Former Red Rose 'so emotional' at World Cup win

Helen Durman made her England debut in the first Red Roses match at Twickenham back in February 2003

A former England women's rugby player said the success of the Women's Rugby World Cup made her "so emotional".

Hosts England defeated Canada 33-13 at Twickenham in front of 82,000 fans on Saturday - a record for a women's match - to lift the trophy for a third time.

Helen Durman, from Northampton, made her England debut in front of a " couple thousand people" at the same venue in February 2003.

She said the contrast in public interest in the women's game from then to now was "amazing" to see.

"We had a lot of challenges [as women's rugby players in 2003] and adversity that we had to fight. People didn't believe that we could do it," she said.

Durman told the BBC that the "power of women supporting women, just going out and showing we can do it" was fuel to inspire a new generation of girls to take up the sport.

With 5.8 million TV viewers for Saturday's final, the event made it the most-watched women's rugby union match ever on UK television.

Northampton Casuals said interest in people joining its women's team had grown as a result of the tournament

Local clubs will hope to capitalise on the surge in interest generated by the tournament, which saw six matches - including one Red Roses fixture - played at Northampton Saints' Franklin's Gardens Stadium.

Bedford Road-based Northampton Casuals said that its women's team, established last year, had seen its numbers "double if not triple" in recent weeks.

Carys Wellicome, captain of the women's team, said "We've probably retained 90% of our players, and keeping them on board is really important.

"The [England women] were insane and it's really helped us along with our recruitment."