England Rugby Player, Shaunagh Brown, has thrilled Upper Eden's women's rugby team by sending them a special shout out on social media. It comes after the team praised Brown on social media for being a role model for women in sport, and amplifying the message of racial diversity in rugby. In an interview with the Telegraph this week, Brown said "If me, being mixed race, female and having my hair out, makes girls want to have a go at rugby, then job done".
The 30 year old Prop who represents Harlequins Women, alongside Cumbrian and fellow England player Abbie Scott, is also one of the faces currently featured in the launch of the new England home and away kit, designed by Umbro.
The launch of the new kit by Umbro has been widely praised in the media for the use of real female rugby players, after Canterbury were slammed for using models to launch Ireland's first female replica kit.
A qualified firefighter who only started playing rugby aged 25, Shaunagh made her England debut against Canada in 2017, alongside Abbie Scott, going on to receive a full-time contract in 2019 and came on as a replacement in every game of the 2019 Women’s Six Nations. Injury ruled her out of the 2019 Super Series but she returned for the start of 2019/20 where she was awarded a full-time contract and has featured in all 2019/20 matches to date.
The Upper Eden Eagles hope that the increasing visibility of women in sport and the amplification of influential female voices such as Brown‘s, will encourage more women and girls to try rugby, and are encouraging anyone who is interested in training to get in touch via their social media pages, or by contacting Recruitment Officer, Katy Strong - katystrong123@hotmail.co.uk.
