Vodafone and The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby (GSR) podcast are expanding their landmark EmpowHER talent pathway programme to include all seven BUCS Women’s Super Rugby teams, reaching more than 200 aspiring female rugby players across the UK.
- The talent pathway initiative will now reach more than 200 top-level university women’s rugby players across the UK.
- Each BUCS Women’s Super Rugby team will receive access to Vodafone PLAYER.Connect, guidance from sports psychologists and nutritionists, and mental health support from Vodafone’s charity partner, LooseHeadz
- Up to 35 players will also receive season-long one-to-one mentorship from players and professionals within the elite women’s game.
Vodafone’s EmpowHER initiative with GSR is a multi-year programme designed to create a clear pathway for players hoping to move from university rugby into the professional women’s game or an off-pitch career in women’s rugby.
First launched in November 2023 with Durham University, Cardiff University and The University of Edinburgh, the programme has now been expanded to include Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Exeter, Loughborough University and Hartpury University.
Rugby legends visit The University of Edinburgh as part of Vodafone and The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby's EmpowHER project
EmpowHER provides three university women's teams, Durham University, Cardiff University and The University of Edinburgh, with: a bursary funded by Vodafone; exclusive access to Vodafone's landmark PLAYER.Connect app; and monthly mentoring sessions for selected players.
Thanks to the initiative, each BUCS Women’s Super Rugby team will receive year-round access to Vodafone PLAYER.Connect – Vodafone’s revolutionary performance platform which helps players and their coaching staff understand the impact of the menstrual cycle on their performance, wellbeing and recovery.
This is alongside guidance from nationally accredited sports psychologists and nutritionists, as well as mental health support from Vodafone charity partner, LooseHeadz.
The EmpowHER programme will also provide mentoring guidance to up to 35 players who have either applied for the opportunity or been put forward by their coaches due to their standout performance both on and off the pitch.
Each of these players will receive season-long one-to-one mentorship from international women’s players and industry specialists, including Red Roses stars and GSR hosts, Emily Scarratt, Mo Hunt and broadcaster, Elma Smit.
Mentors will provide players with guidance on navigating the personal and professional challenges of elite rugby, including strategies for balancing a playing career with off-pitch commitments, while also offering the possibility of on-pitch coaching.
Vodafone becomes Performance Innovation Partner of Gloucester Hartpury Rugby
Vodafone has announced a new multi-year partnership with reigning Premiership Women’s Rugby Champions, Gloucester Hartpury Rugby, and sister club, Hartpury University and Hartpury College WRFC.
The expansion of EmpowHER follows the hugely successful initial year of the programme. Emily Scarratt’s mentee, Nicole Flynn and her University of Edinburgh teammate, Cieron Bell, were selected as part of the Scotland Women’s matchday squad during the 2024 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.
Meanwhile, former Durham University Club Captain, Ella Merefield, was offered a Team Manager role at Sale Sharks Women after impressing the GSR team and Katy Daley-Mclean during the programme.
The programme is supported by a number of elite women’s rugby players from Vodafone’s portfolio of rugby partnerships, including Scotland Captain Rachael Malcolm and Wales legend Philippa Tuttiett.
Maria Koutsoudakis, Brand Director, Vodafone UK, said: “We’re committed to investing in the future of women’s rugby, supporting the growth of the game in the UK from the grassroots up, and our Vodafone EmpowHER project is the perfect embodiment of that commitment.
“Women’s university rugby is a key feeder into the professional game, and we’ve loved following the success stories from Edinburgh, Cardiff and Durham. We are proud to work with our partners to expand this initiative to more universities across the UK.”
Vodafone launches new menstrual cycle tracking technology with the Women’s Welsh Rugby Union
The new menstrual tracking programme is part of Vodafone’s PLAYER.Connect platform, which aggregates data from athletes’ wearable devices in real-time, allowing for instant analysis.
Emily Scarratt MBE, Host of GSR, Red Roses player and EmpowHER mentor, said: “Through the EmpowHER programme we’ve been able to implement things that will help make a real-life difference.
“I’ve really enjoyed the mentoring; it’s been a great experience to help people along the way and share my journey with them too. I didn’t have this when I was younger, so I want to be a source to provide it.
Natasha Logan, The University of Edinburgh Student, said: “The EmpowHER programme has had a huge impact. I’ve played rugby for a long time, and this is the first time I’ve had a fresh pair of eyes just watching me. It’s so good to have really detailed analysis, and it got to the root cause of lots of weaknesses.
“We created really specific goals at the end of each game, so I could show what I could do to get onto the national pathway. This all came at a critical time for me, and I really valued having support from someone who plays in a similar position as me.
“Without this programme I’m not sure if I’d have got into the Scotland camp, and my improvements throughout the Celtic Challenge would not have been the same without Rachel’s (Rachel Malcolm, Scotland International) help and guidance.”
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Notes to Editors
About Vodafone’s Women’s Rugby Partnership Portfolio
The EmpowHER programme forms part of Vodafone’s continued commitment to help grow women’s rugby at all levels of the game, which also includes partnerships with the Armed Forces Women’s Teams and Celtic Challenge teams, Gwalia Lightning and Brython Thunder.
About GSR
The Good, The Scaz & The Rugby is a women’s rugby podcast, hosted by England stars Emily Scarratt and Mo Hunt and broadcaster Elma Smit. The trio regularly invite great guests onto the pod. They deliver brilliant rugby insight and peel back the curtain to what really happens in the life of an elite rugby player, from the great days to the dark ones. The podcast goes out every Thursday on YouTube (GoodBadRugby) and on all the usual streaming platforms. Our Gloucester Hartpury podcast, sponsored by Vodafone, which covers the EmpowHER launch, will be released on Thursday 31st October.
GSR is incredibly proud to work with Vodafone to bring the EmpowHER programme to life, especially the mentoring programme, which has seen so much success for players at a pivotal time in their athlete development. We’ll be creating content with all seven of our universities over the course of the season, so make sure you’re following @GoodScazRugby on social channels.
About Vodafone PLAYER.Connect
Vodafone PLAYER.Connect is a first-of-its-kind performance dashboard that uses cutting-edge mobile-first technology to allow athletes’ data to be viewed, analysed and acted upon by medical and coaching staff instantly, from anywhere in the world.
Benefits of Vodafone PLAYER.Connect include:
- The ability to view and compare all data for any given individual across a team, allowing for fully contextualised decisions that consider everything from physical fitness and performance on the pitch to sleep and recovery off it. For example, a team-wide drop-off in training performance could indicate an issue with adapting to altitude, rather than individual shortcomings.
- The ability to track performance and welfare across multiple days, weeks and months, allowing better optimisation of workload and preparation. For example, a player could already have played longer during an early tournament game meaning they need to focus on recovery rather than training during non-game days, ensuring they’re in the best possible condition for their next fixture.
- The ability to monitor player welfare 24/7, on and off the pitch, allowing for better support of both mental and physical wellbeing. For example, a change in a player’s sleeping habits is often an indicator of a shift in their mental health, allowing coaches to provide support.
Full data that can be inputted into Vodafone PLAYER.Connect by athletes includes:
- Readiness to train
- Sleep
- Mood & energy
- Anthropometrics (bodyweight, height etc.)
- Health & sickness
- Medication
- Injury screening
- Muscle soreness screening
- Training load
- Fatigue
