World Cup finalist Shaunagh Brown even more excited by home event

Yahoo

7 hours ago

By Laura Howard, Sportsbeat
While Shaunagh Brown represented England in the 2021 Rugby World Cup final, she insists she is even more excited for this summer with England set for a home World Cup.
The former Red Rose and Harlequins player amassed 30 international caps and featured in England's agonising 34-31 defeat to New Zealand in the World Cup final in Auckland in 2021.
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But though she will not be donning the white shirt this time out, the prospect of sell-out stadiums and a boom in visibility means Brown is more excited than ever for the summer ahead.
'I am looking forward to this World Cup more than I did the one I actually played in because it's at home,' said the prop.
'I've been part of the build-up, I've been on the trophy tour, I've been to the volunteer kick-off events and the buzz is unreal.
'The ticket sales just keep going up and up and the number of conversations I have with people telling me that they can't get tickets. That's incredible news because you're making them hot property if you can't get something, you want it even more.
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'I'm really excited to see how England perform.'
Though New Zealand got the better of the Red Roses on their territory four years ago, Brown believes that hosting the tournament English soil can help them over the line to produce a moment akin to the Lionesses victory at Euro 2022.
More importantly, though, she wants to see sporting bodies and authorities ensure momentum from the tournament is captured to keep shifting attitudes towards women's rugby.
'I still move in circles where people don't really know what rugby is and think it is just a sport that posh white boys do,' Brown explained.
'I hope we will get a Lionesses' moment, and I really hope England win the World Cup but it's all about the build-up, the tournament doing it right and local authorities getting involved.
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'It'll be people seeing, hearing, and realising that most people can play rugby and you don't have to be from a certain school or certain background or look a particular way.
'If you look at a lineup of a rugby team there's such a variation in shape, size, skin colour and hair type and you think, 'Oh maybe rugby is for me. Maybe I can do that. She looks like me, she sounds like me, maybe I can give it a go.''
The importance of role models was brought home to Brown as she spoke on the final day of the Youth Sport Trust's National School Sports Week at Torriano Primary School in Camden.
Alongside Olympic sprinter Montell Douglas and Paralympic footballer Alistair Patrick-Heselton, Brown got involved in a carousel of different activities led by the pupils as they celebrated the importance of being active.
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Torriano encourages activity everyday with pupils wearing active footwear and no uniform so that they are able to hit their recommended 60 minutes of activity each day.
Brown and her sporting peers also participated in a Q&A to inspire the Torriano pupils, who were dressed up as their sporting heroes for Sports Star Friday.
'We want people to participate, we want people to enjoy winning but as a mass group of children and in a whole generation we just want to encourage movement,' explained Brown.
'I'm very passionate about the active uniform principle. It's about not making it a big thing that you have to get changed into your PE kit before you can run.
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'Actually, just make activity a normal part of their everyday with no barriers. They're in the playground because they've got trainers on so they can just run around.'
National School Sports Week is an annual campaign by the Youth Sport Trust, dedicated to celebrating the power of PE, sport, and play to build brighter futures. This year, powered by Sports Direct x Under Armour, marks the 30th anniversary of the Youth Sport Trust, who is a UK leading children's charity for improving young people's wellbeing through sport and play. Visit www.youthsporttrust.org