Squad
Facts about our squad
facts
Members of our squad who have lived experience of school exclusion
Women in sport
% of people passionate about changing young people’s lives
Members of our squad have worked at Dallaglio RugbyWorks for 3+ years
Number of sporting caps for their home country
Number of alumni in our squad
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Lawrence Dallaglio
Founder
Lawrence is a stalwart of the rugby game. He had an incredibly successful rugby career that spanned 18 years, all of which he spent at Wasps RFC. During his career, he took part in British & Irish Lions tours and racked up 85 caps for England including being a key part of the 2003 Rugby World Cup winning team.
Lawrence founded the Dallaglio Foundation shortly after retiring, in honour of his mother. In its first year, the Foundation raised over £600,000 for Cancer Research UK, followed by a whopping £1 million with the first edition of the Dallaglio Cycle Slam. Soon after, the Foundation’s focus shifted towards using rugby and sport to engage with disadvantaged young people.
As well as his charitable endeavours, In March 2013, Lawrence teamed up with BT Sport (now TNT Sports) to launch the Sports Channel and become their leading rugby union expert. He features as both the studio expert pundit as well as a co-commentator. He is a respected regular columnist for The Sunday Times. Lawrence has established a variety of businesses and commercial relationships. He was Founder Partner of BBH Sport, a Sports Marketing Agency that he launched in 2014. He is also Development Director at Maistro, UK-based technology company and the world’s first digital procurement intermediary for services as well as a Director at Akuma Sports, a family-owned bespoke UK teamwear supplier, working on the overall company strategy and objectives.
Lawrence's outstanding achievements were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, where he was awarded an MBE (2004) and an OBE (2008).
Trustees
Charlie Taylor
Chair
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Charlie Taylor has specialised in working with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties throughout his career. Before chairing the Youth Justice Board, Charlie led the Government’s review of the youth justice system and was Chief Executive of the National College of Teaching and Leadership from its launch in 2013. He is a former head teacher of The Willows, a school for children with complex behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. He was the Coalition Government’s expert adviser on behaviour until 2012 and produced reviews for the Department for Education on alternative provision (for children excluded from mainstream schools) and attendance in schools. Charlie was author of the Review of the Youth Justice System in England and Wales published in December 2016. With his expertise on the youth justice system and experience working with young people, he is currently serving as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Keir Stephenson
Trustee
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Keir is responsible for supporting investments at Tenzing, working with industry-leading and pioneering tech/tech-enabled businesses. Keir is an Investment Professional and has held successful positions within Kings Park Capital, The Hut Group and PwC before joining Tenzing. He played rugby for many years and has an extensive interest in supporting disadvantaged young people. In his down time, he enjoys sport and live music.
Andy Cook
Trustee
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Andy is the Chief Executive of the Centre of Social Justice (CSJ). Before this, Andy co-founded and led an award-winning charity TwentyTwenty working with disadvantaged and excluded young people across the Midlands. In addition, Andy is a judge for the King’s Award for Voluntary Service, a board member of the National Council of Voluntary Organisations, and an advisor to several philanthropists. Andy’s leadership in supporting some of the most marginalised people in the UK has given him a unique voice in Westminster. He has continued the CSJ’s unparalleled impact on welfare reform, modern slavery and addiction strategy, and led the debate on school exclusion, debt policy and youth centre infrastructure.
Ann Silla
Senior Independent Director
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Ann is currently Group General Counsel at Dext, a pre-accounting tech software company. She is a qualified lawyer who trained in private equity corporate law before moving in-house to work at The Economist Group amongst other global and commercial roles. She’s always enjoyed mentoring and supporting those from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds and in her spare time she enjoys supporting Manchester United or following Formula One, as well as travelling and spending time with family and friends.
