Initiative to attract people to a sport where friends are made for life

Thursday 04 January 2024

With women’s rugby growing, Guernsey Raiders Ladies are offering the chance to get a taste of the sport.

They are hosting an Allianz Inner Warrior camp on Sunday 21 January.

Lead coach Steve Evans said there was an ethos within the team about it being a community with a lot of support, it was not just about playing sport.

“Anybody that knows me, knows how much I love rugby, and I think if you haven't given it a try, then you need to come because it is an amazing sport and it's an amazing team ethos,” said Evans.

“It just builds people rather than players. If you've got a daughter and you don't know what to do with them and you want them to be involved in sport, then I can't recommend rugby enough. And I'd say exactly the same if you have sons, the rugby on the island is an amazing set up, get them down to the Academy on a Sunday. You make friends for life.”

He said that a number of players before they took up rugby thought it would be too rough.

“They give it a go, they have their first attempt at contact and they look, and say, ‘wow, why haven't I been playing this?’."

The camp begins at 10:00 on the club Pitch at Footes Lane and is aimed at those who have not played before, those that might not have put their boots on for a while , or those new to the island.

Speaking on the Express sports podcast The Cool Down, Evans said that women’s rugby had developed enormously over the last five years.

“You can see that at Academy level with the number of girls playing mixed rugby with the boys at primary school level. And then once they separate out at under 12, under 14, and under 16s, and then the under 18, to train with the senior ladies, the numbers coming through, and where we're constantly having new players come.”

Guernsey Raiders Ladies constantly have numbers in the low 20s turning up for training, and a total squad of 35.

“Where would I like ladies rugby? A second team would be amazing. You probably need a squad of in the low 40s to consistently run two teams when you're talking about injuries. Would I like to see more rugby played in schools so that my successors benefit in five or 10 years time? Absolutely. 

“I think we need to push our players to challenge them. If you're looking at goals for ladies rugby, are we going to get individuals playing for county or moving on to Centres of Excellence on the mainland? We've got one player playing for county this year, Yvie Coyde, who has had a couple of run outs for Hampshire. We've had players go and play for Uni and they come back to the island. 

“So there's the individuals, then there's team development, are we in the right league? If we can raise our standards, then yes, I'd like to see us challenging and playing in the championship and developing the sport on the island.”