Go With Her, Girls!

Thoughts from, hopes for and belly laughs about women’s and girls rugby.

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  • Roses that bloom from grassroots, are the toughest roses of all.

    Roses only bloom from well-tended roots. If you’ve ever seen a rose blooming in grass, you’ve witnessed something a bit special. These are the strongest type.

    I want to put an example of grassroots rugby life on here, for those who may not have any experience in that field (pun intended 😂)

    An age grade, grassroots coach will, on paper, be required to lead weekly training and attend weekend matches. Training may be as short as 1 hour, matches may last between 60-80 mins depending on age and size of pitch.

    Cushty. 3 hours tops. Nah.

    Training starts at 6pm. Finish work at 5, race to the pitch for 5:30 as that’s when the girls start arriving. Pre training pitch inspections and equipment sorting In that half hour. 6-7 training. 7:15 finish (because they never want to stop) 7:45/8pm leave the club after safe dismissal of everyone, injury recording, pitch checks and equipment put away. Home for 8:30 (if you’re close by) for your dinner.

    Multiply that evening by the number of teams you coach. Many coaches are in charge of multiple age groups who train on different nights. So that’s usually 5-8:30 two or three nights a week.

    Down my way matches are on Sundays. Usually minis and boys in the mornings and girls in the afternoon. And for coaches that looked like this:

    9:30am arrival at club, pitch checks, officials sort out, equipment, pitch markings. 10am players arrival, 10:30 KO. 11:30/45 matches finish, 12pm food sorting for home and away sides. Maybe grab your own sausage and chips if time. 

    Pitch and injury reports from morning on various apps. 

    Girls arrival at 1pm for 2pm KO. Repeat morning routine, new pitch markings, new officials etc.

    2-3:30 match. 3:45-4:45 food sorting, grab anything left to eat. Reporting, safe dismissal, checks, lock up. Leave the club around 5pm, home for 5:30 if you’re lucky.

    That’s every week. That’s what grassroots coaches voluntarily do because they love this sport and their players. Then we get into the 4 hour long committee meetings, the months long slog of trying order kit, the prep, the budget sign off, the ordering, the delays all to be managed. The social and emotional welfare of the players and families. The constant research and training courses. The out of pockets expenses. The travel. The worry and guilt that comes with being passion rich but time poor. The life of a grassroots coach is not easy, but it’s worth it.

    You do not get a Meg Jones, a Marlie Packer or an Alex Matthews without grassroots coaches. Coaches who no one knows the names of, apart from their players and players families. Coaches who will never be on tv, or featured on podcasts. Probably because they’re too busy on the side of a stinking, churned up pitch, cheering on their girls who are losing 67-5 but giving it their all.

    PLEASE know the value of grassroots rugby. You wouldn’t have any roses in bloom without it.

    Not my photo, just a rose in grass!

  • World Cup Weekend 1 🏆

    It’s here. After so much build up, all the hype, the niggling worries, the building buzz. The Rugby World Cup 2025 is here, it’s happening and it’s everything we wanted and more.

    There are so many things that are worthy of discussion I’m going to have to make a list I think. Love me a list. But this post is to cover the opening of the tournament, the coverage from a home-spectator POV, the reaction and the all-around vibes emanating from the past 72 hours.
    Friday 22nd August, 2025 – The day everyone has had marked in their calendars for so long, opening night for the most beautiful, brilliant and brutal showpiece of the women’s rugby schedule, the tournament that will showcase the best in the world on the grandest stage ever.

    Up and down the country, 8 host cities began gearing up with fanzones, stadium signage and bands of bubbly volunteers. An intentional move by those round the planning tables, insisting on as large a number of venues in as varied a regions as possible to bring the magic of this event to as many as could be reached.

    Now, as someone who lives in the bum-end of nowhere I was very on board with this. Do not get me wrong, Cornwall is hands down the most beautiful geographical backside I have ever known…until you would like easy access to large events or fancy a cheeky “nationwide” chain of spicy chicken. Then it’s a bit of a challenge. Even for us though, the planning came through and a plethora of events and some absurdly good matches are being held in Exeter. That 3 hour trip up the road is akin to nipping to the shops for Cornish rugby fans! So, I am proof that plan point was needed and has been met.

