Girls' rugby coming home to Bromley RFC
Ada Bassett-Cross has played rugby at Bromley RFC since she was five years old. Now in her final year of minis rugby, her club is working hard to provide a pathway for her and other girls to continue playing rugby at her club.
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“This year, Ada is coming to the end of minis and last season, we thought ‘Why should Ada, and her friends go elsewhere?’ Their friends are at Bromley, their fathers, brothers, and cousins are at Bromley. Bromley is their home!” said Ross Castell, newly appointed Head of Girls’ Rugby.
Ross, who also has a daughter in the U11 minis squad, along with Ada’s father James and another parent, Helen Nolan, put together a five-year plan, with the long-term vision of having girls and women playing rugby across every age group and into senior rugby.
Through a combination of promotion on social media and at local events, a girls’ rugby open day that saw over 50 girls attend and an outreach programme to introduce girls to rugby at their schools and Girl Guides groups, the club has seen the number of girls in their minis section grow.
“We now have U10s and U11s girls’ only age groups with U9s launching next season. This is a unique offering in our local area, and we’re really focussed on making sure our girls feel comfortable playing the game and build their resilience and confidence.
“We have over 45 girls attending training each week and a coaching and management team predominately run by women.”
Now Ada and her teammates have an established group to progress into junior rugby with and can start a legacy of girls’ rugby at their club.
Ada said: “I’m so excited to keep playing rugby at Bromley because I’ve played there for a long time, and I’ve made lots of friends. I love rugby because I love playing with a team and I love that anyone can play.
“I especially love watching the Red Roses. They’re doing really well this season and I think they are much more fun to watch than the men!”
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