Halifax Courier

Halifax training camp will inspire women and girls

- Sport Reporter mark.berry@nationalwo­rld.com @courierspo­rt

Following England’s triumph in the inaugural WXV 1, and with the TikTok Women’s Six Nations approachin­g, there is huge excitement and increased interest around women’s rugby union at present.

Halifax Ladies RUFC are capitalisi­ng on this momentum by running an Allianz Inner Warrior camp on Saturday, January 16, with girls’ and women’s sessions from 6.30pm.

The Allianz Inner Warrior camp is part of an RFU programme that has helped introduce more than 25,000 women and girls enjoy the game of rugby since 2017.

And the two sessions this weekend will help Halifax RUFC, based at Ovenden Park, grow both their girls’ (aged 11+) and women’s (aged 18+) teams.

The girls’ session will start at 6.30pm followed by the women’s session at 7.30pm, with the clubhouse open throughout.

The Red Roses are positioned at the top of the world rankings following their WXV victory, and have been inspiring women and girls around the country to take up rugby union.

Red Rose legend Emily Scarratt recommends England Rugby’s Allianz Inner Warrior camps as a fun way to introduce people to the game.

"They’re brilliant, they’ve been going for a few years now. I’ve been lucky enough over previous years to get down to some camps and help out,” she said.

"Some of the stories you hear about people who take part are inspiring, from the young girl to the 40-year-old mum of three who had never played rugby before and everything in between.”

The women’s and girls’ game in England has enjoyed an average year-on-year increase in participat­ion of 12 per-cent over the past 10 years thanks to initiative­s such as the Allianz Inner Warrior Camps.

With England hosting

Rugby World Cup 2025, the aim is to reach 100,000 registered female players by 2027.

Scarratt will hope to be part of the Red Roses’ squad at Rugby World Cup 2025 and believes the Allianz Inner Warrior campaign could unearth new internatio­nals, as well as being an invaluable opportunit­y for women and girls to try rugby for the first time.

"These camps are designed to welcome women and girls into rugby, with no judgement and no pressure. It’s a great opportunit­y to try something different, meet new people and get active with likeminded people.”

“The reactions you get from those camps and days are amazing. I haven’t seen anyone who hasn’t had a brilliant experience and didn’t want to go back. They’ve made friends and had a new appreciati­on for rugby.”

“Take a friend, just go and give it a try; you’ll feel great for setting yourself a new challenge. The great thing about rugby is there are a number of ways to play. If you don’t want to play fullcontac­t rugby, you can play non-contact or get involved in volunteeri­ng.”

Visit EnglandRug­by.com/ innerwarri­or or email Halifax Ladies on Halifaxlad­iesrufc@gmail.com for more informatio­n. You can also find Halifax Ladies on social media, @halifaxlad­iesrufc on Facebook and @halifaxlad­ies on Instagram.

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