Athboy women set for new competition

RUGBY

Players representing Athboy Rugby League Football Club will have an opportunity to make a piece of sporting history when they take part in the first Rugby League Ireland (RLI) Women's Championship.

The RLI announced the launch of the championship to mark International Women's Day on Monday 8th March and the competition will involve four clubs from across Ireland vying with each other to become the inaugural All-Ireland champions.

The new domestic competition will involve players from Athboy, the Barrowcudas rugby league team from Carlow as well as the Dublin City Exiles and the Galway Tribeswomen.

It was also announced that the Irish Women's Rugby League representative team will compete internationally in the European and World Cup competition - and the aim is that trials and selections will be completed before the end of the year.

"I personally am absolutely delighted to make this announcement on this International Women’s Day," said Independent RLI Director and board memeber Sive Neary.

"Having a women’s game represents a major step forward for Rugby League in Ireland and is the first move in our quest to be a fully inclusive sport with more developments in the pipeline.

"We want to be the sport that can offer every person in the country the opportunity to participate in a fun activity no matter their gender, age, or physical ability and all with pathways to International competition."

Women's rugby league is an established sport in countries such as Australia, Britain and New Zealand.

At international level teams from these countries compete for supremacy in the Women's Rugby League World Cup which has been held at a regular intervals since it was established in 2000.

Other countries where the sport is showing signs of developing include the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Brazil.

MORE DETAILS

For more information on how to become involved in the RLI Women's Championship, or rugby league in general, contact by email: info@rli.ie.