Family at the heart of Shrewsbury Women’s rugby success
When Shrewsbury Women played their most recent fixture, they took to the field not just with teammates, but also with family.
The team’s halfbacks were a mother-and-daughter duo, while the referee was one of the replacement’s dads.
Referee Mike Mason, 57, was honoured to officiate his daughter Sophie’s game against Barkers Butts, despite his initial concerns about a conflict of interest!
He said: “I wanted to make sure everyone was happy with it, so I spoke to the league, the North Midlands Referees’ Society, and both clubs beforehand.
“I was nervous before the game; I wanted it to go well and be a positive experience for us both. The game was only a 15-minute drive away, but we travelled in two separate cars as we didn’t want to be seen arriving together!”
Shrewsbury Women went on to win the match, but there was still one dispute to settle at home.
Sophie said: “My dad pinged me for a knock-on but I didn’t think it was one!”
The 18-year-old joined Shrewsbury Women at the start of the season and has found the team’s environment welcoming and supportive.
She said: “As one of the younger players in the team, I find that the other women all rally around. I struggled a bit with confidence going into the match, but all the girls were encouraging and supportive, as they always are.
“They see beyond any player’s age and value their ability over anything else. I wouldn’t want to play for any other club!”
Shrewsbury Women are thriving in their first season in NC 3 Midlands (West) having restarted their team in January 2023. They currently sit second in their league and have over 20 players training weekly.
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Coach Craig "Fudge" Jones is proud of how quickly the squad has come together.
He said: “We've built an incredible atmosphere in this squad over a short timeframe and are probably further ahead in our development than I thought we would be at this stage.
“The friendly nature of the squad is testament to the players and their supportive families who have bought into what we're creating here.
“The family involvement extends off the pitch as well: we have a parent who is our official scorekeeper, some players’ kids have run out as mascots at other fixtures, and we have even had a dad on water boy duties!”
The club prides itself on its supportive family feeling and credits it to its understanding that everyone’s at a different stage in their rugby journey and their values centre on meeting everyone where they’re at and focusing on enjoyment rather than results.
Want to get involved?
Those interested in joining the squad can visit Shrewsbury’ Women's social media, while anyone thinking about refereeing can find more information on the Refereeing page.
