The next set of Warrior Camps kick off on August 18th and run until September 3rd with 174 rugby taster sessions taking place at clubs across the country.
Since England Rugby launched their Inner Warrior campaign in January with 100 Warrior Camps, the number of sessions has steadily risen, showing the growing interest and demand from budding female players, clubs and teams.
Click here to find a Warrior Camp near you.
The upcoming August camps coincide with the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland, which runs from August 9th – August 22nd, and will see the Red Roses, the current champions, in action and aiming to win.
Steve Grainger, RFU Rugby Development Director, said “The Meet Your Inner Warrior campaign has given hundreds of new players the chance to try rugby through Warrior Camps, introducing them to the basics of the game.
“Almost 50% of these new rugby players have joined local rugby clubs since the camps began in January, helping to form 41 new adult women’s teams. It’s encouraging to see a large number of our Warrior Camp women playing rugby regularly following their taster sessions. It certainly demonstrates rugby’s appeal for women, and the fact that we are making the sport available for females across the country.”
“With the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Ireland taking place during the August Warrior Camps, I hope the Red Roses’ performance will inspire women and girls across the nation to take part in the sport.”
As part of the 2017-21 funding agreement with Sport England, the RFU are looking to significantly expand the number of women and girls participating in grassroots rugby across England and the Warrior Camps are instrumental in supporting this growth.
The Warrior Camp campaign aims to encourage more women and girls to play contact rugby, teaching participant’s key introductory skills and drills for rugby within a non-committal, social and fun environment.
Over 2,600 women took part in 150 Warrior Camps during the May Warrior Camp window, exceeding England Rugby’s target of 1,500 players by 73%. In addition, 7,000 women have attended rugby training sessions over the past 18 months, with 3,000 newcomers to the game.
The August Warrior Camps have a fresh brand creative that focuses on connecting new female consumers to the world of grassroots rugby, encouraging fitness enthusiasts to ‘free their Inner Warriors’ and give rugby a go. The brand creative shows everyday women from various walks of life, bursting out of their work ‘uniforms’ into their rugby training kit, metaphorically freeing their inner warrior.
An England Rugby digital campaign also kicked off today, encouraging the public to express their inner alpha spirit and ‘Show Their Warrior Faces’ on social media. England international players Rachel Burford, Izzy Noel-Smith, Justine Lucas and Amy Wilson Hardy, have kick-started the campaign by showing their warrior faces online and advocating for others to do the same.
As well as Warrior Camps, the campaign is taking rugby to broader communities of female markets through three experiential events this August, with their flagship event being delivered in partnership with Tough Mudder at their Gloucester event from August 19th – 20th.
Click here to find a Warrior Camp near you.
Report courtesy of England Rugby.
