A local rugby club's women's division held their first match this past week.

The women's team at Penrith RUFC competed against Upper Eden who are a strong well established side.

The team were all delighted to have completed their first match and are looking forward to upcoming games.

Hannah Craig, the Social Media and Marketing official for the club and player for the team said: "The club was set up in August 2020 by Head Coach Craig Tyson and this is the second time that Penrith have had a women's team.

"The attendance for training started growing rapidly and at least twenty five people now attend each week."

The team train every Monday and have recently started contact training.

The team are not yet in a league and are looking to play several more friendly games until they become a more developed side.

Hannah told us that this will help to grow the team's independence and confidence as they gain more sporting experience.

The score was a small blow for the side at 49-0 to Upper Eden however we were told that they were over the moon to have managed to play.

Because of the pandemic they have had less than twelve months training and some of the players are brand new to rugby.

Hannah said that taking part in the game was an achievement in itself.

All of the team are very excited for their upcoming game.

There they will face off against Barnard Castle on 12th September which they are hoping should be a more even game.

Mrs Craig said: "We need to learn and progress because we have lots of potential.

"It's really exciting to see where we'll be in a years time and we're hoping to join a league."

"It was good to see that we held our own against an experienced team like Upper Eden."

The team train every Monday from 7:00-8:30pm and they have said that new players are welcome to join.

On one Friday of every month the team have a social so that they can get to know one another a bit more and familiarise themselves with the club.