Rugby-England Rugby to provide free sanitary provisions for women at over 500 clubs

(Reuters) - England have introduced sanitary provisions at more than 500 nationwide rugby clubs for their female players, members and visitors to boost women participation in the sport, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) said on Thursday.

Part of the legacy programme ahead of the women's World Cup in the country next year, England Rugby is looking to encourage women's participation by increasing opportunities and improving facilities.

"As part of the initiative, more than 300 packages have already been delivered to clubs nationwide, with circ. 1000 sanitary products being installed at clubs up and down the country," the RFU said in a statement.

"All thanks to funding from Impact '25's seven million pounds ($9.08 million) facility investment fund that aims to enhance the rugby club experience for females by improving toilets, upgrading changing rooms, and developing social spaces."

A Women's Health Toolkit has also been introduced alongside sanitary provisions under the 'Every Rose' strategy which aims to have more than 100,000 women and girls playing the sport by 2027.

According to RFU, the provisions have been introduced to bring clubs up to a minimum acceptable level of sanitary care while also breaking the taboo around periods and women's sports.

In recent years, women's teams across sports such as rugby and soccer swapped white shorts to navy ones after players voiced concerns about period anxieties.

($1 = 0.7706 pounds)

(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)