Women’s test rugby wins parity with men’s game

Well, statistical parity at least.

The IRB’s database of test match rugby results (http://www.irb.com/results/index.html) now includes all women’s test matches, as well as men’s games. The information has been loaded just in time for women’s test rugby’s 30th birthday (the first ever test took place on 13th June 1982 when France beat Netherlands in Utrecht 4-0) and includes every result up to and including last weekend’s 940th test match, between Sweden and the Netherlands.

The database can be searched for all of the results of any women’s test team, as well as the results from any tournament played in the past 30 years. It is also possible to select the results of any fixture, such as USA v Canada, for example – a match-up that will celebrate its 25th anniversary this November.

The resource is already being used by Unions around the world – the data it contains was used as the basis of the RFU’s review of 25 years of England’s women’s test team last month, and information published by the Swedish RFU in advance of last weekend’s European B Championship.