Jeni enjoying training and playing with England Deaf
Jeni Kingman had been playing rugby at university for a year while studying for a degree in sport and exercise science, when labyrinthitis, an inner ear infection, caused permanent hearing loss.
She had been part of the team in the 2018 Women’s Deaf Sevens in Australia, as well as in matches against Bulgaria away and Jamaica at home.
Training has begun for this season, with the next session on 27th January which is open to all who qualify by contacting England Deaf's chair.
The next tour is to South Africa, in August next year, when South Africa, Australia, Wales and England will all take women’s and men’s 15s teams and play each other.
“It’s good to be back with the squad as we train again,” says Jeni. “I would encourage anyone with a hearing loss to go along as training sessions are friendly and fun and it’s fantastic to be in that group, especially if you don’t have deaf friends.”
Grateful to university coaches
“It’s amazing to be able to represent England on the world stage,” she adds. “I could hear growing up but there was no girls’ rugby nearby, so I took up judo, got to brown belt and was in the university team. My dad, Mark, played rugby at school, college and then for a few different clubs in London and I had always wanted to play. So, I started at uni, only to have to learn how to adapt to a hearing loss.
“I’m very grateful to my university coaches, Gary Morris and Nick Todd, who sent me along to England Deaf. Nick had himself played for England Deaf. I played my first match for them in a community fixture in 2015.
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“Playing in Argentina was fantastic. We took 12 men, 12 women and six support staff. It was pretty full on, with 16 countries represented and two Barbarian teams.”
The trip was self-funded so required charity fundraising and sponsored events, but as the tournament planned for South Africa was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid, some fundraising could be carried over. The team’s major commercial partner is Amplifon hearing solution, and to qualify for England Deaf players have to be registered with a rugby club and have a hearing loss of 40dB across both ears, with a range of hearing loss across the squad..
Henley Hawks & England Deaf
Jeni, who is Rugby Events and Competitions Coordinator at the RFU, plays second-row or flanker for Henley Hawks Women but on the wing in sevens.
The rules for deaf players are much the same as for the hearing game but hand signals are used to communicate and “players develop an awareness of where teammates are on the pitch,” says Jeni. “And the referees wave hands when they blow the whistle and put their hand under the scrum to signal crouch, bind, set.
“My brother-in-law, Ewan, plays for Wensleydale club and my older sister, Hannah, has just started playing at Northallerton at the age of 30 having had a baby, and is loving it. So, with dad having played too, we are very much a rugby family!”
For information or to make a donation to next year’s tour visit the team's Go Fund Me.
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