Nolli Waterman On Brands Entering Women’s Sports – It Would Be Mad To Not Step In Now

Danielle ‘Nolli’ Waterman was the first female HSBC rugby brand ambassador and obviously an accomplished rugby player with England, lifting the Rugby World Cup in 2014 and representing England in 7s including competing at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

She has gone on to become a regular rugby broadcaster and was back in Hong Kong for the Sevens, where we discussed the progress of the sport, brand integrity, and how the women’s game is progressing.

Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2024

How good is it to have this crowd back again in full voice – I know we talked about this last year, but the energy is infectious, right? 

Nolli: “Phenomenal. I think the Hong Kong Sevens truly encapsulates why sport is so magical – the energy, the enthusiasm of the people that have made it to day three in the South Stand, how early they’re getting in!

From my perspective, the rugby has been incredible too. It was superb to see the Asian teams playing (in the Melrose Claymores) and to see the Hong Kong China ladies beat the Chinese – throughout that game, I think it was probably the best atmosphere of the weekend. 

All credit to the tournament as a host for making sure that the local communities are showcasing their superstars and not just the global guys and girls that go around in the men’s and women’s SVNS tournaments. Hong Kong is a special place and it’s living up to expectations!

Photo Credit: HKCR

There have been loads of kids asking for autographs from the Asian-based players after the Melrose Claymores matches – so you can see the impact of having the matches. How important is it for younger generations to have role models to aspire to, and to help them get into this game?

Nolli: The visibility of playing on the main field, and last year was the first time that the women’s series played in Hong Kong, you’ve got a sitting audience that might never have watched rugby before. Now for the first time, they’re seeing it’s men’s and women’s rugby – so that’s the first interaction point. 

You’ve got rugby fans who might not have ever had the opportunity to watch the women play. And now they’re being blown away by these athletes. You talked about the local community, seeing somebody that looks like you, sounds like you, and from a similar upbringing & background – I cannot tell you how inspiring that is for anyone. 

I grew up in a generation where the only athletes that I could name who were female, were Sally Gunnell and Denise Lewis. They were representing Team GB at the Olympic Games as individual athletes but I didn’t know any team-sports women. 

I was just very, very fortunate that I had parents who didn’t treat me any differently from my brothers, and I had a community and a school that was accepting at a growing rate that gave me a platform to be able to perform. 

This is a full week of celebrating sport, and yes, rugby is getting the limelight. I think the fact that it’s such an iconic week of celebrating all of the best parts of sport, whether it is at the top end, or people joining in for the first time – that’s game-changing on lots of levels.

I know that HSBC and the HKCR are involved in a lot of varied programs. There are community programs and outreach programs – I’m always worried that we are going to spread ourselves too thin. How do we cope with that commercially & financially, it’s fantastic that everyone can get involved in this game in some capacity but it needs to be supported. 

Nolli: 100%. I talk a lot about not just women’s rugby, but women in rugby with people in sports and of the different roles. I think it is about participating. It’s inspiring people who are involved behind the scenes, the management, the administration, that facilitate all of this to happen. 

So to see them being celebrated on the field is really special. I think in terms of the programs, in particular for HSBC, Hong Kong is important for the brand and we can use the money from the sponsorship to really reach the community and that’s so important.

It is probably part of the role as an HSBC Ambassador that I’m the proudest of, and I think especially as the first female ambassador to the women’s rugby program, that we are not being treated any differently.

What’s special in particular about Hong Kong and Asia is the international community because I think rugby, rugby sevens, and the HSBC Sevens really celebrate diversity. That international network is about meeting new people, meeting different people and that’s reflected in who we’re seeing on the field, but also who is off the field. 

That’s only going to continue to inspire more people into the sport – this is about people in rugby, not just playing the game.

Brand Partnerships Have Evolved

We attended the new Hong Kong Sports Sustainability Summit and we came away from there with our thoughts going in a million different directions because it is a lot of food for thought. 

Throughout the week at various summits, the questions commercial partners are asking have changed in terms of where the real impact is. Is that something that you had to also rethink, and the questions you ask on what kind of initiatives you support? What is the end goal? Where is it going?