    With the opening England vs USA the only match on the first day it meant the other host cities and everyone at home could fully invest in the build up. The online efforts were stellar. Campaigns from the Red Roses were popping off almost on the daily, flooding our feeds with so much positivity even your most cynical Karen would struggle not to be moved. For The Girls. Fearless. Barbie. Below The Shoulder. Intuition. I could go on. We had content drops on an unprecedented level, including on mainstream television; Abbie Ward on CBeebies? Iconic. Scrum Queens documentary? Iconic. BLOODY BARGAIN HUNT??? Lost my mind.

    Then it was time. 6:30pm, BBC One tv, live at fan zones across the nation and in front of 42,723 fans at the Stadium of Light in the Rugby League heartland of the North East, the World Cup commenced. Pyrotechnics, pundits (and a punter in the form of Ruby Tui) and pitch-side festivities before an opening match that set the tone perfectly. Of course, a dominant display by the faves, and a plucky, determined show from the Eagles but the match transcended the scoreline. Women’s rugby won.

    I got such a buzz following the post match fall out on socials. Honestly, I never expected it to be so addictive. My algorithm has hit a sweet spot, it knows to keep feeding me the rugby content until my phone literally explodes. So much footage, so many reactions. Snippets of fans, of mascots, of first timers and veteran supporters. Behind the Scenes with Queen Elma, candid moments with backroom staff. We live in a world where the internet is bashed (often with merit) but it really can be a force for good.

    The momentum put in play on Friday night has swept into Saturday and Sunday as matches kicked off across the nation and my goodness, it’s been everything. A home nations derby, travelling hot dog people, opposition side huddles post match to thank each other for the game and THAT Fijiana try 🤯 to name but a few magic moments.

    The Rugby World Cup 2025 is here. It’s big and loud and bloody beautiful. And we haven’t even seen Brazil debut yet! For The Girls, indeed.

  • World Cup Eve Barrier Bashing

    On the eve of the Rugby World Cup 2025, let’s address some top barriers to girls getting involved in rugby and how smash to them like Botterman going into a ruck.

    Reasons girls hesitate to join their local rugby club:

    🤔I don’t know the rules.
    All girls start off new to contact rugby, every single one of them. Because everyone has started from the same place they will get it, and your coaches are there to teach. No one is expected to know what they haven’t learned yet!

    💪I’m too big/ I’m too small.
    There is no “typical” rugby player body. The sport itself is designed around utilising all different shapes and sizes. Your team will work with you to find which position suits you best… there will be one (or a few!)

    😳I’m shy. I get nervous around new people.
    Your team, and the supporters, are made up of all different types of personalities. No one expects you to behave in a way that is uncomfortable for you, we need you to be yourself. Something that all of the girls have found over the time they’ve been training together is that they quickly became much more comfortable with each other, there’s no cliques or judgement, just rugby. Just rugby and a good laugh with your new mates.

    🏋️‍♀️I’m not fit enough, I won’t make the team.
    Firstly, your entire squad is part of the team. The team doesn’t work without everyone’s input. With that in mind though, the best way to improve your fitness level (and your skills) is to train each week, with your mates, and by putting in the work you’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll see progress!

    🏉Rugby is just for boys.
    Come to training and you’ll see who rugby is for!

  • History Makers, Game Changers

    📺 SCRUM QUEENS 📺

    📍 BBC 1 and iPlayer
    📆 Thursday 21st August
    ⏰ 10:40pm then on demand

    The story behind the first Women’s Workd Cup tournament, the one that on paper should never have been possible. Four women took charge, stood strong and made it happen. The names that launched the tournament we’re all celebrating today:

    💪Cooper
    💪 Dorrington
    💪 Forsyth
    💪 Griffin

    Picture: Deborah Griffin, now president of the RFU (first ever woman in the role) supporting grassroots girls rugby at the Honda Volunteers Awards 2024. Fangirled SO hard.

  • Elma? Ok…

    I was recently asked “who do you look up to in the world of rugby?” My answer seemed to perplex a few so I wanted to explain my reasoning, or show my working to steal a phrase from my previous life as an educator.

    Elma Smit.

    If you google Elma, you won’t get a club bio, a shirt to buy or a list of stats. To my knowledge, she has never played in a rugby match, or led training. Elma isn’t a rugby player, but she’s my most important person in the drive to make rugby accessible to the masses, and in particular girls and women.

    Elma is the presenter of the riotous podcast The Good, The Scaz and the Rugby. She is a celebrated sports broadcaster, she is a trailblazer.

