England Women Raise Concerns Over World Rugby's Trial Ball as Data Gap Persists
England women's rugby players have voiced fresh concerns about World Rugby's trial ball, describing how its changing shape and inconsistent inflation have disrupted their preparation.
Red Roses player Campbell said the trial ball felt smaller and that how much it was blown up varied during training sessions. Team-mate Rowland called the gap between the new balls and those used in the previous three weeks of camp "massive" and urged World Rugby to do more work on how the balls are manufactured. BBC Sport
The trial ball — a bespoke size 4.5 developed by World Rugby in partnership with Gilbert, roughly 3% smaller than the standard size 5 — is designed to make women's equipment proportionate to the men's game. World Rugby's stated aim is to promote accuracy and reduce handling errors. World Rugby
The smaller ball has already been rolled out in the Under-18s and Under-20s Women's Six Nations and across the HSBC Sevens Series. Players in the sevens trials reported greater control and accuracy, saying it allowed them to showcase their skills. But the transition to the 15-a-side international game has been anything but smooth. Asia Rugby
Red Roses fly-half Zoe Harrison did not mince her words earlier this year, calling the introduction of smaller balls for the 2025 WXV Global Series — the women's international tournament featuring the top teams across three tiers — "the worst decision someone has ever made." BBC Sport
Some players feel frustrated at being cast as guinea pigs on the global stage, only to return to their clubs and play with a standard size five ball once again. Rowland said she would like to see data on whether the trial ball has actually made a difference.
That data, however, remains unavailable. BBC Sport asked World Rugby for figures on the trial but received none. A World Rugby spokesperson said the trial balls had not yet been used in the international 15-a-side environment, meaning there was "no directly comparable data" to share with players or their unions. BBC Sport
World Rugby said it intends to publish trial results once it has built a large enough data set of player responses, match official responses and game data. The governing body also said its evidence so far suggests that further exposure to the ball produces greater results. A full analysis of the WXV tournaments is expected in early 2027, with World Rugby saying it will assess its position on women's 15s once the international window has started.
What makes this stand out is the gap between the pitch and the boardroom. Players are being asked to adapt to equipment that changes feel from week to week, with no published evidence yet that the switch is working. The sevens feedback was positive, but 15-a-side rugby — with its heavier tactical kicking game and set-piece demands — is a different beast entirely.
Until the data arrives, the players and the paying public are left to judge on feel alone.
