World Rugby Confirms It Will Trial Smaller Ball For Women’s Rugby In HSBC SVNS – But Who Actually Wants It?

Earlier today, we posted across our socials the assumption that World Rugby was going to announce it would trial a 4.5 size rugby ball for only the women’s teams on the HSBC SVNS this season – they have now confirmed via a press release that it is the case, but no one we know (in the women’s game) actually wants it.

World Rugby said in its statement that it is “expanding trials of a new ball for women’s rugby to this year’s HSBC SVNS Series. The new bespoke size 4.5 ball has been developed in partnership with Gilbert to be the same weight as a size 5 whilst maintaining the advanced aerodynamic and technological features.”

The governing body said it had already been trialled at “U18 and U20 international competitions, domestic competitions in Spain and Colombia and elite domestic club training sessions.”

This is not the first time they have claimed decisions are based on feedback (the same was said of fan feedback and law changes feedback), but we are not provided the sample sizes or much detail.

Chair of World Rugby’s Women’s High Performance Committee, Melodie Robinson, said, “World Rugby is committed to supporting women’s rugby in forging its own path to suit our players, not just following the history of the men’s game.

In trialing this new ball we’re focused on player feedback and giving them the best possible stage to showcase their world class skills. I’d like to thank Gilbert for their support in developing this updated ball and I look forward to seeing the amazing things our superstar players can do with it in HSBC SVNS.”

Do We Need a Smaller Ball For Women’s Rugby?

When we posted whether it was a good idea, and female players we spoke to in the past didn’t want this, we had players, coaches and fans say more or less “If it’s not broken…..” and that the skillset shown at the RWC 2025 was ample evidence that no changes are needed.

World Rugby claims that the feedback of the size 4.5 ball suggested “players said that they felt the new ball gave them greater control and accuracy, providing a platform to showcase their world-class skills while not impacting other elements of the game, such as kicking. “

Their reasons are also based on the fact that other sports, such as basketball, cricket, athletics and football, use equipment specifically designed for female players.

Now, these are trials, and World Rugby said, “Player feedback on the new balls will be collected across the HSBC SVNS Series as well as other competitions, and any future decision will be informed by this feedback alongside analysis of the impact on game metrics and injury rates.

Richard Grey, Gilbert Commercial CEO, added, ”The introduction of the new balls into the HSBC SVNS Series is a sign of the success of previous trials and the quality of the product trialled so far. We’re pleased to be at the centre of the development of the global game, following an incredible Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 and are committed to working closely with World Rugby to build on this momentum to grow the Women’s game globally”.

There is so much the sport needs to address at the moment that this seems pretty far down the list to be spending time, energy and resources on. And we have said online, developing nations with challenging budgets hardly need another piece of equipment to buy to promote the sport.

Let us know your thoughts.

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