Billie-Jean King in tennis. Simone Biles in gymnastics, Florence Griffith Joyner in athletics. These were all trendsetters, raising the bar and putting women’s sports firmly on the radar of people all around the world.
In women’s rugby, we have one of our own at the top of the pile. Joy Neville. Not only has the Limerick woman achieved greatness as the captain of Ireland, representing her country 70 times and picking up a Grand Slam in 2013, but she has also reached the pinnacle of refereeing, taking charge of the 2017 Women’s World Cup Final and being named referee of the year in the same year.
Having hung up her whistle just last year, it was not surprising when she was inducted into the Irish Rugby Writers’ Hall of Fame just last month alongside men’s legend Keith Wood for their contribution to Irish Rugby.
So, when I spoke with her I started off by asking if her phenomenal success over the years had sunk in yet?
“No, I don’t think it has,” said Neville, who also played the role of a TMO in the men’s World Cup in 2023.
“I certainly understand what I have achieved and am thankful, but I’ve been so busy on new projects that I haven’t had the time to just sit back and recall everything that has happened.
“I think that will come when I’m a bit older, but for the moment I’m looking forward rather than back. I also have a three-year-old who doesn’t let me get too carried away with past achievements,” the 41-year-old explained.
Incredibly, Neville did not get involved in rugby until she was 17 years old. Having excelled at a number of other sports such as basketball, she was attracted by the physicality and combat element that rugby brought.
“Coming from a family of four older brothers, I was well used to the rough and tumble of sports.
“They all played rugby, as did my dad, and they never went easy on me when we were playing in the back yard, so I think that prepared me perfectly for the game.”
Neville’s rise could only be described as meteoric. Within six months of picking up the sport she had broken into the Munster ranks and by the end of her first year she was involved in the Ireland set-up and the rest, as they say, is history.
She may not be wearing her boots as often anymore, but she is still heavily involved in the game. Her current role as Head Coach of elite women’s rugby at World Rugby ensures she can help the next generation of women referees coming through, something that motivates her greatly.
“My role is very wide reaching. I monitor the performances of referees, but it involves so much more than just looking at individual decisions or errors,” Neville said.
“I want to see where we can improve holistically, while also looking out for the welfare and the emotional impact that refereeing has on the body at the highest level.
“I am always looking at ways where we can test referees in training by replicating that high-intensity atmosphere, so that when they have to make the big calls on matchdays it becomes second nature for them.
“I also work with the men’s game, ensuring that there is a consistent approach in both men’s and women’s rugby, and sometimes that is easier said than done.”
Experimental laws introduced in this year’s men’s Autumn Internationals have offered food for thought for Neville. She views the controversial 20-minute red card as a positive to the overall “product” that World Rugby is trying to sell.
“I think the rule change on the red card has been largely positive.
“We must look after player safety first and foremost and after this then comes the entertainment factor,” she acknowledged.
“When teams have gone a player down early on, it can often take away the competitiveness of a game and the 20-minute red card seems like a good solution to this.
“Other rule changes I like are protecting the “nine” at the base of the ruck. I feel that this allows a free-flowing game and we all want to see the ball in-play as much as possible and reduce the stoppages.
“Overall, we are trying to take out the ambiguity for officials and see a consistency across the board. Fans, players and officials all see that as the best outcome.”
For Neville, growing the women’s game in Ireland is something that she would love to see, it is clearly a passion of hers from listening to her in conversation. She will be taking part in next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, working with the officials, and sees this as a great opportunity to open up the game to young girls up and down the country who can see an idol to aspire to.
“I read a great slogan a few years ago regarding women’s sport. It said, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it”, for too long girls have not had a female sporting role model in rugby to look up to and pretend they are them in the back garden, next year’s tournament will be a chance to change that,” she says hopefully.
“The game in Ireland is growing so fast. We now have a strategy going forward and financial assistance that wasn’t there before.
“But we need to continue pushing for investment. You look at sports in America, it is everywhere, and it is invested in heavily by television markets and advertising. I think the way the world is at the moment this is where we need the investment to come from,” she added
“I think we are seeing better programmes to get more female coaches on board which is great.
I believe ex-players should continue to be approached to get them involved in coaching so we can have women coaching at all our elite levels and teams.
“We are not there yet, but in the next three to five years I think we will see big improvements.”
Having coached junior sides in the women and men’s game in Munster, would Neville be tempted to get back on the sidelines if the opportunity came knocking?
“I am really busy with pre-world cup planning at the moment, and I am enjoying by time with World Rugby.
“I am also enjoying working more remotely after spending over 250 days last year on the road which isn’t sustainable with a young family.
“However, I suppose you can never say never somewhere down the line, but for now I’m happy to have a Christmas off and get myself into Santa-mode to enjoy it with the family over the next two or three weeks.”
