

New Scottish Rugby CEO Alex Williamson is determined to work internally and also with other unions to keep the crowds in women’s rugby rising and the interest growing.
This year is one of the biggest there has ever been in the women’s game with a much-anticipated Guinness Six Nations in March and April being followed by the Rugby World Cup in England in August and September.
Over the last couple of years the game really has grown globally and, in Scotland, there are more eyes on the product than ever before after 12 wins in the last 16 Tests played.
The interest was highlighted by a Hive Stadium 7,774 sell out versus England and, with three home games to come in this year’s Six Nations, now is the time to really try and continue to build on that.
“You’ve seen it to a certain extent in rugby and you’ve certainly seen it in football where if you get things right you can start to get serious numbers of people coming and watching [women’s sport],” Williamson, who took up his post on January 20, said.
“Clearly this is a critical year for women’s rugby with the World Cup as well as the Six Nations and it feels to me like it’s a great opportunity for me to [get to] understand [the women’s game] better and to understand how we can drive it harder nationally.
“I don’t think it’s possible to do [just] that as a single union, I think we would lack the muscle, so it’s got to be a collective driver alongside other unions too to understand how we can drive the value of the game in and around a big World Cup in England.”
Williamson has already met with Gemma Fay, the head of girls and women’s strategy at Scottish Rugby, and plans to meet with women’s national team head coach Bryan Easson soon.
The Six Nations begins on March 22.
A qualified accountant, Williamson started his career with Ernst & Young followed by time in music and media before senior management roles in the travel, sports and retail industries, including extended periods working with teams in Asia, Europe and North America.
He previously ran the Goodwood Estate and is a former CEO of House of Fraser and he joined Scottish Rugby from private equity-owned education provider Inspiring Learning where he had been CEO since 2019.
A large Hive crowd and Alex Williamson are pictured
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