Harlequins Ladies want to break the world-record attendance for a women’s club rugby match at The Stoop this Saturday.
With International Women’s Day on Thursday March 8, Quins have scheduled their derby game with Richmond to coincide with the event, which is the first time the ladies will host their own version of the men’s ‘Big Game.’
Quins have shown commitment to growing the women’s game and LGBT rights in general, and the head of the Harlequins Foundation, Marc Leckie, has reasserted his aims in promoting the sport.
With the game tickets included in the 2017/2018 membership and priced at just £10 for adults and £5 for juniors, there is hope this help to break the current record of 1,500 set by Bristol ladies’ against Gloucester-Hartpury earlier this season.
Leckie said: “We take great pride that we are pushing these initiatives and we want to be at the vanguard of the development of women’s rugby.
“Hosting the fixture against Richmond Ladies is a call to action to challenge people and say, “Can we use women’s rugby to improve society and make this a more gender-equal world?”
Back-row Shaunagh Brown has enjoyed a meteoric rise from finishing 11th in the hammer throw at the 2014 Commonwealth games to taking up rugby and representing her country.
Her story is a microcosm of the aims of the Foundation whose aim is to boost participation and inclusivity in rugby across the board.
Quins are one point behind leaders Saracens in the Tyrells Premier 15s league, and Brown is relishing the chance to make history.
She said: “We’ve done The Stoop proud so far but come March 10 we want to set a world record for attendance to a women’s club game.
“It just shows how much Harlequins is behind us. We want to make the Club proud and everyone is looking forward to it.”
Winger Holly Jayne Myers is taking up the mantle set by her club and works as an inclusion officer for both Surrey Storm netball, and Surrey Scorchers basketball.
Her and her teammates commitment to boost participation and inclusivity in sport, whilst generally having to hold down jobs to pay the bills, is testament to the top-to-bottom philosophy of the club.
She, and her teammates, are all aware of the importance of the Big Game 10 for the ongoing efforts to make rugby a sport for everyone, and a trailblazer for other sports to learn from and change.
She said: “I’m really looking forward to running out at The Stoop which we don’t get to do every week.
“It makes it a really special occasion and the support Harlequins has put in is fantastic, not just for Harlequins Ladies but for women’s rugby as a whole.”
