Gloucester-Hartpury Women

About the team:

It was in the summer of 2014 that the Gloucester-Hartpury Womens side came into existence and they have made rapid strides ever since.

It was at that point that then Hartpury College Director of Sport Phil de Glanville, in conjunction with Gloucester Rugby, put the squad together and very shrewdly appointed England Legend Susie Appleby as Head Coach.

In their first season, the team were only allowed to play friendly fixtures while the RFU determined what level they should enter the league at. However, that didn’t stop the squad winning silverware as they lifted the Women’s National Junior Cup.

Having finished in second spot in National Championship Midlands Two in their first season in that league, the ultimate ambition was to compete in the Women’s Premiership and that became a reality with the announcement on February 28th 2017, when the club was confirmed as competing in the Tyrrells Premier 15s from September 2017 onwards.

And that first season in the top flight proved to be a memorable one, as the team finished in fourth place in the table and qualified for the end of season play-offs.

The likes of Sarah Bern, Ellie Kildunne and Kelly Smith represented England in the Six Nations while Rebecca de Filippo, Cerys Hales, Hannah Jones and Beth Lewis played for Wales. Megan Goddard was also part of rugby history when she played for the first Barbarians Women’s side.

The team have now played several matches at Kingsholm, usually following Gloucester Rugby fixtures and therefore playing in front of some enthusiastic support. The most recent was a thrilling win over Harlequins Ladies.

The team is always on the search for new players of any skill level to join them and recently launched an U18s section.

Gloucester-Hartpury Head Coach, Susie Appleby said:

“Our senior club is blossoming and this is the natural progression for us to start a youth section, particularly as we’ve had lots of interest from younger players and girls turning up at training really keen to play for us.

“The plan, which has the support of the Rugby Football Union, is to start up a team that can be competitive at Under-18s level but we will also nurture and develop these players with the long term aim of them becoming a strong base for our senior side.”

So why not come along to a training session and see if you could have a big future with Gloucester-Hartpury?

You’ll have access to excellent facilities and coaching from former England international, Susie Appleby, as well as playing and training kit and strength and conditioning and nutrition advice in an elite sports environment.

If you are interesting in being part of this successful and ambitious team, simply come along to one of our training sessions on Tuesday and Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm at Hartpury College, Hartpury, Gloucester, GL19 3BE.

Or for more information, send an e-mail to [email protected]