- Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 has today unveiled Strong Bodies, Strong Minds, a new campaign aimed at empowering women and girls by sparking a conversation around body confidence in sport.
"VAN" (Sports Desk - 06.08.2025) :: The campaign forms part of the tournament’s commitment to empower real change, as RWC 2025 sets out to celebrate that girls belong in sport, women belong in their chosen career and women and girls belong in rugby.
In the UK, young girls are dropping out of sport at alarming rates, with over one million girls disengaging from sport after primary school with body confidence being one of the key reasons why.
Strong Bodies, Strong Minds will use the tournament’s platform to spark a conversation about body confidence and celebrate the diverse and strong bodies women’s rugby exemplifies. The aim of the campaign is to encourage more girls to see sport as a place for them, on or off the field and a place where they feel they belong.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director, Sarah Massey, said: “Our ambition for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 goes far beyond the pitch. We believe every body belongs in rugby; it’s a place where you can show up exactly as you are - strong, powerful, and unapologetically you.
“We want to ignite real change and use the power of rugby to show every woman and girl that she can be anything, do anything and belong anywhere. To every girl who’s ever felt she doesn’t belong in sport, this one’s for you.”
The campaign launches alongside a special episode of Should I Delete This?, the hit podcast hosted by Em Clarkson and Alex Light, celebrated for their honest and empowering conversations around body confidence and the nuances of online culture in the modern age of social media.
Joining the hosts is Wales back-rower Gwen Crabb, who spoke candidly on the episode about how rugby changed her perspective from worrying about how her body looks to appreciating what it can achieve.
The episode explores the societal pressures young women face, the transformative role of sport in building confidence, and how rugby is a powerful space for strong, unapologetic personalities and a place where everyone can belong.
Speaking on the podcast, Crabb said: “As a young girl playing a sport where you can see everyone looks different and everyone has different strengths and weaknesses physically, I think that’s really empowering.
“It doesn’t matter whatever body shape I am, no matter how much I weigh, there’s a place for me on the team. When you have friendships in a sport like rugby, the conversation is not ‘you look good today’ it’s ‘you trained really well today’ or ‘unbelievable, you hit a personal best’.
“I think that’s really important for young girls to see. I get to see all these different amazing women every day, they all look different they all eat different amounts and train different amounts, we’re all so different but we all have this common goal and we’re all strong women trying to work towards that.”
Responses
Leave your comment