John d’Abbro
Trustee
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John is the former Head of the New Rush Hall Group, an organisation made up of six special education units which work with children experiencing social, emotional and/or mental health difficulties (SEMH). Leading the charge of this group for 28 years, his dedicated efforts resulted in 8 ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted judgements across the Group. John’s mission is now to help teachers with techniques and approaches which continue to inspire young people and give them the chance to take on a life they deserve. As a result of his exceptional contribution to education, John has been awarded an OBE and Honorary Doctorate for services to Special Education and is also a National Leader in Education and an Apple Distinguished Educator
Nick Theakstone
Trustee
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Nick has more than 25 years’ leadership experience, most notably as a Global Executive Committee member and Chair of the UK Board of GroupM, the world’s largest media investment group and part of WPP, the world’s largest advertising company. He began his career in TV sales at HTV, before spells at BMP DDB and MediaVest. Nick now has a variety of directorships and holds an interesting portfolio of investments. On a personal note, he is passionate about all things sport, and the critical role it plays in the world today and has actively supported the charity for years attending many events.
Mai Fenton
Trustee
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Mai Fenton has 25 years’ experience in marketing, spanning consumer goods, retail and ecommerce, lifestyle and technology. She is passionate about brand building and data-driven marketing that delivers profitable growth, and most recently was Chief Marketing Officer at Superscript, a high-growth insurance technology scale-up where she oversaw for all aspects of their brand, digital and partnerships marketing. Mai is also a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Henderson International Income Trust plc and Scottish Friendly Assurance Society Ltd. Mai is deeply committed to youth development and equal opportunities and has a strong interest in rugby, recognising the role sport plays in fostering social cohesion.
Paul Bashir
Trustee
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Paul Bashir is CEO of Harrison Street Europe investment management firm. Paul has 25 years of industry experience in corporate finance and real estate private equity. Paul enjoys working with charities which support children and young adults, establishing an annual charitable plan for Harrison Street which targets charities who support disabled or disadvantaged young people and has a personal mission of helping these charities grow. As an ex-rugby player, he is passionate about the sport and the advantages it provides young people, in particular, those seeking to use rugby to enhance their personal development, confidence, and to provide them with structure and foundation in their lives.
Nick Maughan
Trustee
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Nick is a British investor, philanthropist and conservationist. He is the founder of The Nick Maughan Foundation, a self-funded charity working in education, environment, and civic support areas for disenfranchised communities. He is the Patron of the charity Street Doctors as well as for the medical research charity Womb Transplant U.K. He is also the founder and sole funder of BoxWise, Britain’s largest boxing-related non-profit that works with disadvantaged young people through sport; and a trustee of Tusk Trust, the leading African wildlife conservation charity. He has built extensive social infrastructure in eastern Uganda including schools, a maternity hospital, an IT Training Centre, wells and numerous economic empowerment programmes.
Enablers Team
Zenna Hopson
CEO
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Zenna is the former Chair of Ofsted but also has an extensive commercial background. After initially joining DRW as a Trustee, she stepped down to successfully apply for the CEO role in September 2021.
Claudia Carrington-King
COO
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Claudia started at DRW in 2017 as a Regional Operations Manager and was responsible for overseeing delivery across a number of regions. She has since progressed upwards in the organisation and is now COO, responsible for all delivery, HR and all other elements that ensures DRW runs as smoothly as possible.
Connie Henry
Impact and Partnerships Director
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Jenny has extensive experience in the not-for-profit, and national and local government sectors as well as lifelong commitment to social justice and impact. Her focus is securing large strategic partnerships, designing new and innovative programmes to support our young people and communicating our Impact Story.
Jo Heldreich
Finance Director
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Jo is our Finance Director.
Dan Field
Safer Practice Development Manager
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Dan is our longest serving member of the squad. He has extensive experience with youth engagement and has progressed over the years to lead our delivery in the South of England and now he works specifically on designing our new interventions.
James Wickham ACG
Governance Adviser
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James joined us in June 2023 to provide governance advice and support on a voluntary basis. He is a Chartered Governance Professional with a strong background in corporate governance gained at FTSE 100 companies. He is currently Senior Assistant Company Secretary at Aviva plc.
Kristina Markina
Partnerships Officer
Rachel Adams
Senior Development Manager
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Rachel joined us in January 2022 after working in the partnerships team at National Numeracy. Rachel looks after all of our valued supporters and corporate partners, as well as being responsible for running our amazing events.
Shanna Beales
Operations Administrator
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Shanna is a member of our Central Team and is our Operations Administrator.
Max Keller
Events Assistant
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Max is a recent graduate in Sports Management and Coaching, now working full-time as an Events Assistant. He supports the events team and partnership engagement, with a passion for using sport as a tool for development. In his spare time, he enjoys playing rugby.
