A new dawn for women’s rugby is shining brightly at Okehampton RFC

The Women’s Rugby World Cup has taken the sport to an exciting new level and that wave of enthusiasm is being felt with keen excitement at Okehampton Rugby Club.

A contingent of players and coaches from the club travelled to Twickenham to watch England’s amazing victory over Canada in the Final on Saturday, a triumph that has been emulated in a small way by successive promotions for the Okes women.

New mum Garnet Mackinder has been a proud part of that journey, and the team is hungry for more.

“I’m now in my third season playing at Centre for Okehampton Rugby Club,” said Garnet. “I had a baby recently, so it’s actually been two half-seasons but now I’m hoping for a full campaign on the pitch.

“My baby is ten months now and I came back to playing after ten weeks, probably a bit too quick, but certainly full steam ahead for this season.

“We almost went unbeaten last season, apart from the opening game. That did wake us up a little bit, but it has been two back-to-back promotions to now be playing in NC1, which means a bit more travel. Crediton is the only team in Devon, the rest are all in Bristol, Somerset and Cornwall areas.

“We are playing teams at the same level to us and the first game of the season (Okes won 40-24 at Avonmouth) was definitely a step up in physicality but we really enjoyed the competition.

“Our aspiration for this season is to consolidate but we are also still ambitious. Going up again would mean even more travel and we’ve still got girls joining the club who have not played rugby before, so we are definitely still building and developing. This level is really good for us and I would say a realistic aim is to look at the top end of the table.”

Success for the senior women is based on the solid foundations of a growing junior section and the brilliance of the Red Roses can only help that cause.

Women’s rugby has been the star of the show for the past six weeks and that can only bring good things for clubs like Okehampton.

“The female side of the club has grown massively and we are proud to have a really strong girls’ section,” added Garnet. “There is a bit of a gap at Under-18s but the platform is there to have girls coming through to senior rugby within a few years.

“The junior section is growing all the time and we’re hopeful the World Cup will bring more youngsters into the game.

“We hosted a women and girls’ event for the first game of the tournament and we’ve had one woman join the club, Mel, who had never picked up a rugby ball before and is now in the senior team at the age of 42. The game is going from strength to strength and that only bodes well for the future.

“The success of England Women in football is now being mirrored in rugby and to have the access of watching the World Cup on prime time TV has been huge.

“It was a sell-out crowd at Twickenham for the final and an amazing atmosphere, while the local impact of having games played at Sandy Park in Exeter has been a huge bonus. There is no doubt the World Cup has been positive for our club.

“I have been playing rugby since the age of 15, and I’m now 34, but it is so exciting to see the opportunities now available to young female players.

“The main difference from when I started is the amount of teams around and the opportunity to play against so many new clubs. We do still have the issue of having to cluster teams and age groups, but that is slowly changing. Girls can now look at the Exeter Chiefs and see rugby as a potential career.

“The support network at Okehampton is amazing. It used to feel like a battle for women and girls coming into the game but we are so well supported at Okehampton. Hopefully, in years to come, we will have equality at all clubs.

“As for my personal ambitions, I absolutely plan on staying in the game as a coach and I hope my baby Ruby will be interested in playing the game. I want to keep pushing the agenda for the women’s game and my work for Sport England as part of the diversity and inclusion team can also hopefully help.”