For members of Tynedale Panthers, the girls’ section at Tynedale Rugby Club, were chosen to welcome England and South Africa to the world famous stadium ahead of their autumn international.
The Corbridge girls were chosen as one of the first Old Mutual Wealth Kid’s First Champions to feature in an England international for the work it does promoting the sport to children aged between six and 13.
Girls rugby is flourishing at Tynedale and the club now has full teams at U13 and U15 levels, and is close to getting enough numbers for an U18 side.
Nick Oliver was one of four coaches to accompany the 16 players down to Twickenham. He said: “It was an absolutely fantastic day, and a one-off experience which will never happen again. It was simply unbelievable.
“The atmosphere and the noise at the stadium was fantastic, and I expected it to be a brilliant day but it was even better than I imagined.
“It has been a joint effort and we have a good coaching team, and the numbers have risen dramatically in the club.
“Getting the chance to go to Twickenham is about as good as it gets, and to be on the pitch in front of the players while the anthems were sung is a moment the girls will never forget. Such a special day is reward for their efforts, but it will hopefully provide inspiration for other people to come and give rugby a go and see what it’s like.”
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