Women's Rugby's Online Abuse Crisis: Female Players Nearly 70% More Likely to Face Social Media Hate

The extraordinary growth of women’s rugby is being shadowed by a deeply troubling trend: female players face dramatically higher rates of online abuse than their male counterparts, and the numbers are stark enough to demand urgent action.

According to BBC Sport, World Rugby research has found that women in the game are 69% more likely to encounter abuse on social media than men. The governing body examined nearly 440,000 posts and identified over 1,100 that crossed the threshold into unlawful territory — with eight cases already referred to law enforcement. Offenders were traced across five countries, including the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

The Shape of the Abuse

The categories of harassment identified by World Rugby are telling: misogyny, body-shaming, and attacks related to gender identity and sexuality dominate. These are not random acts of trolling — they reflect deeply rooted prejudices that women in sport continue to face simply for competing. Wales number eight Georgia Evans, for instance, reportedly spoke out during the World Cup about receiving negative commentary on her appearance. Meanwhile, American star Ilona Maher — the most-followed rugby player on the planet — has acknowledged that the abuse directed at her is relentless.

This pattern will be familiar to women across sport. Tennis player Katie Boulter has also spoken publicly about similar experiences. The specificity of the harassment — targeting bodies, identities and femininity itself — makes clear that this is not merely a sport problem. It is a societal one that sport must nonetheless confront head-on.

Record Growth, Real Risk

What makes this data particularly sobering is its timing. Women’s rugby is enjoying a genuinely historic moment. The Women’s Rugby World Cup final, held at Allianz Stadium, drew a crowd of nearly 82,000 — the highest attendance ever recorded at a women’s rugby fixture — and peaked at 5.8 million viewers on the BBC, according to BBC Sport, making it the most-watched rugby fixture of the year overall, surpassing viewing figures for the Six Nations tournament as well as the British and Irish Lions series. Supporter numbers for women’s rugby in the UK reportedly surged from under eight million to more than thirteen million following the tournament.

In short, more people are watching, celebrating and following women’s rugby than ever before. And yet greater visibility, it seems, also brings greater exposure to hatred.

The situation on the domestic governance side has not been without its own controversies. BBC Sport reports that an RFU council member stepped down last month after posting discriminatory remarks about England World Cup winner and broadcaster Maggie Alphonsi — a move that came after pressure from the Women’s Leadership Collective.

What Needs to Change

World Rugby has called on governments, tech platforms and sporting organisations to collaborate on clearer, more accessible reporting mechanisms and firmer consequences for abusers. That cross-sector approach matters: no single body can police the internet alone, and women athletes should not be expected to simply absorb the cost of being visible.

For active women who love this sport — whether as players, coaches, officials or passionate supporters — the message is clear: the fight for women’s rugby to be taken seriously is far from over. The record crowds and viewing figures prove the appetite is there. The work now is ensuring the women at the heart of it are protected, not punished for their success.