00:00Now with the Women's Rugby World Cup set to get underway on Friday evening at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland,
00:06here at nearby Houghton Rugby Club, several of their girls and women's teams have been preparing for the occasion by showing off their own rugby skills.
00:15It's set to be a huge event for Sunderland and the whole North East, both in bringing world-class sport to the region and inspiring girls at grassroots level,
00:24who one day may follow in the footsteps of the current Red Roses.
00:30First up, some of those involved at Houghton explained how they got into rugby
00:34and why the Red Roses playing their first match of the tournament at the Stadium of Light is so inspiring.
00:40So I played rugby from when I was 14, off when England won the Men's World Cup in 2003,
00:46and I had loads of coaches from all over the place come and coach me and help me through my career.
00:52Now I've stopped playing as much, I want to try and give back to the local community
00:55and try and get as many women and girls playing rugby here in the North East and especially here at Houghton.
01:00So I got a little bit of early insight onto the pathway when I'd first started.
01:05I had a little bit of luck with county, and then I just kind of had different coaches,
01:10so I've learned quite a lot from them as well.
01:13I played uni rugby as well at Sunderland and just have been up playing at Houghton ever since.
01:19And I'm very fortunate to captain this absolutely amazing team.
01:22Well, I started off in school and my PE teacher asked me to come along
01:27and they said they reckon I'd be quite good at it.
01:31And I've played since I was end of year eight, so since I was around 12, and I've just not stopped since.
01:40I did a similar thing.
01:41We had one of the rugby coaches from here come into school, and he just kind of sort of brought us along.
01:47I've been since Abi joined as well in the 13s-ish.
01:49Yeah, having the Stadium of Light host the first game is absolutely huge.
01:54Most of the girls here in this section are all going to be at that game tonight,
01:58and it's just so inspiring for them to be able to see the pathway come through.
02:02So old County Durham players coming through into that England squad like Claudia MacDonald.
02:06It's amazing. I'm so excited.
02:09It's just really nice for the local girls to see, like,
02:12oh, look at these elite athletes in our area on the stage,
02:16and they can learn a lot from them. Do you know what I mean?
02:19I just think it's nice that we can, you know, it's nice and accessible so we can all go and watch it.
02:23It's really inspiring because seeing that women aren't able to get so far in rugby
02:29while a couple of years ago might not have been able to happen,
02:32it's inspiring for younger people if they want to get involved with it.
02:36It helps everyone, it helps people get encouraged to join, and I find it really good.
02:42I think it's especially good that they've brought it up north,
02:45because I feel like the north-east doesn't really get that much recognition,
02:47especially in women's rugby, so it's really good that they've brought some of it up north.
02:51It gets more people up, it gets more girls involved.
02:53Also in attendance were former England players Maggie Alfonsi and Hugo Monnier,
02:58with Alfonsi debating whether she'd still like to be involved with the Red Roses,
03:02and Monnier speaking of the benefits of having the first match in the north-east.
03:05At some points I'm like, oh, I could dust my boots off,
03:08I could get myself back on the rugby field,
03:11but at the same time I see how hard some of those women hit,
03:14and I think, no, you're right, I don't want to be tackled by any of them.
03:17But I'm just really positive to see how far it's come, you know,
03:20when you just think, when I first started playing,
03:22there wasn't many women and girls playing,
03:24there wasn't much of an interest for the sport,
03:26there wasn't much investment, and even like being now down here today
03:29at Horseman Rugby Club, and seeing all the investment
03:33that National Lottery put into the sport,
03:35what, look, £6 billion over 30 years into grassroots sport,
03:39and then £170 million of that into rugby,
03:42and in particular women and girls rugby,
03:44just really highlighted how positive it is.
03:47But yes, I do wish I was still playing,
03:49but I'm quite happy watching it from afar.
03:51I think it's massive.
03:52I look at someone like Sarah Hunter,
03:53she's a former Red Rose, a Test Centurion,
03:56she's now part of the coaching staff,
03:58she's from here, she's so proud to be here,
04:00and you're right, I think rugby union's often been considered
04:02a Southern-centric sport,
04:04so to flip it on its head to come to the Stadium of Light
04:07and to be able to take the game far and wide up and down the country
04:10is amazing, so that's fantastic.
04:13From Sunderland all the way down to Exeter,
04:15we're able to take rugby and spread the gospel of rugby.
04:18Well, we're all set now for kick-off at the Stadium of Light.
04:22Several of the girls from Houghton will be in attendance
04:24to see if England can get their tournaments off
04:27to the best possible start by defeating the USA.
04:30The North East may be seen as a football-dominated region,
04:34but rugby is certainly making itself known,
04:36and an event like this will do no harm
04:39in inspiring future generations of women's rugby players
04:42from around the area.
04:43The North East may be seen as a football-dominated region,
04:44but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:45but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:46but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:47but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:48but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:49but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:50but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:51but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:52but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:53but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:54but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:55but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:56but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:57but it's not a football-dominated region,
04:58but it's not a football-dominated region,
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