World Cup winner Ellie Kildunne urges girls to get involved in RugbyFest celebration
Pontefract RUFC had a visit from the Minister for Sport, Stephanie Peacock, on the eve of the Women’s World Cup final as part of an initiative to give girls a chance to get involved in rugby for the first time.
Attending a training session for girls at the nearby King’s School, Minister Peacock saw how Pontefract has used funding from the tournament’s Impact 25 legacy programme to develop more female-friendly facilities.
Across the country, 850 clubs have so far benefitted from the Impact 25 programme, which has seen this Government invest over £6m, with 37,000 women and girls, coaching or refereeing rugby in the year leading up to the World Cup alone.
Now this weekend, a week after the Red Roses lifted the trophy at Twickenham, rugby clubs in Yorkshire and right across the country will participate in the RFU’s RugbyFest community celebration.
Yorkshire’s own Red Rose champion Ellie Kildunne will kick-off the events on Friday in Berkshire with other clubs receiving Impact 25 funding hosting events with player meets, rugby taster sessions and more.
Find out which clubs in Yorkshire are participating here.
Minister for Sport Peacock said: “I was lucky enough to follow England throughout the World Cup and everywhere I went I felt a real buzz around women’s rugby and the Red Roses win has continued a magical summer of women’s sport.
“As part of our Plan for Change, we are determined to break down barriers to sport. This is why we’ve committed £900m into sports from grassroots to the elite and launched the Women’s Sport Taskforce to help make sure sport is truly accessible to all.
“In Pontefract it was brilliant to see first hand how the Red Roses - including Yorkshire’s own try-scoring hero Ellie Kildunne - are inspiring so many and showing so many women and girls that rugby is a sport for them.”
Keighley’s Kildunne said: "I always get asked how I get involved in rugby and I just went down to my local club. I didn’t think about ifs and maybes. Clubs are all across the country and you’ll be able to find one. Just go in with an open mind and dive into the deep end.
"I was the only girl the whole time in my age group when I played at my local club in Keighley, but I went down there and saw 30-40 girls playing even before the World Cup happened. To see that development is something I’m very proud of, the club carrying it on and inspiring these girls to get involved.
"We still want to keep the game growing and I’ll say this forever. It’s the same with England. I want England to keep growing. I never want anyone to feel like they've done the most they can out of something.
"Everything’s a glass ceiling in my eyes and you can always make improvements. RugbyFest will definitely do that and the World Cup will have done that and we’re going to keep inspiring so many people."