Participants have described as a “dream come true” a partnership between World Rugby and Getty Images that has allowed 14 sports photography students to work pitchside at Rugby World Cup 2025.
Undergraduates from Nottingham Trent University, 10 of whom are women, have been capturing the action, each partnered with a mentor, under the watchful eye of Getty’s director of sport content, Laurence Griffiths.
He said: “As part of this push to promote women's rugby, we thought it was really important to get a big group of new content creators with a great female representation behind the lens. Female content creators, photographing women's sport; that's really at the heart of it.
“It's been quite a male-dominated profession. That is slowly starting to change, and with the rise of women’s soccer and women's rugby, we're seeing more of an uptake with young female content creators as well.”
Second-year student Shanni Davis says she is “almost speechless” about the opportunities she has been afforded at the tournament so far: “It’s been invaluable, what I’ve learned both shooting and editing. I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.”
Another student on the programme, Amelie Rudkin, agreed: “It’s been great, to have that experience of the whole day – you think that photographers just walk on pitchside and that’s it – to learn the ins and outs; to get to use the equipment and get that big-game experience game that you wouldn't normally have at our age has been great.”
‘We’re getting them ready for work’
The first cohort of students showcased their skills during the Ireland v Japan and South Africa v Brazil double-header at Franklin’s Gardens – home of Northampton Saints and Loughborough Lightning – on 24 August, with the second group covering Italy v Brazil and France v South Africa at the same venue on 7 September. Those who impress most will be selected to cover finals day at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on 27 September.
According to the students’ lecturer Assunta del Buono, though, they are all winners. “It’s fantastic to see the fact that that can cope and they’re producing really decent work,” she said. “The course is very career-focused, so we’re kind of getting the students ready for work.”
Like RWC 2025’s Content Creator Programme, the collaboration with Getty Images is about much more that photography, according to Sarah Massey, managing director of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. “It’s about creating opportunities, inspiring the next generation, and making sure women have a stronger presence in sports media. Rugby is a sport where everyone belongs, and initiatives like this reinforce that message by opening doors for diverse voices and talents to shine."
