 Ava says, 'I wasn't nervous about being the only girl or about tackling the boys. I got shouldered in the face once and had a black eye, but I was brave because it was a war wound. It didn't put me off playing at all. Playing rugby makes me feel good and scoring is brilliant!' Now that the season has ended, Ava has asked her mum to find her a rugby union team as she misses playing. Natalie, 31, adds, 'When you see your child click with a sport and enjoy being part of a team, it's a great feeling. And when it inspires other girls to try a new way of keeping active, that's even better.'){kind=link}
The tough physical side of rugby was not Natalie Rowley’s main concern about her daughter Ava joining her local team. It was the fact that she was the sole girl
“I thought Ava might be excluded,” says Natalie. “But she quickly made new friends. “She loved rugby from her first session. All her cousins are boys and she plays rugby with them, so she took it all in her stride. “I now tell her she makes me so proud because other local girls see her play and want to join in.”
Ava, now eight, joined Lowca Rugby League Club in Cumbria 18 months ago. Her dad William used to play for the team and, thanks to National Lottery players, it received grants for a grass cutting machine and stairlift. It’s also thanks to players that The National Lottery â which has long been a supporter of rugby league â will pump a further £9.3million into the sport over the next five years.
Ava trains for an hour midweek, and during rugby festivals she plays up to five matches a day. She’s even won “man of the match” awards.
Ava says, “I wasn’t nervous about being the only girl or about tackling the boys. I got shouldered in the face once and had a black eye, but I was brave because it was a war wound. It didn’t put me off playing at all. Playing rugby makes me feel good and scoring is brilliant!”