These Lions Just Want Their Share

With the exponential growth of the women’s game, calls for the creation of a team have been growing for some years. And thankfully, it looks as though things are finally moving in the right direction, as Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual life insurance, pension and investment company, has announced its role as a principal partner for the Lions programme.

The partnership will see the company support research and analysis to help the game continue to grow, including a feasibility study to examine the logistics of how a women’s team could work. Helping to raise the visibility of the women’s game, acclaimed fashion photographer Rankin has been enlisted to shoot portraits of Harlequins flanker Shaunagh Brown and Wasps legend Claire Molloy, who have been announced as ambassadors for the scheme.

Rankin, who co-founded Dazed & Confused magazine and has shot everyone from Kate Moss to David Bowie, tells me that he was passionate about getting involved in the project, as he recognises the power of sport to “transform the lives of players, coaches and spectators.” This summer’s Tokyo Games were a huge turning point for him. “We’ve all been inspired [by the Olympics], which is why it was such a pleasure to photograph and profile these successful rugby players,” he says. “Highlighting their talent helps to inspire change within the sport and I’m super-proud to have been a small part of that.”

Women’s rugby has come a long way in a very short space of time, but Covid has had a stalling effect on its growth, so investment — along with support from high-profile creatives such as Rankin — could prove vital in expanding the game internationally. “It’s an issue I feel very passionate about,” says the 55-year-old photographer. “The work on the feasibility study looking at the women’s Lions tour is a tremendous opportunity for women’s rugby, and it’s great to be part of it.”

This April, England’s all-female squad won the Six Nations for the third time in a row, and an impressive 600,000 sports fans tuned into BBC2 to watch the live final. Due to coronavirus, the women’s games were played at a different time to the men’s for the first time, which Shaunagh says was a “vital moment” for getting more eyes on the pitch. “In the Six Nations, we’re often the footnote of the men’s competition,” explains Claire, “But that weekend, we were centre stage. It really let the personalities of the game come to the forefront and be the superstars; girls could look at the TV and say, ‘I want to be the next Dorothy Wall or Beibhinn Parsons.’”

At Rankin’s airy studio in Kentish Town, Claire and Shaunagh have found themselves in a totally alien environment — swapping turf for studio lights — and while they’re comfortable chatting to me about equality in rugby, getting in front of the camera didn’t come naturally at first. “It’s always crucial for me to make sure everyone on set is at ease and comfortable with what we’re shooting, so we made sure Claire and Shaunagh felt welcome from the minute they arrived,” says Rankin.

“I’d spent time reading up on them and following their social-media profiles, so our conversations were very relaxed and they both felt at ease. This immediately translated into very natural shots from the outset. Claire and Shaunagh have big personalities, which came across in these shots. I wanted to convey the credibility that women’s rugby is entitled to, and also align with the work that Royal London is doing to level the playing field for women in sport.”

Shaunagh feels that the creation of a Lions team wouldn’t just elevate professional female rugby players, but encourage more women into the sport at a grassroots level, too: “We would be in more places, we’d have advertising involved and there would be more women’s rugby on television. Visibility is number one, but then it’s also about girls growing up and seeing that it doesn’t just end with England — you can go further.”