The impact of the Red Roses is being embraced across Torbay and Devon

There is no question England’s amazing victory in the Women’s Rugby World Cup is already heralding a change in attitudes and participation for the female game.

Even prior to the Red Roses defeating Canada in Saturday’s sold-out final at Wembley, the female section of Paignton Rugby Club was flourishing, but that has been taken to a new level through joint ventures held in partnership with the Devon RFU.

Ella Fielding, a 22 year-old scrum-half at Paignton RFC, is on the frontline of this powerful development of the sport, and the challenge now is to maintain momentum.

“As well as playing scrum-half for the senior team, I also run the junior girls’ section at the club, which fits into my work for the RFU and Paignton Rugby Club as the schools’ rugby manager,” said Ella. “My role is to visit schools and encourage youngsters to play rugby.

“I’ve been playing the game since I was 12, moving down from Bath two years ago and started playing for Paignton straightaway. It is a brilliant club, full of amazing people and such a family.

“The special thing at Paignton is the connection between everybody, from the juniors to adults, men’s teams to the women. Everybody makes an effort to support each other and we’ve made sure all the social media, the preparation and post-match food is the same for everyone.

“The social media aspect cannot be underestimated because that is how young people learn more about the club. The rise of TikTok and all the stuff from the Red Roses is something we should continue at club level.

“The World Cup has been particularly impactful locally and I know the work from the Devon RFU has been massive in holding festivals for girls in Years 5, 6 and 7, so girls who are going through big changes.

“Numbers have already risen massively this year and our challenge now is to keep it sustainable, and to keep celebrating women’s rugby after the World Cup.

“The tournament has been amazing for the game, girls who have never seen rugby before can now view the game in a different light. Girls can now relate to the game; they can see females of all different sizes enjoying and succeeding in rugby.

“The sustainability element is all down to talking about the game, inviting girls to festivals, encouraging them to try rugby in its simplest form and building up to becoming a regular player.

“Friendship groups can have such a positive impact because when people can see their friends are playing, or their cousins or neighbours, it all helps to showcase the sport. People talking about rugby brings a spiral of participation. Girls will talk about their experiences and if they enjoy a rugby festival, they will tell their friends.

“As for the Paignton senior team, we have just won promotion to NC2 and our ambition is to just keep it going, stay in the division or even aspire to go up another level.”