Ladies Day at Stafford Rugby Club
History was made this season at Stafford rugby club as they fielded four female teams at home on one day for the first time.
History was made this season at Stafford rugby club as they fielded four female teams at home on one day for the first time in their history.
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Cath Anthony, player and team manager for the women’s team said: “It was an epic day! At times it felt like chaos but in the best way. There were so many women and girls involved in rugby on the day, whether it was through playing, coaching, officiating, or spectating.”
The sheer number of women at the club wasn’t the only thing being celebrated. The 1st XV beat Old Halesonians Women 37-10 and the U18s and U16s won their cup ties against two Crewe and Nantwich teams. The Inner Warrior team were playing in a pitch up and play event against Market Bosworth, Stoke Sirens and Long Eaton IIs where six Stafford players made their debuts.
Success of the girls’ section
Stafford RUFC have had a well-established girls’ section for several years and their talent is being recognised.
“Last year, our U16 won the National Cup and are on their way to repeating that performance this year. We also have a number of girls who are part of Centres of Excellence, counties squads or are signed off to play adult rugby,” said Anthony.
The club credits the success of the Red Roses as contributing to their thriving section, as well as key people across the club who have bought into girls’ rugby. It was the success of the girls’ section that led to the women’s teams.
Player and board member Lucy Cartlidge said: “The main reason the women’s team started four years ago was because of mums who had daughters playing in the girls’ section. They wanted there to be somewhere for the girls to play when they reached adult rugby. So, the women’s team started. Today, we have lots of mums and daughters who play together – it’s really special!”
Self-sustaining and self-feeding
Anthony said: “We had six of us who had been doing the touch sessions and we were joined by a couple of women with children in the age grade section who were interested in playing. We added a couple of coaches and built from there.
“The first 12 months was carnage! We didn’t know who was turning up or have any kit, but we kept building. We had a couple of fixtures in first 12 months, and it became apparent we had some really capable players and that we were having a lot of fun!
“Over time, the rest of the club started to take us seriously. We decided to enter the Inner Warrior series and we kept building our team with promotion on social media, playing friendly fixtures and sponsor events to recruit more players. It’s been a relentless four years of promotion but now we’re reaping the benefits! We’re in a great position to be a self-sustaining and self-feeding club.”
Keeping women and girls in the game
As the women’s and girls’ sections continue to thrive, the club is committed to keeping as many players in the game as they can.
They are supporting women and girls who are thinking about hanging up their boots into coaching and officiating roles. They currently have three women who are qualified match officials and two U16s who have completed their rugby referee award.
Anthony says: “Keeping women in sport is key. We want our players to see there are other avenues to stay in the game if they don’t want to play so we can keep female rugby at our club going from strength to strength.”
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