Latest news with #rugbylegacy
Telegraph
05-08-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Building blocks for the future of grassroots rugby
There is plenty to celebrate with the growing numbers in women's rugby and there were lots of positive vibes in the air as 15 Telegraph Media Group Honda Rugby Legacy Fund winners met this summer to enjoy a training session with England World Cup-winning legend Maggie Alphonsi. The day also allowed the clubs to share stories and discuss how they might overcome the challenges they each face. For grassroots teams like Tetbury, Ivybridge and Torquay, the fund is helping to turn outdated, often male-dominated facilities into inclusive, welcoming spaces where girls can thrive not only as players, but as officials, teammates and leaders. Letting in the light In rural Gloucestershire, Tetbury RFC has grown from a single U12 girls' team in 2021 to nearly 70 players across all age groups, with their first U18 team launching next season. But their facilities have not kept pace with their growth. They have been awarded a £3,000 fund to help level that playing field. 'Our unique challenge is space – we only have one pitch to play on,' says coach Mark Benfield. 'We could use floodlights to make use of the space around the pitch. To have some extra lights means we can have more girls coming in, making it a safe environment for them and utilising our space better. Then, hopefully, they can bring their friends and have more fun.' The spirit of the fund was on display during the Honda winners' day. 'We're all in the same boat here,' adds Leon Horton, another coach at Tetbury. 'We're all trying to give the girls huge amounts of energy, give them a lovely outcome and have a fun time doing it, meeting new friends.' Changing up In Devon, Ivybridge RFC has seen its women's section double in size since 2020 and it now supports more than 100 girls in weekly training. With two players recently representing England and Scotland at U18 level, the club has performance as well as participation in its sights – but facilities are again a limiting factor; something that they hope to address with their £1,000 award. 'Our club's challenge is the changing rooms,' says Georgina Robinson, women's player and girls' coach. 'They're very much designed – and the club has been designed – for men's rugby over the years and now we've introduced women and girls. We need to make the changing rooms and the facilities generally more female friendly.' The club is also deeply community focused, offering lifts, boots and support to families in a town where nearly 70 per cent of households live with some form of deprivation. Under-14s coach Nikki Moss adds: 'Being here today is such a privilege and I'm really proud that we got selected from lots of entries as a small club in Devon. The money will really help support our women and girls' rugby at the club in terms of changing some of our facilities and just generally providing equipment for the girls.' Whole new ball game Torquay Athletic RFC, also in Devon, is starting from scratch – and that's precisely what makes its progress so exciting. This is the club's first ever women and girls section, and it has begun with a focus on T1, the new non-contact version of the game. 'It's been amazing,' says Lucy Callaghan, youth and minis coach at the club. 'We are so delighted to bring girls into Torquay and it's been a really exciting journey this year. We were amazed with the numbers and how it's grown, and the support we've got from other clubs.' To avoid pulling players from neighbouring teams, the club made the conscious decision to start with non-contact rugby. 'What's been really interesting is that by doing the non-contact version, it's brought in numbers, and now some of those are saying they'd like to start contact rugby. So, we've built it from the ground up without competing with those other clubs around us for numbers.' Now the club wants to use its £1,000 award to invest in match official development for girls – but their current facilities are far from suitable. 'We want to improve our match officials' facility so that girls are far more likely to want to become a match official because the facilities are going to be great for them instead of the dingey things that we've had in the past,' adds Jackie Coles, women's lead at the club. 'The fund will improve our facilities, especially one of the bathrooms. We're going to be moving the facilities around to the front of the building, with women and girls in mind. It's all about safety and feeling confident in the space. We've got some girls who are 16 saying they want to be referees. I'm not sending them around the back of the clubhouse.' Across all three clubs, the message is clear. Inclusion is not just about who is invited to play – it's about whether the facilities say, 'You belong here.' With the support of the Telegraph Media Group Honda Rugby Legacy Fund, these grassroots sides are making sure the answer is a resounding yes.
ABC News
06-07-2025
- Sport
- ABC News
British and Irish Lions visit the Maitland grave of their inaugural captain Robert Seddon
The British and Irish Lions have gathered in Maitland to pay tribute to the inaugural Lions team captain who drowned in the Hunter Valley. Members of the Lions touring party gathered to lay wreaths at the grave of Robert Seddon, who died at Maitland during a Lions tour in 1888. The 28-year-old was wearing his Lions jumper when he drowned while rowing on the Hunter River. He was buried the next day at Campbells Hill Cemetery in the Maitland suburb of Telarah. Former British Lion and current chair, Ieuan Evans, said the organisation made the trip to Maitland on every Australian tour, which occurred every 12 years. "We're here to reflect on a tragic moment where we lost our captain midway through the tour, but also to celebrate the legacy that he left on the rest of his teammates," Evans said. "To be honest, they were the first great adventurers in rugby, travelling across the globe, playing not only rugby, but cricket, and they played Aussie rules football as well. "They really were pathfinders in the game and we're still living that legacy now. Maitland Rugby Club, known as the Blacks, has maintained the gravesite for the past 137 years. Blacks' president Patrick Howard said it was a great source of pride for the 148-year-old club. "We're just excited to have the Lions out here, putting a spotlight on us for a little while," Howard said. "History is very important to Maitland Rugby Club and [Seddon] is a big part of our history. "A lot of our history was lost in the 1955 Maitland flood. "All of our documents and a lot of our photos went, so we're always accruing new pieces of history." As part of the commemorations, the Maitland Historical Society worked with the Blacks to compile historical sources that tell the story of Robert Seddon, which was presented to the Lions. Howard said it was great to have that history documented for the next generation. "We will now hold that copy here at Maitland Rugby Club as well, as another piece of history that we'll acknowledge moving forward," he said. Evans said the efforts of the Blacks to preserve Seddon's memory were not taken for granted. "We are humbled and gratified by the effort of Maitland Rugby Club to maintain the grave, so we can pay homage to Robert Seddon and his contribution to part of the lore of British and Irish Lions," he said. Lions CEO, Ben Calveley, echoed the sentiment. "It's important that we return and we pay our respects to Robert, but we also pay our respects to our friends from Maitland Rugby Club as well," Calveley said. After visiting the grave on Sunday, representatives from the Lions headed to Newcastle for the Wallabies match against Fiji. Evans said the Lions' brief trip to the Hunter was an important part of the tour's community engagement. "The Lions' tour is not just a straightforward test series. We're the last touring squad really to get an opportunity to see the breadth of Australia and all it has," he said. "We're not only building a sporting legacy but also a community legacy as well." For Calveley, it was a welcome break from the high stakes of touring. "It will be nice to be able to watch a game of rugby with there being nothing at stake for the Lions," he joked.
