Make a career in rugby

You do not have to be Dutch to make rugby your profession - a great many women are making rugby their career, as this excellent article hidden away on the BBC's business pages (thanks, Simon!) reveals.

Nearly two-thirds of the staff working behind the scenes running the current men's world cup in New Zealand are women, including Therese Walsh, who - as Chief Operating Officer - is in charge of the financial, IT, HR, administrative and commercial areas of the tournament. Its her job to make the tournament a financial success!

And its not just in New Zealand. There are women in senior positions at the heart of things at the IRB too, and at the RFU where the Chief Commercial Officer is Sophie Goldschmidt (above right).

Its a fairly recent change - the game's senior manager were pretty much all male until 20 or so years ago - but things have changed very quickly, especially as the game has become more of a business. Once the game needed to make money, it seems that managers whose only qualification was to have played the game were replaced.

"At every level women bring a different perspective and a different way of looking at issues," says Brent Anderson, former general manager of the All Blacks rugby team and New Zealand Rugby Union.

"Women bring a diversity of thought and ideas that can and should make people in rugby stop and think." And although it can be hard at the start for businesswomen to get into the rugby world, adds Mr Anderson, it is up to the sport community to realise the value that diversity of thought actually brings.

 "Those fresh ideas are likely to lead to good decisions, which will be beneficial for the game."