On the 5th November 2024, representatives of the University of York’s Women’s Rugby Union team were invited alongside York Sport and the York Sport Union to take part in one of the ‘Welcome Events’ staged across England as part of the build up to the Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC) coming this Summer.
Club Secretary Charlotte Woolley gave Vision Sport an exclusive insight into meeting Red Roses legend Maggie Alphonsi and Gladiator Jodie Ounsley (from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire) on the day. She told us about how excited UYWRUFC are for the World Cup, and gave us an insight on their season.
The University’s Women’s Rugby Teams have consistently been one of the top performing sides of the York Sport Union since 2020. In 2022, the club as a whole were Highly Commended for Club of the Year and their First XV won Team of the Year. Their Roses record is very impressive: away in Lancaster last year the Thirds drew, the Seconds only lost by two points and the Firsts’ 5-17 victory was one of the few highlights York Sport Union could take away from an overall Roses rout. The year before in 2023 they won both Roses fixtures. Furthermore, the Firsts play in BUCS Northern 1, the second division of university rugby, whereas the Men’s Firsts play in Northern Tier 3. When the University boasts so few teams that are anywhere near the Top Divisions of BUCS across all its sports, no wonder the York Sport Union is always keen to put the Women’s Rugby union club front and centre.
Something else which is really important to note in terms of York’s important place in the history books of English women’s rugby is that the UYWRUFC was also one of the 12 founding clubs of the Women’s Rugby Football Union in 1983. Women’s rugby has a rich history and legacy at the University of York and it’s pleasing to see that recognised by the organisers of WRWC 2025 in inviting the club to the World Cup welcome event back in November 2024.
Reflecting on that day in semester one, club secretary Woolley told Vision of how meeting former Red Rose and TV pundit Maggie Alphonsi and Jodie Ounsley “was an incredible experience.” Going further into detail, Woolley spoke of how when meeting both women on the boat, players from the club “were all a bit starstruck”.
However, after quickly chatting to the two rugby stars, Woolley noted how both Alphonsi and Ounsley “were very friendly and gave us lots of time and attention to ask them anything we wanted to know about the World Cup or about the Red Roses in general. They took part in interviews with some of our members and humoured us with as many pictures as we could wish for.”
Woolley was then asked about the events of the day itself that culminated in the photos on the river cruise boat. Woolley said that before arriving at the River Ouse, the representatives of UYWRUFC met with rugby players from other local clubs in and around York before also talking with the journalists that had been invited to the press event, as well as head of York Sport Keith Morris and York SU Sports Officer Tanisha Jain.
Asked about how the club felt about the World Cup coming right here in York, Woolley told York Vision how “Everyone is very excited that the World Cup will be coming to York. Many of us have already booked our tickets and cannot wait to see our favourite players playing on familiar ground. Anyone that plays Women’s Rugby is passionate about the growth of the sport, so the World Cup being local to us is an incredible opportunity to advertise just how amazing this sport is.”
Asked if she believed that having six games here in York would have a positive impact on women’s rugby, Woolley said the club were hopeful “that the tournament will have a massive growth effect on the number of people that look to join the sport in the coming year. The University has so many opportunities for women in rugby however the uptake isn’t always there since people don’t know if this sport is for them.”
Whilst the UYWRUFC is one of the university’s top teams, the collegiate women’s rugby system is very much in its infancy, with it being touch rugby not full-contact, not all colleges having a team and some of the colleges that do have a women’s side struggling for consistent numbers year-to-year.
Reflecting more closely on the UYWRUFC itself, Woolley is confident that the World Cup in York (and across England on mainstream television) will create “a real opportunity to raise numbers in the club next year. As a club we are constantly looking for new players and each year we get closer and closer to having a full 3XV team but are yet to fully reach this goal. With events like the World Cup, this is starting to look like a more likely goal for us.”
A big post-World Cup player recruitment boost could prove timely for the club, as they have struggled in BUCS this season. Woolley admitted: “We have had a tough BUCS season so far this year. From the get go, both of our teams have been hit by multiple unfortunate injuries which has forced us to pull players from our 3XV to our 2XV and from our 2XV to our 1XV. We have also struggled by losing some incredible players to graduation last year. Both teams have worked so hard this year despite external circumstances and it is undeniable that they have both improved massively since September.”
Despite being one of the University’s top performing teams, Woolley was also keen to stress the club’s commitment to enjoyment over a win-at-all costs attitude, noting how “UYWRUFC also has a unique ability to keep a positive attitude despite any scoreline; we are constantly having fun whilst playing the sport we love.”
Although England are not playing any games in York in the World Cup, the Red Roses are kicking off their Six Nations campaign in York next Sunday at 3pm against Italy Women. Woolley said there will be a strong UYWRUFC contingent at the game: “our treasurer Evie Potter organised us all tickets to go see the game together. She made sure to contact the stadium before the tickets were released so that we could buy enough all at once to squeeze us all in together. We are very excited to have this opportunity as a club and to share the exciting experience of seeing the Red Roses in York together.
With players like Yorkshire’s own Ellie Kildunne and Jess Breach bringing up the profile of the sport through their podcast and social media, having them come to York is such a cool opportunity for us as a women’s rugby club to grow our profile and to enjoy the sport ourselves outside of just playing.”
Tickets for the Red Roses versus Italy are still available. Kick-off is at LNER Community Stadium York at 3pm and the game will be broadcast live on BBC Two.