RICHMOND STUDENTS SELECTED FOR RUGBY 7S AT UNITED WORLD GAMES, AUSTRIA
Three Richmond School students have been selected to play for the North East Eggchasers Rugby Sevens Academy at the United World Games in Austria, in June this year.
Sophie Morris, Year 11 student, as well as Felicity Padgett and Amelia Westman, both Year 8 students have gained places in the prestigious North East Eggchasers Rugby Sevens Academy via their clubs – Richmondshire RUFC for Sophie and Darlington Mowden Park RFC for Felicity and Amelia. The Academy have entered teams in the United World Games in Austria in June – now it’s all about training and fundraising, preparing for what is likely to be the trip of a lifetime!
This article focuses on Sophie – Felicity and Amelia will feature in a future piece – watch this space!
Kelly, Sophie’s mum, gives us some background about Sophie’s rugby and her trip to Austria:
Sophie trialed for the Eggchasers in November and was successful in gaining a spot in their North East Academy. She has then been selected to represent them in the United World Games in Austria in June 2025 – literally just as her GCSE exams finish!
Sophie started playing rugby aged 10 for the boys team at Richmondshire rugby club, as there were no local girls clubs available. Once she hit U12 she had to leave the boys set up, so Sophie’s and another girl’s dad launched the first girls team at Richmondshire Rugby Club. Sophie had played there ever since.
She’s had to get through many injuries and illnesses and often had a huge confidence battle within herself for her ability to play rugby. However, given the fact she has been successful in her recent trials and selection for the Academy, it really shows her dedication to the sport she loves.
Rugby 7s compared to Rugby 15s – which she plays at Richmond – is a new dynamic to Sophie. Her main focus leading up to the World Games in June is to work on her fitness and understanding of this new game, fueling her physical and mental ability. This should put her in a great place to head out to Austria.
Going to Austria will be a huge challenge but also amazing for her progression. It comes at quite a large cost, however. We are looking for any sponsorship from local businesses or donations which will help towards her fundraising goal to support her in Austria. Her GoFundMe page has brought in a few donations so far which has been amazing, but Sophie is still a little bit short.
Her GoFundMe page is at the link below – any donations would be very gratefully received!
We look forward to hearing about Sophie’s progress leading up to the United World Games in June and, of course, about the games themselves.
As mentioned earlier in the article, watch this space for more about Felicity and Amelia’s stories.