School ‘Love Rugby’ Festival kicks off a year of girls rugby
As Northampton builds up to hosting matches as part of the Women’s Rugby World Cup next summer, hundreds of school-aged girls are taking over the cinch Stadium at Northampton Saints for a Girls ‘Love Rugby’ Festival on the 7th of June.
Delivered by local charity Northamptonshire Sport, who are working in partnership with Northampton Saints and the RFU, the day-long festival will see around 300 primary-school-aged girls participate in a series of tag rugby games on the main stadium pitch. This will be followed by many other activities at the stadium – including a stadium tour, design a Loughborough Lightning shirt and an England Red Roses-themed orienteering challenge.
The event is being delivered for its second year. David Hanson, the event organiser from Northamptonshire Sport, said:
“Events like these are important in providing the perfect platform to engage girls in positive first experiences of rugby as we head into a World Cup year. There are so many opportunities to get involved in girls’ rugby in Northamptonshire. We want to support as many girls as possible to get involved, whether at school or in a community club.”
Children will also be given the opportunity to speak with representatives from local community clubs to hear all about upcoming opportunities outside of school as part of the RFU’s Love Rugby summer campaign. Launched in 2023, the campaign aims to increase the number of registered girls playing rugby to 100,000 by 2027, using the upcoming World Cup as a catalyst for raising awareness of the women’s and girls’ game.
Alex Teasdale, Executive Director of Women’s Game at the RFU, said:
“The growth of the women’s + girls’ game was a primary driver behind our bid to host Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. As we build towards next year’s tournament, it’s great to see so many incredible initiatives – like this one in Northampton – engaging girls with rugby. With just over a year to go, we’ll continue to work with all of our clubs and partners such as Northamptonshire Sport to reach our target of 100,000 registered female players by 2027.”
The festival will also host the final round of a four-month secondary school’s touch rugby series. Since March, over 100 girls from years 7 – 10 from 10 secondary schools across Northamptonshire have participated in the events. With the inaugural winners being crowned at the end of the day.
The competition is the first girls-only school rugby competition to be held in the county and was set up following several secondary schools accessing funding through the Sport England Opening Schools Facilities programme.
As a result of this funding, a number of secondary schools benefited from 12–weeks of girls–only rugby sessions delivered by Emma Hardy – Loughborough Lightning Player and Northampton Saints Women’s Rugby Pathway and Development Manager.
This event kicks off an exciting year of women’s and girls’ rugby across West Northants through the WRWC 25 Impact Programme. With representation from a range of organisations from across different sectors, the plan aims to inspire the next generation, develop the workforce, raise awareness and achieve engagement in women’s rugby and support thriving clubs across West Northamptonshire.