1975 Sexist OSU Newsletter
The Old Man, the newsletter of the Ohio State University Men’s Rugby club announced the formation of the Ohio State women’s team. Note the graphic illustration of a female player.
1977 The Pitch
The Tube and the Pitch, two different Ohio State Women’s team newsletters from 1977 show the grassroots organizing, bawdy nature of women’s rugby at the time.
The 1990’s saw the continued growth of women’s rugby including the establishment of a framework for collegiate rugby, growth of D2 women’s club rugby and the first Women’s World Cup.
In the fall of 1991 the Women’s National Team won the first Women’s World Cup.
"Four English women ruggers put the event together on a wing and a prayer and it was a smashing success. Seemingly no effort was made by USARFU to have an official on site for a world championship in which their team was favored to win." (Terence Lee, Rugby Mag. 1991)
"We were running women’s rugby on a volunteer basis. We didn’t tend to have strong relationships with one another outside of the group. We met to do business. Most of our challenges were dealing with the men and the ‘lowly position’ of women’s rugby in the USAR pecking order. But we were a defiant group, committed to growing the women’s game. Jami Jordan, Chair, Women’s Committee 1989-1993)
In the US, the Women’s Committee continued to press USAR for the acceptance of a women’s national program. When USAR balked at supporting the US Women’s World Cup team, the Women’s Committee working with no funds, made the trip possible.
