CIRENCESTER RFC held a ladies' and girls' rugby event at the club on Sunday with the aim of engaging and encouraging girls of all abilities to get involved in the sport.

Dave Reeves, chairman of minis/juniors and youth rugby at Cirencester, said: “It was a great success with more than 16 girls of all ages and abilities attending, but more importantly they all said they wanted to continue to play and be involved in the sport.

"The feedback from the parents was all positive, supporting what we are trying to achieve and they all offered their continued commitment to bring their daughters to future training.

"This is a vital area we must continue to work on if we want to keep players engaged in rugby.”

Top class coaching for the training sessions was provided by Dan Morris (Cirencester backs coach) and Dr. Emily Ryall (lecturer at the University of Gloucestershire and rugby coach). Having previously coached together at Cheltenham Tigers, Dan and Emily brought much experience to the session, as well as enthusiasm and passion.

At the end of the event all players were presented with a Raging Bull Sportswear-branded tee shirt to commemorate the day and then enjoyed great food in the clubhouse kitchen.

Reeves added: “I would also like to thank both the RFU and GRFU for their support with equipment and funding; it made a huge difference and I hope that we can capitalise on this and build on the success of the day.

"The next steps are to set something up with the local schools and work together to increase the exposure of the sport to girls in education.”