If you take two equal size intakes in to the Marines say, one entirely male the other entirely female and train both to the same standard using the same training syllabus, exactly so, without let or hinderence, what would the outcome be and how would they fair if pitted against one another?
And the same applies to contact sports.
It is easy to label the sceptics as stick-in-the-mud, Cold War warriors. I spent my military career as an infantry officer. The thought of going to war, as opposed to asymmetric operations, with a load of women in my infantry platoons, fills me with horror. Women DO have a role on the battlefield, but NOT in an infantry unit unless you really want to degrade your war fighting capability. Would you field a team of females against the All Blacks, except as a gimmic?