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'Not for girls' rugby club boss says job uncertain

Aimee Thomas
BBC News
BBC Matty Young, who has floppy brown hair, a beard and moustache and glasses, wearing a black polo shirt and sat with his chin in his handBBC
Matty Young says he has "so much to learn" after his "not for girls" social media post was widely criticised

The owner of a rugby club who faced a backlash over a social media post describing an event as "definitely not for girls" says there is a question mark over his long-term future at the club.

Matty Young said he had "so much to learn" following the now-deleted post which prompted strong condemnation from players and politicians.

The post stated an upcoming game was "definitely not for girls" and the club later apologised for the move.

In a subsequent post, it attempted to justify the initial message, claiming it was intended to prompt discussion about "the casual misogyny that still exists in parts of rugby".

Young later apologised for any offence caused, saying he was the post's author and took "full responsibility".

In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, he explained the purpose of the original post was part of a wider campaign to "integrate the Neath junior girls' side with the Neath brand and senior sides".

But in an "impulsive" decision, Young decided to put the original post out earlier to gain "traction", with the plan being to post a video highlighting the wider campaign the next day.

He said: "What was going to happen there was a juxtaposition between the two sides and, at the end, the junior girls' sides [Neath Panthers] would come out to battle the Neath mens' senior team and essentially make a poster 'not for boys' at the end.

"I was hoping ultimately to integrate them within the club."

An event advertised by Neath RFC on its social media pages was described as "not for girls" - and locals were quick to condemn it

Stella Mills, a sports broadcaster, said the post "shouldn't be detracting from the growing game".

"Rugby as a sport is literally the most inclusive sport," she said.

"If you're a young girl and you've been put off by this post, rugby has and always will be for the girls. It just is."

Young said he should not have led the campaign, and should have listened to the voices of the "strong women at the club" instead.

"I spoke to the girls that night and there was a lot of fury and absolutely rightly so, and at that point that's when the post was taken down," he said.

"It was for the girls to lead, and it's one of the things I'm going to do when I go back is to talk to the girls and ask them what they want."

Speaking about his future at the club, he said he would stay for two to three months "to get through this season", but a conversation should be held after that period with the "people within the club" on whether he stays.

"I'm ultimately leading on some areas I've led well on and other things I've led really really badly on, and this is something I've led really badly on, and I shouldn't be leading in this area," he said.