playing club rugby in Middlesex

ADULT RUGBY   |   WOMEN & GIRLS   |   STUDENTS   |   YOUTH   |   MINIS

Women & girls club rugby in Middlesex

Women’s rugby grows from strength to strength, particularly following the success of the England Women, who won the Rugby World Cup in Paris in 2014. The RFU estimates there are currently nearly 14,000 women and girls registered as playing rugby each week.

In Middlesex, there is have a strong tradition of women’s rugby clubs and boast clubs at all levels of the game, whether it’s just playing for fun, competing for national honours or competitive league rugby, there is a club to cater for all abilities.

At U13, U15 and U18 players from clubs cluster together to combine to play matches in the newly formulated competition structure. As girls’ rugby gains popularity, the goal is for more and more clubs to be able to field their own teams at each age group.

U12 girls can participate in mixed mini rugby at the majority of rugby clubs across the county who will welcome girls into the club.

Local Rugby Partnership (LRP)

As part of the RFU strategy for the growth Women and Girl’s (W&G) rugby, a four year national programme known as the Local Rugby Partnership (LRP), is focussing on clubs with W&G teams to ensure the continued development of the sport. As part of this programme, the RFU is support clubs with W&G sections and helping them to engage with local partners and initiatives and much more.

In the first year of the programme, 2013, 54 clubs English were identified across 13 ‘partnerships’, including Middlesex clubs Grasshoppers, Hammersmith & Fulham, Teddington Antlers and Wasps Ladies who all signed up to the programme. The aim is to have over 200 clubs within the LRP nationally by year four.

In Year Two (2014-2015), Hackney, Hampstead, Haringey, Kilburn Cosmos and Saracens signed up to the next phase of the programme.

This season it is hoped that the remaining Middlesex Rugby clubs with W&G sections will all be incorporated within the LRP.

As well as holding W&G focus groups, Middlesex Rugby also holds a wider LRP forum for all clubs with W&G sections to come and participate in discussions, sharing ideas, problems and solutions with the aim of continually developing the sport across the county.

Middlesex Rugby has established a charter which all affiliated clubs have agreed to:

• We will work together in partnership to develop rugby union for women and girls between 2014 and 2017.
• We will lead the way, share good practice and provide new and different opportunities for women and girls to take part in rugby union whether as a player, volunteer, coach or referee.
• We are committed to growing the game together, so that more people can play more locally and more often.
• We will work with the RFU and our local communities around us to achieve this.

For further information on the LRP groups, please contact Louise Latter, email: louise.latter@middlesexrugby.com

Establishing a women’s or girls’ section

If your club would like to create a link with an existing women’s side, set up a new women’s side, establish age group sides for girls, or ensure girls are incorporated into an existing or new mini section, Middlesex Rugby and the RFU can help.

• Contact Louise Latter, email: louise.latter@middlesexrugby.com
• Contact Clare Cooper RFU Women’s Rugby Development Officer, email: ClareCooper@rfu.com or your club RFU Rugby Development Officer and discuss your ideas.
• Think about the sustainability of the new section, and whether your club has the playing facilities and volunteer capacity to accommodate additional teams.
• Ensure that the new section is completely integrated into all aspects of the club, and that the women and girls have access to equipment, coaching, the clubhouse, the bar, the committee meetings and other services.

Where to play women’s club rugby in Middlesex

If you are interested in playing rugby in Middlesex, there are a number of clubs and teams you can join throughout the county. Different clubs offer different levels of rugby, dependent on the league they are in and how many teams they run. Click on the links below to find out more about Middlesex affiliated and associated clubs’ ladies sections.

* Middlesex Rugby associate clubs

Where to play girls’ club rugby in Middlesex

There are a number of clubs running girls’ age group squads throughout the county with different clubs offering different age grades. Click on the links below to find out more about Middlesex clubs’ girls sections.