Warrior Women to Get Rugby Buzz Nationwide
The Covid-19 pandemic has particularly affected the mental health of women because of their family responsibilities and increased levels of stress. Many having been isolated, an opportunity to play sport, and in particular a team sport, has never been more welcome.
That’s why more than 150 community rugby clubs are running Warrior Camps which introduce women to the sport or welcome those returning and help to both empower women and broaden rugby’s reach.
Right across the country, from Torquay to Gateshead, Cinderford to Ipswich and Maidenhead to Macclesfield, women have signed up for the fun, social, fitness camps as part of the Allianz Inner Warrior programme. Many were inspired by the Red Roses’ third Women’s Six Nations Championship title in a row with live TV coverage of their 10-6 Twickenham Stoop victory.
Benefits of rugby rolled into one
Former England captain Katy Daley-McLean, who won 116 caps and lifted the World Cup in 2014, currently plays fly half for Sale Sharks in the Allianz Premier 15s. She says: “Allianz Inner Warrior is a fantastic campaign – not just for people who’ve played rugby but for someone new who might have an interest in the game.
“It’s the benefits of rugby all rolled into one – the option to meet new people, go out and socialise and be active. For me, they’re all the things I’ve loved about being part of the game. The camps are a great opportunity to run around, get fit, play a different game and discover the social side of rugby – as well as all its physical benefits.”
The 35-year-old, who hung up her international boots this year, is an ambassador for Allianz Inner Warrior, and said: “The Red Roses have been in great form and we’re starting to see so much more of that on mainstream TV. You want to jump on the back of it and for young people to emulate those girls, to say ‘I’m going to have a go at that.’”
The relaxed environment and emphasis on having fun with your teammates makes Warrior Camps unique, providing a fun and safe environment and encouraging women to learn new skills. Daley-McLean says: “In the future, this is where you’ll find the talent and next stars of the game – in camps like this, where people start going down with their friends and picking up an appetite for rugby. It’s what’s going to get women and young girls into the game – it’s easy, sociable and fun. You’re getting people active and outside, and you’re getting people into the game. It’s a brilliant campaign.”
Creating a women's team
Castleford RUFC in West Yorkshire, surrounded by rugby league women’s teams playing at a high level, want to create Castleford Ladies, both to give senior playing opportunities for those leaving their U18 girls’ squad and to offer rugby to completely new players.
Their girls’ rugby standard is evident from those playing for Yorkshire and two former players who have reached the highest level. Abi Burton, now a GB 7s and Wasps player, was at the club for four seasons from U15s to U18s and England and Wasps Ellie Kildunne played at Castleford for a season before moving to Hartpury. Emma Hardy, also a past England 7s player and now at Loughborough Lightning, is one of a number of former players playing regularly in the Allianz Premier 15s.
Said Steve Ball, Women and Girls’ Rugby Coordinator: “During the pandemic we decided we had to provide a home for our girls as they leave the U18s. Twenty of our U18 girls were training on Easter Monday and there’s a great social environment at the club. Even before our Warrior Camp, we had 11 women to our first training session, several without any previous links to the club. There has been so much isolation for women and young mothers during the pandemic that we know playing rugby and making lifelong friends will make more of a difference than ever.”
Red Roses success is helping
At Bridgwater & Albion in the West Country, the newly-formed ladies team trains every Wednesday, with one of their three coaches Sophie Phillips, who plays prop for Bristol Bears in the Women's Allianz Premier 15s and previously played for England U20s. Also in the coaching team are Lee Iles and Simon Alderwick.
Says Sophie: “We’ve played only three or four games and really want to get the word out that we have women’s rugby here and want to grow numbers. We would love to provide a pathway for our older girls as there’s always a danger of them dropping out of the sport if they have to join a new club. Our players have loved being able to get back to training and this is an ideal time for us to have a Warrior Camp.
“I think rugby is a great sport for women and girls. My dad and brother played and, when I was in Year 9, a rugby coach came into my school and after that my dad Jerry, who also played prop, and I started a girls’ section at the Somerton. I went on to play through the Somerset age levels, moved to Cleve and played at SGS College Filton.
“Rugby has been massive for me, with college we travelled the world playing and at Bristol I have friends I’ve played with since I was 15. I love coaching and will take my qualifications once courses are up and running again. I think women are very open to learning, especially if they haven’t grown up watching the game, and the success of the England Women is really helping. They are getting more and more exposure and players are becoming household names, which is great in encouraging more women and girls to get involved.”
