Sheppey Ladies RFC's journey started only back in October 2021. The club had previously made attempts to form a women’s team but without success. However, in the summer of 2021, the coaches realised how a lot of women were already spending a significant amount of time at the club, supporting their children or partners. They decided to make a new attempt to start a women's team and asked the rugby mums and partners to give rugby a go - and that's how it started!
After recruiting some more players around Oktoberfest, the team was finally formed and started training together in October 2021. Back then, there were only a handful of players but that didn’t stop them, turning to social media to promote their new team and recruit more players. The team grew fast and even reached 30 players at one point. Impressive journey for a brand new team, if you ask us!
The team’s hard work continued on and off the pitch, and in March 2022, they played their first game of rugby ever when they participated in a round-Robin tournament. In October, they played their first full 80 minute game in a friendly against Lordswood RFC! Not only was it their first time playing rugby together as a team, it was also the first time a women’s team represented Sheppey RFC in the club's 130-year-long history!
The team, also called ‘The Ewes’, have since then played a couple more friendly games and grown stronger as a team. Their team spirit and newly found love for rugby shines through in their frequent updates on social media where they have shared some of their proudest moments. One of them being when their player Louise scored the team's first every try, a historic moment definitely worth celebrating.
For 2023, they have already planned lots of friendly games and the plan is to join one of the official leagues as soon as they can. In the meantime, a few of the players have also helped out other teams in the area, such as Lordswood, to get more game time between their own games.
We are so impressed by The Ewes’ journey, forming their women’s team in such a short time and making it grow into what it is now. We hope the players are enjoying it as much as it seems like, and can’t wait to follow the team in the future. What's even more exciting is that they recently also started a girls' section!
Without stories like this one, women's rugby wouldn't have grown into what it is today, and the Sheppey Ewes are playing a big role in inspiring a new generation of girls and women to find their love for rugby. Their story is a perfect example of how important grassroots rugby is and we are so excited to celebrate Sheppey Ladies RFC as our Grassroots Story of the Week!
Head over to our Instagram to congratulate Sheppey Ladies RFC and show them your support! And don't forget to send in your favourite stories to help us find and celebrate some of the top moments from women's grassroots rugby 🌟 "