Photo Credit: HSBC – Nolli Waterman

Nolli: To be honest, I think it was how I was brought up. My mom is a pretty fierce lady and I’m very proud to see how much she’s inspired myself and my brothers to say, you know, what is this all about? 

I come from a very small community back in West Somerset, where women’s rugby in particular, especially in my early career, a small amount of money was stretched far.

It would be incredibly disappointing to see what we could manage to do with a very small pot of money then, and if it hadn’t changed today with vastly more money and not creating a legacy and inspiring new people – I think absolutely it has changed and HSBC are at the forefront of that. 

Yet, I do continually challenge myself because I think it’s really important. My lens is very different to theirs (HSBC). And so if I can use my platform and say, look, this is my personal experience, this is how I see things – for instance, we spoke a few years ago about parity of pay.

Now for the first time, there’s parity of pay for participation fees for the men’s and the women’s on the HSBC SVNS Series and that’s a massive statement and goes a long way to developing the game. 

As an ambassador, I’m saying, okay, what programs are we doing? There’s the World of Opportunity, which I’m incredibly proud of and was started in Dubai in 2021. It gets young people to utilise the networks that HSBC have with SVNS Series and the job opportunities. That’s a real-life impact because that young person has been inspired. 

I think it’s really important that money doesn’t just get wasted – It’s used and utilised and has a hugely positive impact.

Huge Rugby Tournaments on the Horizon – Power Of Social Media For Athletes

With the upcoming Paris Olympic Games 2024 Sevens, the Lions tour to Australia and most importantly perhaps for the women’s game, the Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 – How important are the next 12-18 months in terms of building up the visibility of women’s rugby?

Photo Credit: HKCR women – Melrose Claymores 2024 – Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2024

Nolli: I think it’s changed with these massive competitions, these global arenas for any athlete, it’s a shop window, right? All of the eyes of the media want their stories, they want the stars and I think what’s even better now is athletes are really getting to grips with how they can tell their story on their own.

They are content creators and far better than I am at it, and tell the stories of the human beings behind the athletes and I think the women athletes have really embraced that.

That shop window, when we see the men’s and women’s teams together on the HSBC SVNS around the world, that’s the shop window for all of those athletes, men and women, and we’ve got women that have far bigger profiles on the socials than the men’s teams. 

I know that the men are scrambling to get photographs or videos with them (the women) to get some content (she said laughing).

The Lens Is On The Players

Nolli: The eyeballs on the Olympic Games, it’s the biggest sporting event we have around the globe. I was very fortunate in 2010 to play the Rugby World Cup for the Red Roses in England, that was the first time that the media stopped when we sold out stadiums, and it was incredibly special. But the legacy part of it wasn’t quite there yet. The performance absolutely was, and everyone went, ‘Wow, these women are amazing’ and we then disappeared for four years. 

What’s happening now is that athletes aren’t just disappearing because of the social channels that are available and fans can follow up on from that moment, instantly. 

Women’s Sports On The Rise

Photo Credit: HKCR – Japanese Sakura 7s players chasing down Canada at Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens 2024

Nolli: I would say in women’s sports in particular, we’ve just had the crazy Caitlin Clark effect (the American professional basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association has exploded in the sport and seen huge endorsements) – I saw some stats but 12.6 million people on average tuned into the last couple of games. That is more than every single NBA game (bar one) in the last half of the last year, that’s huge.

Last year in the Women’s Six Nations, England packed in 58,000 into Twickenham and Jason Robinson (England RWC 2003 winner) said it was the best he had seen Twickenham in years.

So the women’s game is also not just facilitating the inspiration from a participation level, but also from fan engagement. People look different, sound different, different demographics of age & background.

As soon as you fill stadiums, it looks amazing on TV and then brands and commercial partners say, ‘I want a piece of this’ and I think it would be mad to not step in now. I think you’ve got a tiny little window if you’re a brand to step in if you haven’t already.

I suppose why I’m proud to be an ambassador for HSBC, is the fact that they’ve been doing it for 10-plus years and they kind of saw it ahead of time, which has helped give it the platform it is today.

The final regular season round of HSBC SVNS 2024 will take place at the Singapore National Stadium from 3-5 May.

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