Dan Ley
Development Manager
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Just recently promoted to Development manager after doing a fantastic job as Wales programme manager, Dan was diagnosed with ADHD, ODD and tourettes as a child and experiencing exclusion at multiple schools and PRUs across South Wales, he is passionate about using his love of rugby to support vulnerable young people.
Victoria Cardoso
External Communications Assistant
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Victoria joined us in November 2023 on a part time basis alongside her studies. She is responsible for the marketing materials we produce and manages our online presence on social media
Betsy Lynch
Communications and Campaign Coordinator
Ioane Vaisagote
Impact Manager
Gbemi Alabi
Operations Manager
Youth Animators
Starr Stanford
Reigan Johnson-Hinds
Emmanuel Lokembela
Team North and Midlands
Amanda Turns
Programme Manager .
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Amanda is the Programme Manager for the Midlands and North. She has extensive experience in education, teaching for over ten years and Head of Department for over 5 years. She has a passion for sport and has played Rugby for Manchester Rugby Club, West Bridgford Rugby Club and Midlands.
Helina Philips
Delivery Lead (Midlands)
Katie de la Motte
Lead Coach (North East) .
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Katie joined in May 2023 as our female lead in the North East to focus on developing the female side.
Starr Stanford
Coach (Midlands)
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Starr is an ex-participant and coach in the Midlands.
Ethan Bryce
Lead Coach (North West)
Rob Thomson
Senior Regional Coordinator (NE)
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Rob has a solid career working in rugby having previously worked for the RFU and championed the women’s game. Rob leads on our interventions in the North East.
Danny Carlin
Lead Coach (Midlands)
Matt Blakesley-Spicer
Coach & Employment Ready Coordinator
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Matt is a coach in the North East. He has over 20 years experience in Coaching, Education and Mental Health & Well-being.
Anneise Holsey
Youth Worker (Midlands)
Julius Whittaker
Senior Programme Coordinator (Midlands) .
Isam Shafique
Lead Coach (Midlands)
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Isam Is a coach in our midlands team
Ryan Snow
Coach (North West) .
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Ryan is a coach in our North West Team
Reigan Johnson-Hinds
Coach (North West)
Lauren Craig Programme Lead (NW) .
Joshua Gibbons-Davison
Coach (North East)
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Josh is a coach with our team in the North of England.
James Johnston
Lead Coach (Midlands)
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Reigan is one of our coaches in the North.
Larry Mew
Delivery Lead (North East)
Team Wales
Brittany Lewis
Programme Manager .
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Britt coaches in Wales and plays a crucial role in our UsGirls and welsh speaking interventions.
Tom Jones Lead Coach
Owen Powell
Delivery Lead .
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Owen is a coach with our team in Wales.
Katy Hudd
Lead Coach .
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Katy is a coach in our Wales Team.
Ryan Davies
Employment Ready Coordinator
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Ryan is a coach with our team in Wales, an ex-participant and a talented young golfer, who frequently travels across Europe to play in elite amateur tournaments.
Team London, East of England and Hastings
Ayo Thompson
Programme Manager
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Ayo is our Programme Manager of the London and East of England regions. With a vast amount of experience working within sporting operations across the globe, Ayo is extremely passionate about supporting young people reach their dreams and ambitions.
Gloria Gyan
Delivery Lead
Tom Sloan Coach
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Description text goes here
Andrea Nalio
Delivery Specialist
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Andrea is the Delivery Specialist in London. He’s passionate about working with young people and sharing with them the values of sport and rugby. He’s a former journalist and he also coaches for Southwark Rugby.
Wesley Martins
Coach
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Wesley is a coach in our East of England team.
Emi Adebayo
Coach
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Emi is a coach in our East of England Team.
Fin White
Delivery Specialist
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Fin is a part of our team in the South.
Neil Walker
Coach
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Neil is a coach in our delivery team in London
Ida Agyekum Coach
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Ida is a coach with our team in the South.
