Kingston Park debut for Thunder Women

Newcastle Thunder Women will play at Kingston Park for the first time this Sunday, July 30.

Thunder Women host Workington Town Ladies in the return leg of the two-game series as part of the soft launch for the Women’s Super League North competition.  

In the first leg Thunder Women fell to a 38-16 defeat at the newly named Fibrus Broadband Community Stadium in Workington but it wasn't without plenty of effort and fight.

The women’s side launched earlier this year and has been the product of some excellent work by the Newcastle Rugby Foundation. The charity arm of Newcastle Rugby Ltd have consistently provided programmes and pathways this season for women and girls in the region to take up the sport. 

The Futures Programme which was re-launched this year, is aimed at girls in Years 7,8,9 and 10 and has seen a massive uptake, another hugely positive step in the right direction for building the sport in the North East.

Coaching is overseen by Jason Grant with current North East based Leeds Rhinos Womens Players Sam Hulme and Zoe Hornby leading on delivery. 

Outside of the fixture against Workington Town, Thunder Women also took part in the Women’s Nines Festival in Warrington back in May.  

Excited about seeing the side take to the field at Kingston Park for the first time, Grant said: "The group is really excited about playing at Kingston Park for the first time. 

"Since the first game the team has increased it number of training sessions and, of course, has a much better feel for what to expect once the game kicks off.

"The team will take the positives from their second half performance at Workington and the positivity they have produced in training since then, and bring it into the game on Sunday. 

"There is a real buzz around the team for this game and to say they are excited is an understatement. The team have good numbers of family and friends coming to support which is adding to the build up."

If you’re interested in hearing more about Newcastle Thunder Women and how you can get involved with the Futures programme in particular, you can sign up HERE. 

Looking ahead to this weekend, kick-off for their first ever fixture at Kingston Park is at 12:30pm and entry is included with your Thunder men’s v Swinton Lions match ticket. 

If you wish to solely attend the Women’s fixture, tickets can be purchased through the Newcastle Rugby Foundation by emailing community@newcastle-thunder.co.uk.