England Women's Rugby NEW Coach

RFUW get big boost from Sport England funding



English women’s rugby is set to benefit from substantial funding from Sport England which will be used to help develop the game across the country.



The Rugby Football Union for Women is delighted to announce that Sport England have awarded the union £1.4 million over three years to be spent nationally to support club coach development.



Ten Club and Coach Officers will be appointed and deployed across the country by September to focus on coaching players of all standards and mentoring coaches within clubs, counties and the regional setup. These appointments will be a first for the RFUW with the union previously being unable to support this type of work because of a lack of resources.



The RFUW have also been awarded £100,000 over three years from Sport England’s Capacity and Building Fund. These monies will be used to appoint a Resources and Training Officer who will support the Women’s Rugby Development Managers to improve training and education opportunities for staff and volunteers in the women’s game. They will be making sure that volunteers from the women’s game are taking advantage of the training opportunities available.



Rosie Williams, Managing Director of the RFUW, said: “The RFUW is excited about what this new investment from Sport England will bring to the union and the game. Not only will it mean new staff and an exciting new structure, but for the first time ever we will be able to support our member clubs to ensure the development of better trained and supported coaches.



“The knock on affect of this will be that there will be more quality coaches available to our players locally and more often. We believe this will lead to greater participation in clubs and a better quality experience for all.”



Derek Mapp, Chairman of Sport England, said: “Clubs and coaches are at the heart of community sport. This investment will play a vital role in helping us achieve our aim of getting two million people participating more in sport by 2012. This is a major boost for community sport and will make the job of people on the ground who make sport happen much easier”.



Williams added: “The new Resources and Training Officer will work closely with the RFU to ensure that resources being produced for game reflect the needs of women’s clubs, players and coaches. They will also open the channels for our dedicated volunteers’ workforce to access further training and education through initiatives already in place. This is really great news as we will bring a whole new workforce to the game of rugby.”

England women’s rugby players will be put through their paces this weekend by an array of top class coaches.



The reigning RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam champions return to training for the new season on Thursday with a four day camp at RAF Halton near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.



Alongside new England Women’s Head Coach Gary Street, the England Elite squad of 44 will have the chance to learn from some of the best coaches in the game.



RFU National Academy Coaches Nigel Redman and Mark Mapletoft will, for the first time, link up with the England women players and they will be joined by Leeds Carnegie Defence Coach Simon Middleton, London Irish Academy Coach Barrie John Mather, WRU skills coach Danny Wilson and Alan Hughes, who is the director of sport at Stowe School.



England Women’s Head Coach Gary Street said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our players to work with some expert coaches from around the game. The England Women’s coaching team are also looking forward to exchanging our ideas with them and working together. This four day camp is the first of two training camps in August and it will certainly provide us with some excellent preparation for the forthcoming season.”



RFUW Elite player squad (2006/2007 season)



Claire Allen, Centre, Saracens

Margaret Alphonsi, Flanker, Saracens,

Karen Andrew, Fly-half, Saracens,

Charlotte Barras, Full-back/wing Saracens

Sarah Beale, No. 8 Leodiensian

Natalie Binstead Lock Wasps

Rachel Burford Centre Saracens

Leah Carey Backrow Lichfield

Rochelle Clark Prop Henley

Emily Cooke Wing Richmond

Pippa Crews Hooker Worcester

Rosemarie Crowley Prop Lichfield

Samantha Dale Prop Worcester

Hannah Dawson Prop Thirsk Sharks

Sue Day Wing/centre Wasps

Emma Dresser Lock Lichfield

Becky Essex Lock Richmond

Amy Garnett Hooker Saracens

Vanessa Gray Prop Wasps

Sonia Green Backrow Saracens

Sophie Hemming Prop Clifton

Sarah Hunter Flanker Lichfield

Emma Layland Hooker Richmond

Jane Leonard Backrow Wasps/Army

Vicky Massarella Fullback Saracens

Jo McGilchrist Lock Wasps

Katy McLean Fly-half Thirsk

Katherine Merchant Wing Worcester

Kim Oliver Centre Clifton

Amber Penrith Wing Cardiff Quins

Fiona Pocock Wing Richmond

Shelley Rae Fly-half Wasps

Georgina Roberts Fullback Thirsk Sharks

Georgina Rosario Scrum-half Plymouth Albion

Harriet Slynn Scrum-half Richmond

Catherine Spencer No. 8 Worcester

Michaela Staniford Centre Henley

Georgia Stevens Backrow Clifton

Alexandra Stevens Prop Lichfield

Katy Storie Prop Blaydon

Tamara Taylor Lock Thirsk

Amy Turner Scrum-half Wasps

Danielle Waterman Scrum-half/wing Clifton

Joanne Watmore Fullback Thirsk