    The fearlessness with which Elma Smit celebrates, fangirls, hollers from the rooftops about women’s and girls rugby is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Making a real world impact on girls and women looking to play and support the game, as well as encouraging boys and men to be a part of it. 

    Elma reminds me that it is not just ok to be a fan, to work toward being a change maker, it is the best way to be.

    I strive to be more unapologetic, a bit shouty, more authentically me in my women’s rugby support, because of Elma Smit.

    (Also, her Bella Bear mascot head falling off is one of my top 5 women’s rugby moments.)

  • She’s got a bloody wall planner…

    She’s got a bloody wall planner…

    Rugby World Cup 2025? Fully invested, all in.

    8 days from now, in the north east of England, the Rugby World Cup kicks off. I’ve never been particularly invested in the big sporting events, apart from the possibility of a Bank Holiday thrown about each time England threaten to get to a final.

    I did sort of follow the last Women’ World Cup over in New Zealand, but only because I had become swept up in the crazy world of grassroots girls rugby by that point and needed to learn some names other than Marlie Packer. So, at the rats crack of dawn on 2022 final morning I went to a local rugby club with my super fan mum and sister to somewhat watch Eng v NZ, but mainly to observe that room full of people watching it around me. It was a brilliant experience, the club had set up the big screen, bar was open for hot drinks (and possibly cold if that floats your lilo at 5:30 on a Saturday morning) and the place was packed.

    It was an open invite to all local girls sections, and seeing so many bleary-eyed teenage girls, kitted out in fluffy onesies and slippers, munching down on bacon rolls from the community ‘bring a plate’ buffet was really quite something. From my perch at the back of the room, next to said buffet table (follow me for more autistic social engagement life hacks) I watched a room full of men, women and children engaged in a rugby match. A pretty big match, obviously, being the World Cup Final, but in essence still a rugby match. The power of that match though, that’s what has stayed with me. The power of a sport that is so relatively unknown to huge section of society, but is important enough to bring a room full of people together.

    My table.

    And that is what stays with me now, going into this one. There will be rooms full of people from all backgrounds, all with busy lives, but they’ll come together for the duration of these matches and share rugby. They may not understand all the rules (who really does?), they may never have picked up an egg-shaped ball. It does not matter. They may be out there on the pitch every week smashing rucks and sucking orange segments. That’s pretty ace. Everyone will be in rooms together, celebrating the women representing their country on the biggest stage. That’s really bloody exciting.

    I am actually so excited I have a wall planner. Yep. Don’t mock it until you’ve tried it.

    8 days and counting…

    📍Sunderland Stadium of Light

    🏉 7:30pm

    📺 BBC iPlayer

  • Community, clubhouses and Mini Cheddars.

    What women’s and girls rugby means to me.

    I don’t play rugby. I have no desire to play rugby. All those rules, keeping track of which way you’re supposed to be running…running in general. No thank you.
    But I spend a good majority of my time promoting women’s and girls rugby in Cornwall. Which may seem odd for someone who has no real interest in the sport itself. It’s bigger than that for me.

    You see, behind the rugby is a community, a massive group of women and girls who are part of something else.
    The phrase that best describes the world of women’s and girls rugby, safe haven.

    I spend a vast amount of time feeling unsafe. The world is full of dangers for an autistic adult. It’s full of people that aren’t what they appear to be, full of confusion and uncertainty. This means I’m highly mistrusting of 99% of people. I just can’t risk trusting them as I don’t understand their intentions. It’s a safer way to live but can be isolating and a bit lonely (luckily my own company is bloody top notch so don’t feel bad for me!)

    But over the last few years I have found this community of women’s rugby players. There’s something true at the heart of it. A core safety and genuineness that is not often found. I would happily walk into any clubhouse around the county knowing the ladies team are in there and be able to feel safe, included and welcome. I can’t explain why things are that way, I am just grateful they are.

    It’s another reason I constantly fight for the growth of girls rugby. These girls are tomorrow’s women. They will be creating these unintentional safe spaces that slightly odd but well meaning and funny souls like me can walk into and enjoy a bag of Mini Chedders and a shandy.

    The growth of women’s and girls rugby is loud and proud, as it should be. But there’s also a quiet movement underway. Not so obvious but real nonetheless. Where women support women by simply being themselves. And that’s bloody lush.

  • Kick Off

    A place for a non-rugby player to discuss all things rugby!

    Please bear with me, it will hopefully be funny at least!