“Few carry that number one status with such modesty and heart and soul”
WORLD RUGBY unveiled a new international tournament for women last month. Called WXV, it will bring the top teams in the world together, in three divisions, in each season save for World Cup years.
It is a great boost for the elite end of the sport and also for the emerging nations, who have the incentive that there are 16 places available at the 2025 World Cup as the tournament expands from the usual 12. Yet if the tournament has an eye on the future then it is also a tribute to all those who put the women’s game where it is – so many heroines, almost always unpaid, almost always speaking beautifully on behalf of their sport, selfless and passionate.
And a tribute perhaps especially to the force of nature, indomitable athlete and indestructible prop that is Rochelle ‘Rocky’ Clark. She is the record holder, the most-capped England rugby player of all time of either sex. She
