Dallaglio Rugbyworks First Female Rugby Camp!
Due to the recent success of our home nations Women’s squads in their Autumn international campaigns, we thought we’d highlight the work we’re currently doing for female rugby participation.
Over the last two weeks England and Wales women’s rugby squads have shown exactly why young girls should be given the opportunity to play rugby. Wales played Japan in their opening game of the Autumn campaign on November 7th playing an extremely fast paced and competitive game against the Japanese, who are positioned just one below them on the world rankings. Wales came out on top, winning their first game in over two years 23-5. England have also been showing extreme class and skill on the pitch winning two games on consecutive weekends against New Zealand’s black ferns. The red roses won their first match at Sandy Park in Exeter 43-12 and their second at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium 56-15 to put them at number one in the world rankings ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
During the recent October half term, Dallaglio RugbyWorks delivered its first ever female only rugby camp at Sutton and Epsom RFC. Over 30 young girls took part in the holiday camp over two days, ranging from under 8’s to under 16’s, with numerous activities focused on developing their rugby knowledge and key life skills.
Andrea from our London team expressed how successful he believes the event was. “The girls-only Rugby Camp at Sutton & Epsom RFC has been a great opportunity for young women to stay active during half-term and to challenge themselves in a learning and fun environment. Every participant showed us commitment and passion for the game and it’s been amazing to be part of their journey. For DRW it has been the very first camp of its kind and considering the great success that it has been, we can’t wait to organise something similar in the future.”
Joing the squad was our newly appointed CEO Zenna, who said “I’m absolutely delighted to be at Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ first ever girls only rugby camp. It’s so important that we give young women the opportunity to try new sports, get exposed to new things, play as a team and build their confidence. I’d like to give a special thank you to Sutton and Epsom RFC for supporting us in delivering more opportunities to young women.”
Dallaglio RugbyWorks coaches from all over the country also attended the London event. “This holiday camp has been a great opportunity to bring coaches from different regions together. We have female coaches from Wales and the North-West joining the London team. It allows the girls to see more female representation in the coaching staff and hopefully not only inspire them to play rugby but also become the next generation of coaches.” said Wales Lead Coach, Brittany.
Also present at this event was Dallaglio RugbyWorks’ alumni Samir, who is currently on an apprenticeship with Cheersmate where he is a junior content producer. His role there involves maintaining the social media output and the creation of content through use of a camera and production software. All photographs used in this article were taken by Samir. This is what he had to say about the camp “It was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed the way the coaches brought everyone together and made everyone feel welcome, I wish I was young again to join in!”
We hope to provide more opportunities for female rugby participation in the near future and will continue to provide our initiatives to disadvantaged boys and girls across England and Wales.
