Ex England rugby captain coaches village girls team

Jo Yapp captained the Red Roses in 2006, and coached the Australia side at the recent World Cup

A former England Red Roses captain has returned to the village she grew up in to coach the local girls rugby team.

Jo Yapp has recently returned from coaching the Australia national team, which were knocked out of the 2025 Rugby World Cup in the quarter finals by Canada.

She is now passing on her skills to the next generation of rugby stars, starting with the girls' squads at Clee Hill RUFC in the Shropshire Hills.

Coaching there is "really special," Yapp said, adding that it "reminds you of why you started to play this game in the first place."

Yapp, who also played for and coached Worcester Warriors Women, competed in three world cups, captaining the side in 2006.

The ex scrum-half has been tipped to be a "strong contender" to be the next England women's coach by BBC pundit and former team-mate Maggie Alphonsi.

When asked what's next, Yapp said she was looking to "mentor other coaches" as well as "looking at other opportunities".

Coaching the girls' squads in Clee Hill, though, "keeps everything in perspective," she said.

Eden and Jess said Yapp's coaching made a career in rugby feel more achievable

Despite minus temperatures in the Shropshire Hills, the wintery weather does not stop the squads from training.

"I think it motivates us because it makes us think we could be as good as the women that she has coached," Jess, 14, said.

13-year-old Eden added that "it's really inspiring seeing how [good] she is of a coach."

"It's just amazing."

Esme and Megan said they were seeing more girls coming along to training in recent years

In 2021, England Rugby launched their Every Rose action plan for women and girls in rugby to raise the sport's profile.

Since then, the organisation has said participation has "surged" - with the number of female players rising by 38% and more than 500 clubs now offering women and girls rugby.

"We're getting more numbers at training, and we're able to do sessions where we play games," said 14-year-old Megan.

Esme, 13, said previously finding 15 players to make up a team had been tough, but "now we have 20, 23 players so it's really good".

Sarah Hulland said the support from Yapp was "just amazing" for the team

Sarah Hulland's daughter takes part in the under-14 squad and comes from a "rugby-mad" family.

"At the age of nine she decided she was going to have a crack - and now she's probably more besotted with it than [her brother]," Mrs Hulland said.

"The support that Jo gives to the girls, and the fact that she wants to come back, is just amazing and the opportunity it gives to the girls is great."

Jessica Wise believed there were more girls joining the club, inspired by England's Red Roses

Jessica Wise is Clee Hill RUFC's manager for the U12, U14, and U16 girls' teams.

She said having Yapp coaching had been "so inspirational for the girls," adding that it was "one of the reasons why my daughter started rugby".

Ms Wise added that the Red Roses' World Cup victory had been encouraging more girls to try out the sport.

"You can see now there's more interest [in rugby] for girls - as there should be."