Women in the World Rugby Museum archive in three case studies

ABSTRACT An object without a story offers limited interpretation options to a conscientious museum team. The World Rugby Museum (WRM) houses objects classified as national treasures, such as the Calcutta Cup, but it is also home to a miscellaneous collection related to the history of female participation in rugby union. The newly refurbished WRM is dedicated to telling the multidimensional history of rugby, including women’s rugby. However, the gender bias of rugby as a male-dominated sport is reflected in the archives, and some of the female-specific archival sources have yet to be entirely understood. The collaboration between museum and academic partner through a research student allows the rich, but admittedly limited, sources at the WRM to be explored to their full potential, providing opportunities for further interpretation within exhibitions, and to expand the WRM archives regarding the history of women in rugby union. This paper presents three case studies to illustrate the ways in which the WRM is benefitting from a collaborative doctoral research project.