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Passionate about Rugby - Alice and Hannah

Local players: Hannah and Alice are on the right of the Webb Ellis Cup

Introducing Alice

"I originally returned to Rugby, having played 7’s at college, when I came back to Brighton after graduating from university. I have always found that joining a sports team is a great way to meet like-minded, friendly people and having heard good things about Hove WRFC, I decided I wanted to try and play championship level Rugby. 

"Rugby has always been one of my favourite sports to play as it is both challenging and physically demanding, whilst requiring the utmost level of teamwork from one to 15.  It is these attributes of Rugby that motivated me to return to the sport having undergone shoulder surgery to ensure I would keep playing from years to come! 

"I love the fact that you can learn something new at every training session, overcome different challenges during every game, and having recently moved from playing Centres to Fly-half, the learning-curve never ends.
  


"Hosting part of the Rugby World Cup 2015 in Brighton & Hove, not only means the chance for the local Rugby community to be able to advertise the sport and its popularity within the area, but also for the players to feel a part of the largest and most prestigious celebration of Rugby. Personally, having never been to the Brighton Community Stadium before, it is going to be amazing to see international Rugby played within my home town." 

Introducing Hannah

"My initial introduction to Rugby was through my big sister who has been a keen Rugby player for most of her life. From a young age I was all about football, right up until my early twenties when my sister finally persuaded me to attend a training session for her beloved team Hove RFC. Since then I haven’t looked back, I’ve played two seasons with Hove, numerous Rugby tournaments and also attended London & South East Academy. 

"Having RWC2015 come to Brighton & Hove is really exciting. Having been to the Brighton Community Stadium quite a few times to watch Brighton & Hove Albion play, it will be even better going to watch the sport that I now play and love. This is a great opportunity for rugby in Brighton & Hove and also gives people that may not already follow or play Rugby the opportunity to learn about Rugby altogether!

"Bring on RWC2015 in B&H!"

Super Heroes

Spiderman, Princess Leia and Astro Boy join Brighton & Hove’s Rugby World Cup 2015 celebrations

By Paul Hudson

Blogger: Paul Hudson

Every Rugby World cup creates new Super Heroes for the sport and 2015 will be no different. Will it be Sam Burgess for England, Brian Habana for South Africa or Ma’a Nono for New Zealand? 

Whatever happens on the field, Brighton & Hove won’t be short of heroes next year as we are expecting hundreds of fantasy heroes to attend the celebrations on Madeira Drive

Cosplay – short for costumed play – has its roots in Japan but is now a huge international phenomenom.  Favorite sources include manga and anime, comic books, video games, and live-action films. 

Brighton Japan - Brighton’s annual festival of all things Japanese - will be returning in 2015 on the same weekend as Rugby World Cup 2015 begins and while Japan’s Rugby team is in the city for their match at the Brighton Community Stadium. With support from Brighton & Hove City Council, we will be linking with Brighton Japan to put on the first ever Cosplay Carnival.

Creative designs

Brighton Japan have pulled together a fantastic group of people and organisations to work on the project including Graham Churchyard, Costume Special Effects Supervisor on the Batman and Harry Potter movies and Paraiso School of Samba, winners of this year’s top award at the Notting Hill Carnival.

Imaginative displays

I’m delighted to be helping co-ordinate this amazing event and will be blogging about it over the next 10 months.

Why Cosplay I hear you say? Brighton & Hove is famous for trying out new ideas and for taking the quirky into the mainstream. The Body Shop and Virgin Records were founded here. The internationally acclaimed show Stomp started here. We are also a city that is known for tolerance and diversity and where you are free to be whoever you want to be. 

Where else but Brighton will you find celebrations for Rugby World Cup 2015 being led by Astro Boy, Princess Leia and Spider Man dancing to Samba beats from Rio?

Madeira Drive: Cosplay Carnival detination
Photo credit Adam Bronkhurst

Rugby for all ages

Pupils at Balfour Primary School are taking to the pitch with enthusiasm, training for tag rugby championships next year.

In 2013, the Balfour Lions battled through the local, regional and national heats to become National Tag Rugby Champions. In the 2014 competition, the team made it all the way through to the final before being beaten to the top spot on try difference by St Lawrence School from Shropshire.

This year’s young players are hoping to repeat the roaring success of previous teams from the school. The young players are now gearing up for local and county tag competitions.

Balfour pupils on the pitch

Lee Stevenson, teaching assistant and rugby coach at Balfour Primary School, said: “The children are dedicated and keen to be the best they can be. We are extremely proud of our success nationally in the Tag Rugby Championships. Aside from the physical benefits of playing an active game, we feel the children really benefit from learning the core values associated with rugby, that is Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship.”

The Balfour Lions squad of 21 children, aged 9 to 11 years, is a mixed team of boys and girls. Tag Rugby has different rules from the traditional game and involves less physical contact making it more suitable for younger players.

Red and blue tags

Each player wears two plastic “tags”. If the player carrying the ball has one of their tags captured by an opponent, they have just three seconds to pass to a fellow team member or forfeit the ball. Tries are scored by crossing the try lines at either end of the pitch.

The game is a fast paced and fun version of rugby, requiring skill and determination to win. The non-contact speedy nature of the sport makes it suitable for both adults and children, and for boys and girls to play together. Tag rugby is the RFU’s official version of the game for under-7s and under-8s.

Keen to be part of the Rugby experience

Balfour Tag Rugby team will be writing about their experiences in future blog posts.