Harry Lindeman
Delivery Lead
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Harry joined us in August 2023 as a Development Administrator on a part time basis, mainly focusing on our fundraising, and, as of August 2024, has transitioned a full time role as a Delivery Lead in the East of England region. He uses his experiences working in education and sport, as well as a Masters in Sport Psychology, to pass on knowledge to young people
Holly Richardson
Coach
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As a dedicated Life Coach and Youth Mentor, Holly focuses on guiding adults and young people towards improving their quality of life and reaching their full potential.
Benjamin Adewinmbi
Coach
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Benjamin is a coach in our London Team.
Our Patrons
Andrew Ridgeley
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Andrew is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! With George Michael. Wham! enjoyed worldwide success from 1982 to 1986, selling more than 35 million records worldwide. They made their U.S. debut on Dick Clark's American Bandstand, becoming the only 1980s British act to have three No. 1 singles on both the U.K. and U.S. charts.
Craig Chalmers
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Craig Chalmers is a former Scottish Rugby Union international who represented his nation on 60 occasions over the course of a professional career that spanned over a decade including a solitary appearance for the British and Irish Lions. Craig Chalmers also represented Worcester Warriors, Harlequins, and the Pertemps Bees allowing him to provide a fantastic overview of domestic rugby and the requirements to succeed at a professional level.
Gabby Logan
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A former international gymnast, Gabby began her broadcasting career in radio in 1992 and joined Sky Sports in 1996 where she quickly established herself as one of their key presenters. She joined ITV in 1998 and during her time at the channel Gabby’s repertoire expanded through presenting various fixtures including The World Cup and Champions League.
Mike Tindall
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Mike Tindall, MBE is an English former rugby union player. Tindall played outside centre for Bath and Gloucester, and won 75 caps for England between 2000 and 2011. He was a member of the England squad which won the 2003 World Cup.
Paul Burnell
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Paul Burnell is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He was also a member of the 1990 Grand Slam Scotland team. He toured New Zealand in 1993 with the British & Irish Lions and at the time played club rugby for London Scottish.
When he retired from Scotland duty in 1999, he was not only one of Scotland’s most-capped forwards, he was, and remains, London Scottish’s most capped player.
Rob Henderson
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Rob is a retired Irish rugby union player who played for a number of clubs including Toulon and Munster. He represented Ireland internationally, winning 29 caps, and toured with the 2001 British & Irish Lions, winning three caps.
Shaunagh Brown
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Brown began playing rugby aged 25 and made her international debut two years later in November 2017 when England played Canada. She received permission from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service, with whom she was training for a new career, to play her first international game.
In 2019, she received a full time contract from the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and played in every game of the 2019 Women's Six Nations which England won with a Grand Slam. She represented England and Harlequins Women until her retirement in December 2022. Before rugby, Brown also had a career in athletics: she represented England in the hammer throw at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Our Ambassadors
Our ambassadors
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Our ambassadors •
Phoebe Andrews
"One of the main reasons behind becoming an ambassador for Dallaglio RugbyWorks is I am a person who has suffered with mental health issues since I was 13 years old and rugby has been my outlet. Within rugby I have been accepted by teammates and coaches to just be me and that has given me so much confidence and self worth anyone can ask for. I think the charity it’s self is amazing as it may help other people like me to talk about their struggles and get the help they need".
Phoebe is a resilient rugby star who plays for Loughborough Lightning in the women's premier 15s league. From representing England's Talent Development Group to overcoming setbacks, her passion for the sport has driven her success.
Scarlette Douglas
“Dallaglio Rugbyworks values align with my own, so there is a natural synergy of philosophy and perspective that really appeal to me. Using sport, particularly rugby, to help children who perhaps haven’t had the best opportunities in life or maybe have been forgotten, ignored or dismissed through circumstances beyond their control, is a positive way to instil confidence in them and make them feel genuinely supported and appreciated.”
Scarlette Douglas is a well-known British television presenter, actress, and singer. She is best known for her work on the popular UK TV show "A Place in the Sun" and has also appeared on other TV shows, such as " 2022's edition of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here". Scarlette is a talented entertainer with a passion for using her platform to make a positive impact in the world. She is a dedicated philanthropist and ambassador for Dallaglio RugbyWorks. Her enthusiasm and commitment to making a difference in the lives of others have been truly inspiring, and we are honored to have her support.
