A trio of promising Warriors Women players have been selected to progress to the England Talent Development Group.
Evelyn Clarke, Lilli Ives-Campion and Lily Giles, all homegrown, have made the cut after attending the four-day assessment camp at Whittington Barracks, Lichfield.
54 players from across the 10 Centres of Excellence and Tyrrells Premier 15s clubs were invited to attend, with 31 players getting selected.
The focus of the camps is to work on the fundamentals, positional and off pitch skills of the players to prepare them to progress to senior Red Rose level.
Clarke follows in the footsteps of her elder sisters Brooke and Cara, who have both represented Warriors Women and England Under-18s.
“The Centre of Excellence has helped develop my core skills like tackling and passing, and it’s exposed me to working with some of the best players in the region,” said Clarke.
“As a result, it has helped me learn a lot and has enabled me to improve my game. It’s also useful as the coaches encourage you to be the best player that you can be by suggesting ideas to you, but letting you work it out yourself.”
Meanwhile, second-row Ives-Campion was one of the youngest players to attend the Centre of Excellence. The former Telford Hornet, who has also been a member of the North Midlands county squad, has excelled over the past few months.
Giles, who has played the game since the age of 14, has been a key member of the Staffordshire county side having cut her rugby teeth in the front-row for Tamworth RFC. An attendee on the camp previously, Giles has been training with the Warriors Women first team to further her development.
Head of Women’s Development Benny Williams said: “I’m incredibly proud of the girls who have been selected for the Talent Development Group.
“It’s a massive kudos to the players, local clubs, county set-ups and the Centre of Excellence in developing these young players.
“We are very excited to see where these players can go in their rugby careers.”