The face of World Cup

9-yr-old girl stars in rugby advert campaign

ARUGBY captain known as Red Bull has been seen by millions of viewers after becoming the face of O2’s World Cup advertising campaign – and she’s a nine-year-old from Llysfaen.

Alex Evans, skipper of Llandudno RFC under-9s, was told in June she had been chosen as the face of the campaign, which would immortalise her in cartoon form.

She can be seen in the Make Them Giants clip as the little girl who is carried aloft by England captain Chris Robshaw.

The Ysgol Bod Alaw, Colwyn Bay, pupil – nicknamed Red Bull because of her shock of red hair and boundless energy – got the chance to meet the England team in July and offered them some advice on how to play the game.

“I told them don’t run sideways, don’t be afraid and show them who’s boss,” said Alex.

“I played table tennis with them and there was a big games room.

“I told them I did boxing too and when I punched the ball it hit Mike Brown in the face.

“It was a big surprise when I found out I had won and I was running around the house like crazy.”

Firefighter mum Amy Croxton said her sister Victoria entered Alex for the competition. “My sister saw it and they wanted someone to represent rugby for the World Cup,” she said. “We had to send a picture and a short writeup about why she should represent rugby.”

Alex’s write-up on why she loved rugby was all about team spirit. She wrote: “Rugby is my favoritist thing in the world. As much as I love playing rugby, I love being the captain, and holding the team together, helping them focus when we play dirty teams and getting results.

“I love how proud I feel when we walk on and off the pitch together.”

Simon Beards, her coach at Llandudno, said she’s a future international player. “I could definitely see her in a Wales shirt,” he said.

“Ability gets you so far and attitude gets you the rest of the way. She’s got attitude in abundance. That will take her through life.”

Asked by Robshaw who she was supporting in the World Cup, Alex said she supported Wales but wouldn’t mind if it was a draw between them and England.

Amy said Alex, who wants to be a rugby coach when she grows up, was a little disappointed after the English lost to Australia on Saturday.

She said: “She said to me: ‘They didn’t listen to my advice, did they?’”