Awesome women
At Marlow RUFC they have helped to build their women’s team by running Warrior Camps and have another planned. Their team manager and prop, Kerry Newman, came to the UK from Australia and discovered the joys of women’s rugby at the club.
“When I started playing around six years ago we were creeping along with ten to 15 players. Three years ago we roped in a new coach and he brought other coaches in and now we get up to 30 at training,” she says. “Having been a school teacher, I was working in Dominos and met someone who insisted I try rugby. Over recent times I’ve been on a Dominos management course, managed a restaurant and now handle customer relations in the office. I’ve also taken on managing the women’s rugby team.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m creaky, if I’m having a bad time, my team mates are always there. I’m so far from family and unable to go home and they’ve become my other family, even turning up with a card and box of chocs just making sure I’m OK. They stepped up and took over my duties when my dad was quite ill. They are awesome women and anyone would benefit from joining them.
“Marlow is quite a small town so the camps help us get the word out that we have a ladies’ team here. If they think we are all already experienced players, this is a chance to come along, no pressure, no contact. Our captain is married to someone in the RAF and drags along services women and military wives. They usually stay. And I started our girls section and coach them because I wish I’d had the opportunity to play when I was younger and had discovered rugby earlier.”
Not far away, in Berkshire, the Iron Maidens at Maidenhead RFC are building numbers since the club’s chairman Steve Bough and Director of Rugby Myke Parrott decided that more needed to be done to recruit and develop players. The setup is being revitalised, with a grant from Keep Berkshire Active helping.
Said coach Steve Jones: “The women chose the name of the team and one of their daughters designed a pretty wacky kit. No longer do they have to wear men’s kit, it’s now in women’s sizes and a strip that they want. They’ve been promised a tour and now the club is intending to have two or three age level girls’ teams too. We’ve had teenage daughters turn up with their mums and just got a note from a local school asking for coaching.
“The women have been back for three training sessions since lockdown and there’s a combination of veteran players, some of them really good, a new grandmother among them, and around eight who have never played. It’s so refreshing, they are brilliant, so keen to progress.
“The club is really investing in women and girls. Currently, we’re looking for women coaches because the take up is so good. Rochelle Clark, a real England legend is going to come and take a session. There’s a big appetite for contact rugby and we really want to meet that. The Warrior Camp will be a big part of developing the women’s team.”
Inspiration after lockdown
At Cinderford, on the fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, coach Paul Lydiard, supported by some of the club’s established players, is hoping to make their Warrior Camp a really funtastic event. It’s the first time the club has run one and they already have quite a lot of interest for their Sunday session.
“Anyone coming along will get a really warm welcome,” says Paul. “After all the months of isolation and lack of sport, there’s no better way to get active and discover what a rugby team can provide.
“It doesn’t matter whether anyone turning up has ever held a rugby ball, this will be a very friendly, safe session for players at any level. We want to increase our women’s numbers and inspire the younger girls’ teams after the long lay-off during the pandemic while the schools were closed and training at the club was suspended. It’s time to reignite interest and also to bolster the younger age groups.”
At Barnard Castle RUFC in County Durham, Paul Davis was persuaded to start a girls’ section by his teenage daughter Sophie. The club now has girls at U13, U15 and U18 and are running their Warrior Camp for the oldest girls and women who might want to get involved.
Paul, an inside centre, said both Sophie and her younger sister Lucy had dropped away from playing in the minis when boys didn’t want to pass to them but, having had a coaching session in school, at 15 Sophie got off the school bus and demanded a girls’ team at the club.
“She said ‘Dad I want you to start a team’ and being a scrum half she’s pretty insistent. Eight girls from her school turned up and we persuaded some of their mums to join in. Both of my girls still play, Sophie has started at Leeds Beckett and they’ve just started training and Lucy will be helping me at the camp. We have been getting 18 of the women’s team at training post Covid lockdown and, with 23 registered, we hope they all come back. The Warrior Camp will help. We ran one two or three years ago and found it was a good introduction for new players, less of a challenge than turning up to a full training session. We kept some players from that event and are hoping to gain some more.”
Visit englandrugby.com/innerwarrior for more information. To find a Warrior Camp near you search englandrugby.com/warriorcamps.
