Last season Ely Tigers rugby club started a girls’ section - the Ely Tigresses. We want this to go from strength to strength each year. The new season is starting, come and join us.

We want to make sure the opportunity to play rugby locally is available to girls and women in Ely and the surrounding area.

The women’s professional game has seen enormous success at both premier 15s level and internationally.

As a consequence of this, women’s and girls’ rugby have become the fastest growing team sports in recent years.

Since 2013 the number of women and girls enjoying contact rugby in England has increased by over 10,000.

At the time of the 1991 Women’s Rugby World Cup there were around 35 English clubs with women’s sides, compared with over 300 rugby clubs hosting women’s and girls’ teams in 2017.

Our long term goal is to have a thriving, sustainable and competitive women’s section at Ely RUFC.

The Ely Tigresses train every Tuesday from 6.30-8pm and cater for girls aged 11 to 18.

All the girls need to bring is themselves (and any friends who want to have a go too), a water bottle, warm layers, studded boots, a hair tie and a fitted gum shield.

Our coaching team consists of Simon Cross, Simon Edwards and Charlotte Pindar.

As the girls’ section grows, we are recruiting for new volunteer coaches to add to our team.

So if you are reading this and are an experienced coach, looking for a new challenge and to work with a burgeoning girls’ section, please contact our girls’ chairwoman Charlotte or our director of rugby, Adrian Storey.

We had a brilliant turnout for our very first session last season and regularly saw more than 25 girls from schools all over Cambridgeshire.

This season we want to expand upon our excellent start and to have even greater numbers of players enjoying rugby.

We have played three fixtures so far in partnership with Diss RUFC. We’d love to build on that and give our Tigresses more chances to represent their club.

For over 16s, touch rugby is organised on Monday evenings from 7.30-9pm and is open to both women and men.

If you are interested in joining the Ely Tigresses email Charlotte Pindar, girls’ chairwomen, via elytigresses@gmail.com or turn up on Tuesday evenings from 6.30-8pm.