Few can argue that the inaugural women’s World Cup Sevens was anything but a resounding success. It not only left fans entertained but even went some way towards convincing the International Olympic Committee, who had representatives at the tournament, that rugby has what it takes to make it back to the Olympics.

And perhaps no one is more thrilled about the impact than Susan Carty, the IRB’s first Women’s Development Manager. The former Irish Rugby Football Union President was in Dubai for the tournament which she firmly believes stood toe to toe with the men’s competition.

“I think it was a fantastic competition,” Carty told XPRESS. “It brought the best sevens teams in the world together on a stage where sevens fans got to see the level of performance the women are now playing at. That sort of matters for the game.

“We had some really exciting matches. There were lot of teams who didn’t know each other really well, so we had some surprises which made it hugely exciting for the competition.
“It showed so many teams have reached a really high standard. It stood up very well and was well deserving of the same stage as the men’s World Cup,” she added.

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