An England Rugby Union star is set to support a Cumbrian grassroots club close to where she grew up.
Abbie Ward, who plays in the lock position for Bristol Bears and England, was born in Dumfries but spent much of her childhood in Keswick, representing Keswick School.
The 30-year-old made her England debut in 2015 and has been a regular in the international side ever since.
It has been confirmed that, as past of a new programme launched by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), which sees Red Roses giving back to the grassroots game, Ward will be supporting Cumbria’s Keswick Rugby Club.
On Facebook, Keswick Rugby Club wrote: “We’re delighted to announce that Abbie Ward will be supporting our club.
“The programme is part of a wider effort to continue the strong growth of the women’s and girls’ game and will be an exciting time for our club in the build up to the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“Abbie being from Keswick and first playing rugby here has kept a relationship to the town and club as she has built her career in rugby!
“We look forward to welcoming Abbie to our club!”
The facility investment fund will pour around £7 million into grassroots rugby clubs to improve toilets, upgrade changing rooms and create female-friendly social spaces between now and 2027.
The fund, which is part of the Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact programme that seeks to significantly grow the women and girls’ game, will also see the RFU offer a dedicated funding stream for sanitary provision and female-friendly toilets for the first time.
The Rugby World Cup is set to be held between August 22 and September 27, 2025 in eight venues across England including Manchester, Brighton and Exeter, with 32 games featuring 16 different nations to look forward to.
Ward helped England to win the Six Nations back in 2019 and was a key member of the Red Roses side that finished as runners-up at the 2021 Rugby World Cup, and she will be hoping to go one step further when England host the tournament next year.
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