It deeply saddens me to acknowledge that there is a serious lack of media productions in existence that cover rugby content. You can imagine my excitement when Netflix added a documentary about the legendary Six Nations tournament last year; while I am waiting as patiently as I can for the second installment to be added within a few days, I figured I would see if Amazon Prime offered any rugby shows to watch in the meantime.
As I said, there are not many rugby shows, movies, documentaries, etc., that are readily available via streaming channels, but, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Amazon Prime did offer a few. One titled ‘No Woman No Try’ snagged my attention, and I finished the documentary over the span of a couple of evenings.
Like the title of the documentary suggests, ‘No Woman No Try’ follows a handful of professional female rugby players as they pull back the curtain on the reality of the circumstances they’re often faced with in the game of rugby, circumstances male players would never need to give any attention to whatsoever. I really enjoyed watching it as I found it incredibly inspiring but also deeply relatable; it features interviews from a few different players and their insights and perspectives regarding what it is like playing rugby, professionally, as a woman.
One of the major issues the women address in this documentary is the fact that most professional women’s rugby teams are not entirely comprised of professional players because of a lack of sponsorship and funding, and how, therefore, most of them work full-time jobs on top of juggling training and games for their rugby career. Male players would never even need to consider having to work a full-time job outside of the window of professional sports, and the workload these women grapple with is astounding. Many of them also have families.
This documentary is worth the watch regardless if you’re a rugby fan. Female athletes deserve to have their stories told.
ontheedgeofeverything 