Castleford RUFC already have a successful girls club with teams at U13, U15 and U18 and tomorrow night, Thursday 21 September, they will launch their Ladies team.
The girls side already provide a successful pathway as demonstrated just last weekend as two of their players, Abi Burton and Ellie Kildunne, played for the England U18s 7s side that won the U18 Rugby Europe 7s.
Both Abi and Ellie will be playing for Gloucester-Hartpury in the inaugural Tyrells Premier 15s this season.
Other beneficiaries of the excellent development pathway at Castleford are Emma Hardy and Tilly Churm [who also played last season for Castleford and Yorkshire U18s], Emma plays in the Tyrrells Premier 15s for Loughborough Lightning, and together with Tilly is part of the England U18s Talent Development Group .
The next challenge for the club is a Ladies Team which they hope will be as successful as their girls teams and eventually will provide a natural progression for the girls playing in the U18 side.
Castleford would like to provide an opportunity for women new to the game, who have toyed with the idea of trying rugby for the first time ever, or for those who would like to get back into rugby having played at school (whichever code). They want to provide a friendly place to come and have a go, develop new skills and enjoy the sport.
There is a great rugby league tradition in the area and many of their girls play both codes – and do well at it. There are some great RL teams around but Castleford want to provide a ‘slightly different product’ and build on the good reputation that they have for developing girls rugby.
Abi Burton and Ellie Kildunne with the Rugby Europe Cup
The aim is to get a good turnout at training to enable them to give a good experience to all participants.
How they develop the squad depends on what the players themselves want – to merely train to get fit or to play some games. Ideally they would like to get a side that can play games and then go from there.
Rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes and they will find what you like and are good at. They will give people the opportunity to hit a tackle shield or bag or get lifted in a lineout – anything is possible. The coaches will encourage everyone to give things a go and just enjoy the game.
You can see more about Castleford RUFC on their Facebook page.
For more details contact Steve Ball stephenball85@live.com.
Information courtesy of Castleford RUFC.
