Redcar Rugby Club hoping for uptake in women and girls due to World Cup
The Stadium of Light is hosting England vs USA tonight
A rugby club in Teesside is hoping for an uptake in women and girls taking part in the sport.
It's as the world cup kicks off tonight at the Stadium of Light where England's Red Roses face off against the USA.
Dani Gavigan is a player of the Redcar Sirens Womens Rugby Team and she said: "Well it's not only fantastic for the country, it's really good for the region. Obviously Redcar we're kind of sitting in the middle; we've got Sunderland only an hour away and we've got York an hour away. It's just going to bring so much more revenue into the North East, it's creating a really good buzz around the area.
"There's so much that we need to keep pushing forward. In the past couple of years, we've came on leaps and bounds, rugby's more popular, more girls are engaging in the sport and more people are thinking they can try and do it. I think a lot of that is probably helped by the buzz around social media. A lot of the English girls are catching on to that.
"Kids have someone to look someone to up to, kids have role models and that's the main reason why I ended up in Redcar Rugby Club. I was asked to come along, coach and be a role model for the younger girls because there was nobody in the area that was actively playing rugby at the time and here I am four years later.
"If you're thinking about playing, that's the first step. Come down and try out sessions no matter where you are, everyone's really friendly, everyone's supportive and it doesn't matter what shape or size you are, there's a position for everybody. If you don't want to engage in playing, there's always a position in volunteering and helping out.
"It's really good to see that we're really trying to engage the wider community. Rugby for me isn't just a sport, it's a family, it's my community. From moving here I didn't really know many people and setting up the Redcar Sirens, which is the ladies team, that's created my community and my community is around me.
"It doesn't matter what way you're engaged in the sport, you don't have to be a player, you can be a volunteer or a supporter. It's just so good to feel like you're part of something and hopefully with the world cup running in this region, more and more people become more engaged and interested."