Helping Build Women’s Rugby in Iran. Won for Won.

Women’s Rugby Team in Iran is the latest club to benefit from W RUGBY’s Project: Won for Won

We started W RUGBY to build grassroots rugby from the ground up. Being a fairly new organisation, we’ve got a long, long way to go, but with Project: Won for Won, we’re already creating a path for rugby clubs globally to have access to better equipment, better training and overall, to feel inclusive and as part of the rugby family as a whole. We are leaders in rugby inclusivity.

You; the reader, customer, coach, parent or player play a massive part in our initiative and we wanted to show off some of your incredible work.

Meet Fallow Deer Rugby Club. The first official rugby club in Iran created exclusively for women that started with only two players. Based in Tehran, Iran’s capital, we came across Fallow Deer on Instagram and immediately encouraged them to sign up to our Project: Won for Won; a program where W RUGBY donate rugby balls to clubs for every ball we sell – “Won for Won”.

We got in touch with Nahid Biyarjmandi, Chairwoman of Fallow Deer, and made our promise to deliver rugby balls to a group of women that love to play rugby with very limited equipment. “Right now, we have really low-quality balls and don’t know how long they’ll last”, explains Nahid. “In fact, we only play with old balls, cones and two tackle shields which we raised money for 4 years ago.” Nahid doesn’t allow the lack of equipment to be her excuse, nor is she looking for sympathy. Instead, opting to fight her way through the adversity of funding and look for other ways to inspire young girls into the sport.

Rugby in Iran as a whole flies under the radar, so you may be surprised by its popularity. Latest figures from World Rugby show 12,000 registered players in the country, and perhaps even more surprisingly, 7,000 of those are female. The growth of rugby in Iran has earned them a place as the latest fully fledged member union of World Rugby.

Nahid is a ‘Try and Stop Us’ ambassador, an initiative set out by World Rugby to increase female participation levels, and her involvement in the global campaign has had a positive impact in her homeland, according to IRF president Dr Hassan Mirza Aghabek.

“When Nahid was chosen for this project it was very important for all sports in Iran,” he told World Rugby. “It makes us very happy and more supportive of women in Iran, and at this time Nahid is very popular in women’s sports.”

Her success caught the attention of unions globally and is now the Head of Development for Women’s Rugby in Iran as well as recently being elected as an executive member of Asia Rugby.  

Juggling these pivotal roles in the global scene, she still finds the time to continue coaching the team she founded.

“I also wanted to play with the other players but soon I realised that I can’t play at the same time and coach the girls,” Biyarjomandi explained. “It’s not good for my team-mates or the team.

“I realised that maybe I can inspire other girls and other women. Maybe I didn’t catch my dreams in playing, but I can help the other girls to catch their dreams.”

She has certainly done that. From those humble beginnings, Biyarjomandi’s club has grown into a successful force, winning the Iranian championship at both under-18 and senior 15s. 

Brand New Rugby Balls

The team recently received their first delivery of W RUGBY balls from our UK Hub – an ordeal in itself, as successful postal orders seem impossible during Christmas overload coupled with a Global pandemic. Fallow Deer Rugby Club are now playing and training with brand new balls, allowing the players to enjoy rugby even more and hopefully help them to even more success in the future"

 “We got an immediate buzz seeing those balls land in Iran and to see the team playing with them” said Dovy Cornerford and Andy Lewis, founders of W RUGBY. “We got so many messages from the supporters and players themselves thanking us for including them in our initiative. That’s what it’s all about at the end of the day.”

Fallow Deer is one of the many, many clubs we’re looking to help moving into 2021.

Is your team struggling with raising funds for rugby equipment? We encourage you to join the cause. Sign up at Project: Won for Won.

World Rugby: How women are changing the game in Iranian rugby