The more women’s rugby people see, the more positive their opinion. So, Vodafone’s ‘See It. Believe It.’ campaign will connect the country to amazing athletes and letting the rugby do the talking.
- New data from Vodafone has revealed that a staggering 70% of Brits who hold a ‘negative opinion’ of women’s rugby have never watched the sport.
- Yet those who have watched any women’s rugby in the last year have drastically different opinions, describing it as skilful and exciting, with over half (56%) stating they are more likely to watch the Guinness Women’s Six Nations than the men’s equivalent.
- The more women’s rugby content people see, the more positive their opinion. However, only one-in-nine Brits (11%) ever see women’s rugby on social media and just 15% recall seeing it in the news. This presents a challenge in connecting new audiences to the game.
- Vodafone’s ‘See It. Believe It.’ campaign aims to tackle this; by working with sports storytelling experts Goal Click, Vodafone will show the nation what women’s rugby is really about, with fans and players – including ex-England and Exeter star Jodie Ounsley – given devices and 5G SIMs to capture and share their stories.
- With 42% of Brits naming a lack of coverage as a key barrier to becoming fans of women’s rugby1, ‘See It. Believe It.’ seeks to close this visibility gap and bring the game to new audiences, helping grow attendance and viewership ahead of a landmark home tournament.
- This builds on Vodafone’s partnerships with 13 women’s rugby clubs and international teams across the UK, including Scottish Rugby, the WRU, and ‘three-peat’ Allianz PWR champions Gloucester-Hartpury, whose players and fans will take part as Goal Click ‘storytellers’.
- The ‘See It. Believe It.’ campaign is part of Vodafone’s commitment, as the Nation’s Network, to lift people across the UK with the power of positive connections.
New Vodafone research has revealed that the majority of Brits who hold negative preconceptions of women’s rugby have never actually watched it. The survey of over 2,000 people found that over one-in-six (17%) have a negative opinion of women’s rugby, despite a staggering 70% of those having never seen a game.
From back row to front page: Wales Women’s Rugby team looks ahead to Guinness Women’s Six Nations
Wales Women’s team continues to make headlines with a special edition cover appearance in Women’s Health magazine – a first for a women’s rugby team – thanks to a ground-breaking media partnership with Vodafone.
In contrast, those who have seen any women’s rugby are five times more likely to describe it as ‘exciting’, and twice as likely to call it ‘skilful’2. In fact, over half (56%) of them say they would rather watch the Guinness Women’s Six Nations than the men’s edition. Even brief exposure to the sport via social platforms can quickly entice and convert viewers into fans, with competitiveness, skill and atmosphere ranked as the top three things people love about the women’s game.
Biases and misconceptions continue to prevent the sport from reaching a new audience. Nearly half (45%) of all Brits still say they “wouldn’t watch” women’s rugby despite having never actually seen it in action, with this group five times more likely to describe it as ‘boring’ than those who have.
A lack of visibility is a key factor behind the continuation of these stereotypes. People who have seen women’s rugby content are twice as likely to have a positive opinion compared to those who haven’t. Yet only one-in-nine Brits (11%) report seeing women’s rugby on their social media feeds – half as many as the men’s game (21%) – and just 15% recall it being covered in the news.
Vodafone and WRU launch new feature to track impact of the menstrual cycle on concussion
For the first time outside of a research environment, the mobile-first Vodafone PLAYER.Connect platform allows concussion data to be viewed side-by-side with menstrual cycle data.
This discrepancy in coverage directly impacts the growth of the game, with the research finding that a lack of accessible content (42%) was one of the top barriers to becoming a fan, with better knowledge of the players one of the top things that would make them more likely to engage3.
To tackle these barriers, in what is a pivotal year for the women’s game, Vodafone is launching its ‘See It. Believe It.’ campaign, which asks the nation to set aside their preconceptions and give the sport a go. Its aim is to challenge the false perceptions and connect new and prospective fans to the very best of the women’s game.
Working with sports storytelling experts Goal Click, the campaign will show the UK what women’s rugby is really about, empowering the women at the heart of the sport to tell their stories and, in turn, shattering misconceptions about the game. As the Nation’s Network, Vodafone will provide a group of ‘storytellers’ – fans and players from grassroots to the elite level – with devices and 5G SIMs. The storytellers will capture first-person content that showcases the pinnacle of the sport, inspiring the nation with the power of positive connections.
How LooseHeadz and Vodafone are tackling mental health stigma
The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week 2024 is ‘movement’, so what better time to sit down with Rob Shotton, co-founder of Vodafone charity partner LooseHeadz, to discuss how the two organisations have been working together to tackle the stigma of mental health in sport?
