Girls Rugby Success across Bedford Schools

Our Girls Rugby Project showcased women and girls rugby in Bedford, creating new opportunities to engage communities into rugby across Bedford, the project saw 501 girls across the 2023/2024 season.

Extracurricular rugby for girls was delivered in three secondary schools including Castle Newnham Secondary School, St Thomas Moore Secondary School and Biddenham Upper School.

Our aim was to provide rugby for girls who have not engaged with the sport before, to highlight the benefits our sport brings, as well as the wider increases to physical and mental health. Our links with the community game were promoted, offering opportunities to join Bedford Junior Blues Girls teams.

As well as 24 weeks of coaching sessions, a girls rugby festival was hosted at Bedford Athletic Rugby Club, showcasing the schools and interest in girls rugby, but also promoting join the Bedford Junior Blues Girls teams that play at the same venue.

Why Girls Rugby?

There is a huge opportunity for women and girls rugby in Bedfordshire, however engagement with the sport is still low. Blues Foundation are tackling this challenge head on thanks to funding from Sport England to increase exposure to female rugby and highlight opportunities in the grassroots game.

Bedford Blues has a proud rugby heritage, alongside this the formation of Bedford Blues Women has presented us with an exciting pathway to promote and increase participation at grassroots level. With the women’s rugby world cup around the corner in 2025, we are now laying the foundations to build momentum and creating a lasting legacy for women and girls rugby.

One school said:

“The engagement levels have been impressive. We've observed consistent attendance and active participation from the students. Many girls who were initially hesitant have grown more confident and involved as the sessions progressed. For most of the participants this is their first ever rugby experience. Some of the girls have even signed up to local clubs after these sessions.”

There was definitely a marked improvement in terms of skill and attitude in all sessions from the start of the project and the end. By the end of the project participants were asking the coach if they could continue with Rugby into next term and some were also asking about information for their closest rugby clubs and how to join. The small number of participants who had already participated in Rugby seemed to enjoy that many of their peers were now interested in joining local teams.

For more information, please contact our Community Rugby Manager, Ben Wiggins via ben@bluesfoundation.org.uk