England’s women’s rugby team put on a show this autumn and star centre Emily Scarratt has urged all those who watched the Red Roses to try their hand at rugby at Minchinhampton Rugby’s Warrior Camp this Sunday, 1-2.30pm.
While Scarratt, England’s record points scorer, is currently on the sidelines due to injury, the Red Roses won all four international matches recently, including two record victories over New Zealand, the reigning world champions.
The games, shown live on the BBC, saw unprecedented viewing figures with a million tuning into the third game, a 51-12 win over Canada.
At elite level, England are flying, and for those who might never have picked up a rugby ball themselves, Scarratt believes that the Warrior Camps are the perfect opportunity for budding rugby fans to give the sport a go.
“It’s brilliant, it’s been going for a few years now. I’ve been lucky enough, not recently, but over the previous years to get down to some camps and help out,” said Scarratt, who was speaking about the Allianz Inner Warrior campaign, which is England Rugby’s primary campaign to introduce women and girls to rugby for the first time, or to reintroduce them to the game after a break.
“Some of the stories you hear about people who take part are inspiring, from the young girl to the 40-year-old mum of three who had never played rugby before and everything in between.
“The reactions you get from those camps are amazing. I haven’t seen anyone who hasn’t had a brilliant day and didn’t want to go back. They’ve made friends and had a new appreciation for rugby. It’s a brilliant opportunity for people.”
The camp taking place at Minchinhampton RFC on 9th January is the ideal opportunity for those who have indulged at Christmas to get back into shape according to Scarratt.
“Some of the camps coming up after Christmas are in that nice window when everyone wants to get back into activity and shift some of the turkey they have accumulated so it’s a brilliant time and opportunity for people to get out there and try something new,” added Scarratt, who is looking to shine a light on the 25,000 women and girls that have attended Warrior Camps at community rugby clubs since Jan 2017, with many going on to join touch or contact rugby teams, while 4,000 women and girls engaged with rugby through Warrior Camps between May and September 2021, with a record 162 camps running in May and 116 over August and September.
“Take a friend, just go and give it a go. Rugby, especially in the girl’s game, is untapped in how much people enjoy it. The other thing with rugby is there are so many forms of it. If you don’t want to do the contact side of things, you can play touch or tag.
“Everyone thinks you just have to run into each other really hard but there is so much more to it than that. Sometimes it’s not until people experience it that they realise that and understand that. There’s a place for everybody.”
Visit EnglandRugby.com/innerwarrior for more information. Alternatively, contact Tom Nurse at Minchinhampton Girls RFC to book your place. Thomas.nurse@yahoo.co.uk
