RFU announces latest initiative to get more women playing rugby
The camps are part of the governing body’s Inner Warrior campaign which seeks to get more women “off the touchline and onto the field”, with the latest camps running from the 31st of August until the 16th of September.
With over 100 rugby taster sessions taking place at various clubs across the country, the number of camps has continued to grow in order to deal with the demand.
According to World Rugby, women’s rugby has seen a 60% increase in participation globally since 2013 with 33,000 women playing regularly in the U.K.
Steve Grainger, RFU Rugby Development Director, said: “Female participation in rugby has seen unparalleled levels of growth in recent years, and is one of the fastest growing team sports for women in England.”
“According to World Rugby, women’s rugby has seen
60% increase in participation globally since 2013“
“As part of the 2017-21 funding agreement with Sport England and our Women and Girls’ Action Plan, the RFU is looking to significantly expand the number of women and girls participating in grassroots rugby across England, and the Warrior Camps are instrumental in supporting this growth.”
In addition, the RFU stated that, since the launch of the Inner Warrior campaign, over 15,000 women have attended the camps nationwide, of which 5,000 have never played the game before.
England international, Katy Daley-Mclean said: “Rugby is incredibly inclusive and encourages women from all backgrounds and physical statures to come together and bond through the sport.
“One of the best aspects of rugby is the variety of people you meet through the sport; the different characters and backgrounds of different players fosters a fun and sociable atmosphere which helps to strengthen the bonds between yourself and your teammates.”
“Rugby is incredibly inclusive and encourages women
from all backgrounds and physical statures to come together
and bond through the sport.”
37-year-old, mother of three Vicki Greensmith, said discovering rugby has been a life-changer. Vicki said: “The turning point for me was when my two girls started playing rugby, they absolutely loved it. I was going along to watch them all the time and noticed that there were quite a lot of girls who were playing up until U18s but then didn’t have a women’s team to go in to.
“So, when a group of women started running these sessions I was convinced to go along.
“Most of us have never played before but we just love it. I wish I’d found the sport when I was younger because there’s a social aspect to it that I’ve never found with any other sport, I’ve found loads of friends of all different shapes and sizes who will be friends for life now.”
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(Image: John Walton)