development is to mirror that of the boys and men before them, but it is equity, rather than equivalence, that we should be striving for.
“This means rather than simply encouraging more women to take up these sports in line with men, we should be creating the appropriate environment to do so, that accounts for both sex and gender based differences.”
Smith not pinning blame on Ford for England loss
Marcus Smith does not blame England's narrow defeat to New Zealand on Saturday on George Ford, despite his late missed kicks.
Ford replaced Smith, who had scored 17 points and set up England's only try in their 24-22 loss, hitting a potential match-winning penalty against the post before narrowly missing a drop goal.
England had held an eight-point advantage when Smith left the field, but Mark Tele'a's 76th-minute try before Damian McKenzie added five late points proved enough to get the All Blacks over the line.
The hosts' autumn series got off to a losing start as Ford struggled to find his clinical edge in the dying moments, but Smith does not lay any blame at his team-mate's feet.
"Sometimes that's the life of a kicker, we've all experienced that. It's part and parcel of the job," said Smith.
"I've learned so much off George. He's an unbelievable kicker, both off the tee and out of hand. It was one of those days.
"It's nothing to do with him why we didn't win the game. It's a team effort. Every kicker in the world has experienced that.
"We practise [drop-goals] as kickers every single day, but sometimes it doesn't go for you. We're all human and people miss."
Saturday marked a third consecutive narrow loss to New Zealand for England, with their last win an emphatic victory over Japan in June.
Despite that run, Smith remains confident that England can take lessons from these defeats to set themselves up for success in the future.
"International rugby is very different to the Premiership and the experiences we're experiencing now are very painful, but we'll be better for them," Smith added.
"Keep the faith. We've fallen again on the wrong side of the result, but we'll learn from it 100%.
"These experiences will tighten us as a group, and it will be worth it in the long run. We will be better for it."
England 'banging on the door' of rugby's elite, says proud Borthwick
Steve Borthwick reckons England are "banging on the door" of the elite nations after their close loss to New Zealand.
England went down 24-22 to the All Blacks in Saturday's Test match at Twickenham.
Mark Tele'a scored the decisive try for New Zealand, who beat England twice in July, in the 76th minute.
England missed the chance to win it late on when George Ford missed a drop-goal attempt, after he had struck the post with a penalty.
But coach Borthwick, who was immensely proud of his team, feels England showed they are capable of mixing it with the best teams in the world, despite losing four of their last five Tests.
"It is a mixture of immense pride at the performance against a very tough New Zealand team and one of incredible disappointment," Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"They are the emotions we balance and will work through over the next few days.
"When we started two years ago we wanted to get England right to the top of world rugby again. You can see the team banging on the door."
With the pre-match build-up having been dominated by Joe Marler's jibe at New Zealand's pre-match haka routine, tries from Tele'a and Will Jordan put New Zealand in control.
Marcus Smith's penalties kept England in contention, though, and he set up the hosts' only try when he intercepted a loose pass and teed up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso.
Yet England ultimately failed to hold on to an eight-point advantage, with Ford having to be consoled by his team-mates after the match.
Next up for England are Australia, with fixtures against South Africa and Japan also in store.
"We really have to find a way of winning these close ones," said captain Jamie George. "We put ourselves in a really good position after 60 minutes.
"Eight points is a lot in Test match rugby but we probably went chasing the game a bit and gave away too many penalties. We have to be smarter in that respect."
England walked up to the halfway line to face the haka, something George explained was planned prior to Marler's comments.
"That was always our plan before Joe's comments but we did it in a respectful way," said George. "I saw a smile on Scott Barrett’s face, I was smiling, and it was done in good spirits."
England aiming to be one of 'world's best' teams, says Earl
England have aspirations of greatness, asserted Ben Earl as he prepares to face New Zealand in a friendly at Twickenham.
The 26-year-old was optimistic about the progress England had made under Steve Borthwick despite registering two losses at the hands of the All Blacks in July.
England will be seeking revenge after losing the second match of the test in a devastatingly close 16-15 defeat. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso had scored a try to put England ahead after scores had been tied 10-10 at half-time, but two penalty kicks from Damian McKenzie ended their hopes.
Earl, however, believes the heartbreak has given his country an opportunity to develop.
“I think it’s an experience all the big teams go through, you have to go through some heartache to get over the line,” he told TNT Sports.
“It just feels like it’s the evolution of all the top teams, and we are a team that wants to be known as a great team, some of the world’s best.
“So we know the heartache is good for a while, but it’s time to go and do it at the right time. We got a glimpse of it against Ireland last year, and we feel we are due one, and we have learnt some really hard lessons over the summer, so we feel we are in a better place for it.
“We have always said you don’t win easily against us and that’s something we have developed over the last 18 months with Steve’s mindset and the boys getting hold of it, and now I feel it’s time to get over the line in one of these big games.”
New Zealand have won their last three matches, having defeated Japan and secured a double over Australia. They struggled against reigning world champions South Africa, however, as they failed to exact revenge on the Springboks in late summer tests falling to defeat twice.
Undoubtedly, the All Blacks still represent some of the best talent in the world, with Earl expected to line up opposite New Zealand’s superstar Wallace Sititi.
“There’s stardust littered all over the pitch isn’t there? There’s some pretty cool match-ups; it just feels like a game that isn’t going to disappoint,” he said.
England won’t be overawed, though. Instead, they aim to make their west London home a fortress for visiting sides to travel to.
“[Twickenham is] a place where we want to be really, really hard to beat. And we’ve always said in the camp, if you want to beat us at Twickenham you are going to have to be over and above the norm,” Earl said.
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