Emily Willett nominated as 1 of 50 women to inspire a new generation of rugby referees

Referee Emily Willett from Coalville, Leicestershire, was this week nominated by the RFU as the third referee who will join 49 other inspiring female officials at Twickenham this November – all to inspire more women into refereeing.

Emily will join fellow referees on the pitch at the England v Japan Autumn International minutes before kick off as part of the nationwide #INSPIRE campaign to celebrate female rugby referees around the country.

Having referred for 3 years, Emily said: “I started playing rugby when I was 15 after going to watch a Leicester Tigers match and continued to play at University. Rugby has helped me to gain confidence but has also allowed me to make lifelong friends who have supported me throughout my journey.”

Emily went on to discuss what being part of the #INSPIRE campaign means to her, adding: “It's great I think the more female match officials we can encourage will further help to expand rugby as a sport and inspire more female participation in the game.”

The governing body for rugby in England (the RFU) has launched the nationwide campaign to inspire 500 new female rugby referees to join the sport by the end of 2024.

The #INSPIRE campaign launching today, will celebrate a female referee every day in the build up to the England v Japan Autumn international on November 12th, at which 50 of England’s most inspiring female referees will take to the pitch at Twickenham.

The campaign launched by the RFU is all part of a drive to bring more female referees into the sport as part of the RFU’s Every Rose strategy.

The RFU is launching the campaign in partnership with ACME Whistles and some of the biggest refereeing names in the sport. Each day a brilliant female referee will be celebrated on social media and on ruck.co.uk, in the build up to the game at Twickenham in November.

“It’s so important to keep women in the sport, and even bring more into rugby,” said Leonie Pryor, RFU Match Official Developer, who created the project.

“With such a dominance on the pitch from the Red Roses, and with our top female referees making a name in both men’s and women’s rugby – there are so many incredible female role models in the sport.

“By sharing some of the incredible stories behind these amazing women, we hope that more players, fans and family – no matter what their age – will look at refereeing as a way to be involved in the sport.

Across England, the number of registered female referees who regularly officiate games is currently lower than the number of registered male referees, something that Leonie and her team are keen to change.

“Having already talked to many of the inspiring women referees from around the UK, it’s the stories of ‘confidence’, ‘teamwork’, ‘community’ and ‘belonging’ that make this such a powerful project.

“You never know – we might even inspire the next Sara Cox, or Hollie Davidson to join refereeing.”

ACME Whistles, whose founder invented the modern-day sports whistle, is backing the campaign by helping to spread the word through its network of elite referee contacts, as well as creating a personalised engraved whistle for each referee involved.

Ben McFarlane, marketing director at ACME Whistles, added: “Over the last year, we have spoken to some of the world’s leading female rugby referees, including Sara Cox, Aimee Barrett-Theron, Hollie Davidson and Kat Roche – all incredibly talented and dedicated elite referees.

“We believe in refereeing talent and recognising the time and effort every referee gives to the sport.

“We are therefore delighted to be able to support a campaign that shines a spotlight on women in rugby and will encourage more women and girls to take up the whistle.

“The stories we have heard so far have been incredible and we are working to create a very special platform to showcase each of the fifty referees and their stories in a digital ‘yearbook’.

“Without referees, we can’t have sport so it’s only right that we are backing this important campaign - #INSPIRE!”

To find out more about the campaign, visit www.ruck.co.uk/inspire/