By the end of Saturday, the women’s RWC 2025 quarter-final picture will be clearer, but the action on the field on 6 September is also significant in marking World Colour Blind Awareness Day.
With England 2025 changing the game on and off the field and being hailed as the most accessible and inclusive Rugby World Cup to date, the tournament is also changing the game as the first international rugby event to be fully colour blind-friendly, having adopted World Rugby’s Colour Blindness in Rugby guidelines, which became policy for all World Rugby events this year.
An estimated 300 million people live with some form of colour vision deficiency (CVD) which can impact their day to day life in a variety of ways through being unable to see or differentiate certain colour combinations. Through greater awareness of the challenges faced by those with CVD, and taking some simple steps to address these, those with CVD can have a more positive experience when it comes to taking part in or watching rugby.
From a coaching perspective, it is essential for those involved to be able to differentiate colours in some way, be it training cones, bibs or clothing, while from a player welfare perspective, the ability of a player or match official to quickly identify those on the field of play is a significant safety consideration, especially in an injury or foul play situation.
Tackling kit colour clashes
In September 2021, World Rugby published its Colour Blindness in Rugby guidelines which were developed in collaboration with Colour Blind Awareness (CBA), a non-profit organisation that raises awareness of the needs of colour blind people in the community. Since then, World Rugby has been taking steps to implement its own guidance across its various activities and events.
For Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025, World Rugby has worked closely with the Participating Unions and Colour Blind Awareness to encourage certain kit combinations in an effort to avoid kit ‘clashes’ – where kit colours appear too similar to colour blind people due to a lack of sufficient colour contrast or designs – while being mindful of manufacturing and commercial considerations.
Kathryn Albany-Ward, Founder of Colour Blind Awareness, said: “It is fantastic to see World Rugby’s colour blindness guidance, which moved from guidance into policy earlier this year, now come into full effect on the field at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. This means affected fans, players, referees and coaching staff are now able to fully follow all matches and in turn this should help to further grow the game.”
Sarah Massey, Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director added: “From the start, we set out for Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 to raise standards on and off the field. This includes initiatives to increase accessibility and ensure that the tournament is an inclusive and welcoming place for all.
“By working in partnership with teams and Colour Blind Awareness, we are proud to be the first event to be fully compliant with World Rugby’s Colour Blindness policy, placing fans, players and match officials at the heart of our planning.”