World Rugby CEO urges men’s game to follow women’s lead on fan engagement

• Ilona Maher has 5.2m followers on Instagram
• Gilpin urges lessons to be learned ahead of RWC 2027

World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin has urged the men’s game to follow the example set by their female counterparts by being unafraid to show their personalities.

A feature of the opening two rounds of the women’s World Cup currently taking place in England is the engagement between players and supporters seen across all venues.

The tournament may have produced numerous lopsided scorelines, but it has been well received by fans with players from both sides chatting, signing autographs and posing for selfies long after the final whistle.

“We’ve got brilliant characters in the women’s game who aren’t aren’t going to have to put a lid on those personalities,” Gilpin said.

“Whether it’s the dancing between the teams after the match, the interaction with fans or their engagement on social media, that is a genie you can’t put back very easily in the bottle.

“I hope that we continue to see that in the women’s game and that there are some lessons for the men’s game – that personality doesn’t have to be a performance inhibitor.”

Japan’s players bowing before each stand at Franklin’s Gardens after their defeat to Ireland and Samoa’s wild celebrations when kicking a penalty against England are among the moments to have lit up the group stage.

USA star Ilona Maher, rugby’s most famous player with 5.2 million followers on Instagram alone, has been a prominent figure and there was a touching moment when head coach Ramsey Tomokino choked back the tears as he talked about the challenges faced by Samoa, before being hugged by his captain Sui Pauaraisa.

“We will reflect at the end of the tournament on why the engagement has been so positive in this tournament. It’s having players so much more accessible to fans,” Gilpin said.

“The key thing we have to do with the men’s game as we look forward to Australia 2027 is show our stakeholders that it’s not something that should be feared in the tournament environment, in terms of player performance and team competitiveness. What can we do to take it to the next level?”

Credit: https://www.sportspro.com/news/world-rugby-fan-engagement-womens-world-cup-ilona-maher-september-2025/