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Women and Girls in Liverpool
get top tips from Rugby World Cup winner
WOMEN and girls in Liverpool found
themselves trying out something new, on Thursday, 11 August 2016, at Liverpool
ONE with England Rugby World Cup winner and RFU Spirit of Rugby ambassador
Maggie Alphonsi.
At a massively exciting time for women’s rugby, with Rugby Sevens making its
Olympic Games debut in Rio at the weekend, growth in the game at an all time
high and for the first time ever professional contracts being awarded to
England’s XVs players, Alphonsi was in Town to showcase the best in the game and
encourage more women and girls to give rugby a try.
The excited participants got to take on the former England
international in an inflatable passing cage, a throwing tower, a kicking cage
and the gauntlet run as well as learn some top tips from one of the sport’s
best.
“I’ve had a fantastic day. It has been terrific to see so many women and
girls trying out rugby, and giving something new a go! Women’s rugby is a game
like no other and I hope today that I have helped show people what fun this
sport can be. What’s more, with Sevens being played in the Olympics for the
first time we are exposing the sport to a huge audience and I am sure the GB
women’s team will have inspired more players to give rugby a go across the
country. Rugby has certainly had a massively positive impact on my life and I
want to see other people benefit from the sport too.” said Alphonsi.
Alphonsi was supporting the event as a Spirit of Rugby ambassador. Spirit of
Rugby is a nationwide project funded by the Spirit of 2012 and it aims to ensure
the spirit that radiated from London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics is felt
across the UK.
The projects are uniquely led and devised by 16 to 24 year olds, with the aim of
increasing participation through new and innovative events, which engage groups
not traditionally involved in rugby.
In Liverpool, the Spirit of Rugby group has been focusing on
increasing the awareness of rugby in a football dominated area, and getting more
people involved in the game, be it students, coaches and volunteers.
Waterloo RFC event volunteer, Keisha Hendricks, said:- "This has been a
brilliant day. It has been great to see so many women and girls from the area
come down and give rugby a go. It has been nice to see a real focus on women’s
sport and women’s rugby and I know this event is going to have an impact on
rugby in this area. I am looking forward to seeing some new faces coming down to
our clubs. It’s also been fantastic having a real rugby hero in Maggie Alphonsi
attending. She has really enthused everyone who has turned up, even though it is
raining, and shown people what is great about our game, whether you’re small or
big, and from any background."
For more information about women’s rugby and how to get involved, visit:-
FindRugby.com.
For more information on the Spirit of Rugby
projects taking place across England, click on
here. |
