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Neath RFC posted to social media on Monday, promoting its upcoming derby against Llangennech and describing it as “definitely NOT FOR GIRLS.”
The post was widely condemned by sportspeople and members of the local community, and was deleted a few hours later.
The club subsequently posted a second message which suggested the post was intended to grab attention and promote discussion, adding it apologised for “any confusion or upset caused”.
In the original post, the “Friday night under the lights” event, which is due to take place on 28 March at the Gnoll ground, was further described as “no frills, no apologies, just brutal, old-school, Friday night rugby at its finest”.
The club wrote: “This one isn’t for the faint-hearted. This one isn’t for the half-committed. This one is definitely NOT FOR GIRLS.”
In a lengthy explanation afterwards, the club said they wanted to provoke debate and challenge misconceptions about women’s rugby.
Reacting to the post, Emily, from Neath, said the sentiment was “rude” and “sexist”.
The 16-year-old added: “It’s just provocative. It’s promoting the wrong attention, not the right thing to do.”
Kitti, also 16 and from Neath, added: “If there were young people growing up and they see that they will think they are not allowed to [play rugby]”.
Kirsty Ellis, another shopper in Neath on Tuesday, said the post suggested the club was “scared of girls”.
“It’s disgusting, it’s sexually discriminating,” she said.
The 53-year-old added: “It makes me ashamed to know any of the men in Neath and the surrounding area, if they think so little of women that they don’t think women can play rugby.”
Shaun Evans, 24, also from Neath, said he did not think the post was “fair”.
“It’s 2025. I think we have moved on,” he said.
“It’s not a good look.”
The post quickly gained hundreds of comments – with …
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