Netherlands

Although now predominantly recognised as a Sevens playing nation, Netherlands were one of the earliest adopters of women’s rugby at XV level, playing their first international before many established European rugby nations in 1982 against France. But it is in the Sevens game that they are now mainly focusing on with funding for a fulltime programme in place making them the first set of players to turn professional in the lead-up to the inclusion of Sevens at the 2016 Olympics.