IVYBRIDGE Rugby Football Club Women’s captain, Rachel Miller, relished the once in a lifetime opportunity to lead out her team at the home of English rugby as part of the Rugby Football Union’s Twickenham Takeover last week.

Her Ivybridge team was one of eight sides selected to play at Twickenham for the Play Together Stay Together campaign. They were chosen by an independent panel for their hard work in establishing player pathways which support young stars on their journey from the colts’ game through to adult rugby. 

Miller, 31, admitted she and her teammates were initially starstruck at spending time in a stadium where many greats of the game had previously brushed shoulders. 

“We are really far away from Twickenham so we do not get to come up here often,” said Short, who is also a club developer for the Rugby Football Union. “For the players coming through to have an experience like this is incredible. 

“We were in the home changing rooms, so there was a lot of wonder and awe when we were walking around. A lot of players will not have played in front of this many people, and probably will never get to again. It is a very special day.”

Ivybridge team manager, Caitlin Short, 32, was particularly impressed by the organisation of the event and the opportunities given to the players which made the day just that little more special for the club. 

“It was a really nice touch to get the teams to run out of the tunnel at the start of every match,” she said. “It could have been really half hearted, but it was not at all. We got the full experience, which was really nice.”

Ivybridge RFC earned their spot at the Twickenham Takeover for setting up a successful pathway structure which helps their junior players progress up to their senior squads. 

To achieve this, Ivybridge organise training sessions that are open to all at the club and give the under 18s the chance to take part in the senior team warm up. 

Additionally, in the summer, the club hosts an event which sees age grade teams play a fixture before the senior women feature in the Grace McCaulky Cup. 

“We are really fortunate that we have age groups from under 12s to under 18s,” said Miller. “We have the under 18 girls warm up with us every single session and they do the skill drills with us so they can learn our names, we can integrate with them and when they make the jump to the senior squad, it is not such a big step. 

“We are looking at starting a development team next year so that, regardless of what level you are, there will be an opportunity to play.”

Play Together Stay Together is an England Rugby campaign to encourage people to get back into rugby. Want to get back to the action? Find your local rugby club using findrugby.com.