Sarah Massey MBE for services to women’s rugby

That this House congratulates Sarah Massey on being awarded an MBE in His Majesty The King’s New Year Honours for services to women’s rugby following the successful delivery of the Women’s Rugby World Cup and the triumph of the England Women’s Rugby Team; notes that under Sarah’s leadership, the tournament set a new record for women’s rugby with over 444,000 tickets sold, a record attendance for the final at Twickenham Stadium with over 82,000 spectators, a spectacular increase in visibility generated for the sport with over 5.8 million people in the UK tuning in to watch the Red Roses in the final and over 1.1 billion social media impressions across the entire competition; recognises that the tournament provided the opportunity for people to access women’s rugby for the first time as matches were held right across the country; understands that these achievements in visibility and engagement will continue to be instrumental in helping to increase participation within the sport for women and girls, in addition to legacy programmes such as the Impact Beyond 2025 and Rugby Rising Play; and wishes Sarah every success in her new role at the British Olympic Association taking over responsibility for Team GB’s Sport, Athletic Services and Operational teams.