Scarborough Pirates all set to launch a new ladies team for the 2021 season

And one of their new players, Katie Brookman, has admitted her excitement as the new side begins to take shape.

With a head coach and ground secured, there has been a growing interest over the last few weeks and Brookman is delighted.

“We set up an event on Facebook and the interest has been great, with around 30 girls saying that they would be interested,” she told The Scarborough News.

“I’ve been wanting to set up a team for ages but it’s been really hard and the nearest I could have played would have been York, which isn’t a possibility for me.

“I asked some of my friends, who play rugby union, if they would join and since then it’s gained attention from past players and new players.”

Brookman believes that the growth of the ladies’ rugby union side has led to more players wanting to be involved.

“Obviously, union is played throughout the winter and league is played through the summer and I’m planning on playing both,” she added.

“I know that some of the other girls will join me and play both which is great for the sides.”

A keen enthusiast of both codes, Brookman has seen the side tackle the coronavirus pandemic in a positive manner by setting up weekly challenges to motivate the players.

She added: “We’ve made a group chat and ensured that we are all motivating each other and setting challenges to keep up our fitness levels.

“Having two rugby sides in Scarborough is important and to have such a massive interest in this league team it’s something that we should be really proud of.

“I’m hoping that the new side will encourage players to healthy and fitter and of course it’ll be a great time to spend with each other.

“Rugby is a physical sport and being a part of a team is unique and it’s a great environment”