Arena Sets International Stage to Show Case local talent
Women’s rugby had for a long time been quietly building a platform from which to develop their sport.
This platform was catapulted into the public limelight when England Women lifted the Rugby World Cup in August 2014. Since then women’s rugby really has gone from strength to strength picking up awards such as BBC Sports Team of the year and for the first time in its history offering a number of full time professional RFU contracts to players.
One of the first contracted players was Mowden Park Sharks player and World Cup winning captain Katy Mclean MBE “it’s fantastic to see the women’s rugby getting the recognition it has worked so hard for. We still have a long way to go but we are certainly moving the right direction”
On Friday 13th March Mowden Park’s Northern Echo Arena will host an international double header first with two current world champion sides, England Men’s U20s and England Women, taking on their Scottish counterparts. The event, which will mark another milestone for the Arena and its revival, was secured off the back of the England Counties v Ireland success last February.
Women’s 2015 Six Nations Captain Tamara Taylor, also from Mowden Park, went on to comment ‘’the standard of the women’s game is getting better every year and it’s great that the North East are developing some fantastic players. The proposition to run out at our home ground in an England shirt makes the double header event an amazing prospect for us locally and we hope the entire region gets behind the occasion.”
When England Women’s lined up against Italy last weekend Darlington Mowden Park had a total of 5 players involved. Six Nations Captain Tamara Taylor partnered up with fellow team mates Abbie Scott, Katy Mclean, Ruth Laybourn and Fiona Davidson
Mowden Park have shown in recent times that their approach to running the arena certainly isn’t based around just the professional men’s first team, or the traditional sports club model. This landmark event and the prospect of having five home grown ladies puling on international shirts adds further weight to that end. Securing the fixtures undoubtedly represents a key step in the ultimate aim of having regular top flight international games on the doorstep in the North East.
Picture : The Northern Echo