Girls aged 10 to 17 were given the opportunity to try rugby for the first time or develop their skills at a girls only Harlequins Foundation Switch camp at Wimbledon RFC.

Switch is the Harlequins Foundation’s flagship girls’ programme, which aims to introduce more girls to rugby and encourage higher levels of sports participation.

Harlequins Ladies player and England international Abbie Scott was on hand to coach the girls, telling the Richmond and Twickenham Times: “At the camp, it’s about skill development, having fun and learning to play.

“It’s about providing an opportunity for girls to try out rugby and after that we can get the girls affiliated with clubs and training on a weekly basis, or as much as they can, to increase the growth of women’s rugby.”

“I think I’d encourage any young female to be involved in as much sport as possible. It’s great that they now have access to rugby and that’s not something that I necessarily had when I was their age.

“You see a whole new generation of players coming through now, with the likes of Jess Breach and Ellie Green. They’ve grown up around rugby and you can see that, they have so much more natural game awareness.”

Last season, Harlequins engaged with 1,200 girls through the Switch sessions, and since April 2018, over 800 new participants have attended Switch summer taster sessions.

Abbie said preparations were going well in the Ladies team ahead of the next season.

“We’ve got loads of new players down at Quins, this squad is going to be really tough to get into and to stay in.

“The whole team is working really hard and there’s a buzz and excitement around the new season. At the minute it’s all about grafting but I’m sure people are looking forward to getting into games.”

“It’s hugely important for us to build on the success of last year. There’s lots of things that we think we can push on, or things that we can correct or rework as a team and as a squad.

“We had a pretty successful season last year but it’s about what we did well and what we can do better, also the things that we didn’t do so well. Working out how we change those things and how we can be even more successful this season.”

The Twickenham Stoop provides one of the best matchday experiences in English club rugby, with fun for all the family to enjoy. Guarantee your seat to all regular season home matches with a 2018/19 Harlequins Membership. To find out more about purchasing, call 020 8410 6010 or visit tickets.quins.co.uk