The content will be shared to Goal Click’s platform on Vodafone’s reliable, award-winning network. From pre-match rituals to passion on the sidelines, and beyond, fans will be brought closer to the action than ever before.
Jodie Ounsley, ex-England Sevens star and one of Vodafone’s Goal Click storytellers, said: “I speak to so many people who tell me women’s rugby ‘isn’t for them’, when they haven’t even watched it. I challenge anyone who thinks the game is less physical, less technical, less exciting – whatever it may be – to just come down and see it for yourself. There’s an energy here, on the pitch and in the stands, that just hits different. This year of all years is the time for us to smash those perceptions and show everyone what the game is all about.”
Jodie will be joined as a Goal Click storyteller by players and fans from across Vodafone’s extensive portfolio of partnerships, including Scottish Rugby, Wales Rugby Union (WRU), Gloucester-Hartpury and the Armed Forces Women’s Rugby teams. This includes capturing the incredible fan experience at Principality Stadium on Saturday 29th March, where a crowd of 21,186 watched Wales v England in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations – a record for a Wales women’s home game in any sport.
Seamlessly complex: how Vodafone installed 5G in Cardiff’s Principality Stadium
The engineering challenges of providing fast mobile signal for 74,000 people, packed into one of Cardiff’s most popular places, were overcome in record time. This is how it was done.
Maria Koutsoudakis, Brand Director, Vodafone UK, said: “Women’s rugby is an incredible sport, and yet so many people across the UK simply haven’t seen enough of it to realise this. Our research highlights how prevalent false perceptions can be, but it also reveals that the more exposure people have to women’s rugby, the more they fall in love with it.
As the Nation’s Network, we’re committed to lifting the nation through the power of positive connections, proudly championing the remarkable individuals from across the women’s game and celebrating their determination. We’re delighted to be working with all our partners to tackle these perceptions, by connecting the nation to amazing athletes and letting the rugby do the talking.”
The ‘See It. Believe It.’ campaign builds on the brand’s long-standing support for women’s rugby since becoming the Founding Principal Partner of Women’s and Girl’s Rugby in Wales in 2022.
Since then, Vodafone has expanded its support to include three of the four home nations (Ireland, Scotland and Wales), plus three-time, back-to-back Premiership winning side Gloucester-Hartpury, Celtic Challenge teams Gwalia Lightning & Brython Thunder, the Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Team, and all seven BUCS Premier Division sides. Key initiatives within this include the EmpowHER talent pathway programme to help university rugby players step up to the elite game, as well as the Vodafone PLAYER.Connect performance platform, which helps female athletes of all levels understand the impact of their menstrual cycle on their performance and wellbeing.
Stay up to date with the latest news from Vodafone by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter/X, as well as signing up for News Centre website notifications.
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
1 Combination of TV (15%), advertising (11%), news (9%) and social (7%) coverage
2 Comparing those who answered ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers to ever watching women’s rugby.
3 13% of respondents, third highest after more TV coverage (20%), and having friends or family who are interested (16%)
Research Data
The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 2,001 nationally representative adults. The data was collected between 12.03.2025 and 14.03.2025. Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. Censuswide is also a member of the British Polling Council.
About Goal Click
Goal Click are experts in original sports storytelling content, curated through a global community of storytellers. Goal Click exists to inspire global understanding through sport, finding people from around the world to tell stories about their sporting lives and communities.
About Vodafone PLAYER.Connect
Vodafone PLAYER.Connect is a revolutionary performance platform, that helps female athletes understand the impact of their menstrual cycle on their performance and wellbeing. It is currently being used by 10 different clubs and international women’s teams, including the Welsh Rugby Union, Scotland Rugby, the IRFU, ‘three-peat’ PWR Champions Gloucester-Hartpury, the Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Teams, and all seven BUCS Women’s Super Rugby sides.
The full list of data captured by Vodafone PLAYER.Connect is as follows:
- Information on players’ bodyweight, sleep quality and quantity, mood, energy, health, medications, injury and soreness, collected via the morning monitoring questionnaire.
- Results from the players’ physical screening exercises (sit and reach, knee to wall, and adductor squeezes), conducted daily to identify tightness, pain, and injury risk.
- Information on each players’ menstrual cycle phases and associated symptoms.
- Concussion data on symptoms including memory, headaches, nausea and balance. Data is captured via an automated version of the SCAT5 symptom evaluation questionnaire.
About Vodafone EmpowHER
EmpowHER is Vodafone’s landmark talent pathway programme, delivered in partnership with The Good, The Scaz, The Rugby. The initiative supports over 200 top-level university women’s rugby players across the UK, across all seven BUCS Women’s Super Rugby teams.
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. Additionally, up to 35 players will also receive season-long one-to-one mentorship from players and professionals within the elite women’s game.
