Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support grassroots women’s rugby.

We hosted a record breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup, it was a pleasure to attend 4 matches across the country and I congratulate the Red Roses on their well deserved victory. I would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation of the Rugby World Cup including the Chair of the Tournament Gill Whitaker and RFU President Deborah Griffin. Major events play an important role in inspiring people to get active.

Since last summer we’ve provided £6.7m into the tournament's legacy programme Impact 25 which is reaching 850 clubs and supporting women and girls to get involved in rugby.

This included Pontefract RUFC who I recently visited alongside the Foreign Secretary to see the work they are doing to get more women and girls playing Rugby.