'England captain Aldcroft made me feel like rugby was my thing'

Beth, 13, said she hoped to be as good as England captain Zoe Aldcroft one day

Ahead of England's Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Scotland, players and coaches at Red Roses captain Zoe Aldcroft's former club have spoken about her impact on the grassroots game.

When Zoe Aldcroft made her debut for England in 2016 she became only the second player from Scarborough RUFC to win an international cap in its near 100-year history.

Fast forward to 2025 and 58 games later the 28-year-old is set to lead out her country at Ashton Gate in Bristol as they bid to book a place in the semi-finals.

A win for England would also mark their 31st consecutive victory, breaking their own previous 30-match record set in 2022.

Back in her home town, Scarborough RUFC's latest crop of young hopefuls say Aldrcroft's success with the national side is the reason many of them took up the game.

Beth, 13, joined the club when her brother took up the sport and described Aldcroft as her role model.

Following a recent visit to the club, she said: "She came to Scarborough and she saw us all and it just made it feel like rugby was my thing.

"It makes me want to carry on and be as good as her."

Ellis, 12, said she had started playing rugby after feeling like she "didn't fit in" with other sports.

Now she hopes she could "possibly" be the next Zoe Aldcroft.

"Zoe is a real inspiration. She's a normal girl from Scarborough," she said.

"She played at this club and it's just really nice to see her leading the England team onto the pitch."

Ellis, 12, described Aldcroft as a "real inspiration"

Lola, 10 said she too had dreams of reaching the same heights as her "role model".

"She started out like me, just watching rugby," she said.

"Then she's gone to go play it. She's carried on playing even if she had to go to a different club, so she could keep doing her dream.

"She's gone from that to being England's captain and it just makes me think I could be like her one day."

Sophie, who joined the club after she "got bored of watching her brother play", also wants to follow in Aldcroft's footsteps and play for the Red Roses.

"I love Zoe so much. We just got a puppy and named her Zoe, after her," she said.

"We went to watch the opening game of the tournament and told her and showed her a picture."

Coach Steve Trotter says Aldcroft often visits her old club

According to Steve Trotter, one of the coaches at Scarborough RUFC, Aldcroft's legacy is "massively important" to the club.

"She still respects where she came from. She's really great with the girls, even when you go and watch she always takes that time to speak to them. She's a fabulous ambassador," he said.

"The numbers are still growing and the sport's still growing. We're very fortunate, we have got a great group of girls here."

He said Aldcroft often visited the club and that it "has a massive impact on the girls".

England captain Aldcroft joined Scarborough RUFC aged nine

Fellow coach Kelly Trotter said she was "incredibly proud" of Aldcroft's achievements.

"It gives our girls such a belief that they also can achieve their dreams," she said.

"It's phenomenal how far women's rugby has come from when Zoe started.

"It's just grown and grown and to see the level of support from so many people for women's rugby is just fantastic."

Aldcroft has previously spoken of her love for her home town and the joy to be taken from playing rugby.

"You can make so many friends playing it and you connect with so many different people who you would never probably have thought you'd connect with before," she said.

"I absolutely love being from Scarborough and I've had so much backing from the club and from the community in Scarborough as well.

"I love going back when I get the chance to."

She has also spoken of her desire to help raise the profile of the women's game and the impact of the current competition.

"There's been such an increase in audience and ticket sales since the last world cup," she said.

"We, the Red Roses, have built on that over the last few years, getting the stadiums that we're playing in filled and creating the momentum, but also connecting with fans at the end of games through our social media, showing our personalities.

In a message to the young players at Scarborough RUFC looking to follow in her footsteps she said: "You've got to enjoy it to carry on, but throw yourself fully in there and immerse yourself into rugby."

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