Abi Drodge has big ambitions for the ladies’ section at Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club.

The 28-year-old player/coach is enjoying the opportunity to take the senior team forward in what is their first season of league rugby.

They are competing in the Inner Warrior Series South West – a starter league for new teams – but hope to be playing at the same level as the likes of Tewkesbury and Cheltenham North in the not-too-distant future.

This is Drodge’s second season as player/coach, and she said: “If we do well we’ll get into the Gloucestershire divisions, that’s the aim.

“We’ve got about 20-22 players and we’ve also got a thriving girls’ section, so there are a lot of players coming through.

“Eventually we’d like to have a 1^st XV and a 2^nd XV, the aim is to progress ladies’ rugby as much as possible.”

Drodge, who is playing fly-half this season, took up the game about five years ago and, unsurprisingly, is a big fan of the sport.

“It’s a physical sport and it can hurt but that’s what gets the adrenaline pumping,” she said.

“You’re close up and personal with your team-mates but that’s what brings you together. We look out for each other, it’s like one big family.”

And there is certainly a family feel at Stow where the senior ladies train alongside the junior girls.

“They train together from the age of 11,” explained Drodge, an ex-Cheltenham Tigers and Tewkesbury player. “If it’s contact we split them up, but they can all play touch rugby together. We’re all inclusive.

“Girls can play senior rugby when they’re 17 – it’s 18 in the front row – so when they are old enough it’s a natural step for them to take because they’ve been training with the adults for so long.”

Rugby is not for the faint-hearted, of course, as Drodge, who is also a keen eventer, knows only too well because she’s had two major shoulder operations since taking up the sport.

And Stow’s league campaign got off to the worst possible start because their game against Abingdon was abandoned after just a handful of minutes.

“One of their players suffered a really bad ankle injury. It was serious, the air ambulance came,”  said Drodge, who lives in Hawling.

Drodge admitted that some of the Stow team were badly shaken by the incident but she continued: “We were all there for each other. There was a lot of upset, it shook me up too.

“But because we are so close we got through it, it was something we talked about as a group.

“The following game we came out firing on all cylinders, the players really stuck their heads in.

“They said afterwards that they really needed the game, it boosted their confidence after what had happened in the previous game. I was really proud of them.”

And while their bravery is not in doubt, nor is their ability.

“We’ve got some fantastic players,” said Drodge, who has played for Gloucestershire. “We’ve got some experienced players who can push through to the next level and some less experienced players who are really good too.

“We want to aim for the top, we want to eventually be playing at the same level as Cheltenham  Tigers.”

Cheltenham Tigers play in Championship North 1, so that is some way away for Stow at the moment, but Drodge is keen for as many players as possible to come on board at Stow.

“The great thing about rugby is that it is a game for players of all shapes and sizes,” said Drodge. “You can be fast or slow, there’s a position for everyone.”