Zainab Alema
“I feel like our values are aligned especially with my rugby projects. I want to be involved in making a difference to young peoples lives through my passion for rugby.”
Zee is a mother of 3 and previous winner of the Sunday Times and Vitality Grassroots Sports Woman of the Year. She is also the Founder of Studs in the Mud and Muslimah Rugby, both rugby initiatives that aim to empower, inspire and increase participation of rugby. Neonatal nurse by profession and rugby player by passion, Zee plays for Richmond RFC and is on a mission to become the first black, Muslim woman to play rugby for England.
Fay Greaves
As well as being part of BBC’s runaway hit ‘The Traitors’, Fay has just finished a 30 year career in education working with children with social, emotional, mental health needs. Initially her love of basketball led her to the school where she successfully coached and mentored young men to achieve championship status on many occasions. Finishing her career in education as a Senior Leader with responsibility for welfare and safeguarding, Fay has extensive knowledge and experience when it comes to supporting complex young people and their families.
Fay has always volunteered throughout her life and this started with basketball and anything associated with fundraising to enable disadvantaged young people to participate in sport to the highest level. Continuing this work, Fay then became a Special Police Officer in her local community. Following this, she was then selected as a GamesMaker for the London 2012 Olympics where she acted as Team Liaison Officer for the Australian Women’s Basketball Team, Bronze Medallists in the 2012 games. Fay has a passion for many sports and also had an Ambassadorial role with Ipswich Town Football Club for several years. At the end of 2022 Fay became one of the twenty two to star in the BAFTA award winning show ‘The Traitors’, reaching episode 10 of 12. Fay now wants to use this exposure to make a difference, making her the perfect ambassador.
Our ambassadors
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Our ambassadors •
Caitlin Lewis
“I believe you’re doing some amazing work with young people and really using rugby as a tool to change people’s lives.”
Caitlin is currently playing for Gloucester-Hartpury in the Allianz Premier 15s and already has multiple caps for her Country Wales, alongside this she is also studying for her masters at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Caitlin only started playing rugby at the age of 15 and represented Wales in the youth commonwealth games winning a bronze medal with her team before earning her first senior 15’s Welsh cap in 2019.
Our ambassadors
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Our ambassadors •
Tom Stephenson
“Rugby has been extremely rewarding to me. I want to help troubled and vulnerable young people harness their potential through physical activity, as a positive role model, and being more hands on and getting involved with raising funds and awareness.”
Tom is an ex-professional rugby player, playing at Northampton Saints for 8 years and London Irish for 2 and now works as a debt broker. Whilst at Northampton Saints, Tom helped the team win the premiership in 2014. Stephenson is a former Moulton College student, and one of the most exciting prospects to emerge from the Saints Academy in recent years.
Our Ambassadors
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Our Ambassadors •
Anne Onwusiri
“I started Black Girls Ruck to try and inspire more black young people to get into rugby and I feel that being an ambassador will help expand this dream and work with harder-to-reach young people that may have never seen rugby as being for them.”
Anne is a full-time speech and language therapist which involves working with adults from all kinds of backgrounds with communication difficulties. Anne has been playing rugby for Hackney RFC for 3 years and began playing to meet new people and channel her energy into a sport. Anne is currently the Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Hackney RFC and hosts a podcast called “Black Girls Ruck” which aims to inspire young black people to give rugby a try!
Our Ambassadors
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Our Ambassadors •
Ashton Hewitt
“I became a RugbyWorks ambassador because I feel that our morals and values align – understanding that there are those in society that are at a disadvantage through no fault of their own and need support. Sport and rugby in particular, can be a great tool to help provide support to young people and it provides me with the opportunity to help young people where I can throughout communities.”
Ashton is a professional rugby player for Dragons RFC based in Newport, Wales and has reached over 100 caps for his home club. Away from playing rugby, he is a non-executive director for Commonwealth Games Wales and Chair of the Welsh Rugby Players’ Association.
Our Ambassadors
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Our Ambassadors •
Tamara Taylor
Tamara is an English female rugby union player, who captained England in the 2015 Women's Six Nations Championship. She was the 2017 RPA Player of the Year when she was one of only three women who had made more than 100 appearances for her country. She is currently the 2nd most capped England player of all time.