As a sponsor of the Sandal girls and ladies section of the club over the past 8
years, it’s pleasing to see how much this section has grown over the years. We,
as a company RV2 Power Ltd have also evolved over the 8 years from being a
company solely focused on electrical work, to building a renewables section, a
civils department and smart metering division. We source land and power
connections and solutions for our customers wanting rapid EV car charging
stations around the country. Taking full scope jobs from brown field sites to full
functionality EV stations.
The reason we sponsor the women’s rugby section came from my own
daughter’s love of the game. From the moment I took my daughter to Sandals
U13 (Under 13’s) girls after a brief season with another club, I knew she had
found a club for her, that looked out for the welfare of the girls and made it fun.
I remember her first game away at West Park Leeds, Sandal turned up with 6
players and as was common back then they borrowed players from West Park
Leeds to make the fixture enjoyable for both sides.

Sharing can be fun
There were 6 girls that played that day, 4 are still involved with the club now,
and 2 of the 4 went on to represent England at age grade rugby, which I think
shows the level of coaching given has been nothing but superb.
The second season for Keira in the U13 girls (as each girls’ sections included 2
age groups at the time) we struggled for players, but the crossover game
between Sandal and Normanton Knights U13 rugby league team, I believe set
them on course for the repeated success year after year, as numerous girls
decided to play both codes.
In the U15’s first season Keira played, she was reunited with the older girls she
had first played in the U13’s with. The team won the Northern U15’s title and
would have definitely gone on to become national champions if the covid
outbreak hadn’t happened and closed the season down earlier than expected.
This was also the story of her second year with the U15’s, they did manage 4
games that year and returned 4 wins with an aggregate score of 200-0, which I
thought was very impressive considering the covid situation, and showed how
much love for the game this bunch of girls had, again I credit the coaches and
admin staff for creating a positive atmosphere the girls wanted to carry on being
a part of.
U18’s then came along, Keira’s age group being the last year to play 3 years at
this level, before the U16’s, U14’s and U12’s being introduced below them. They
showed playing against girls 2 years older than them that they were a great
team and surely would go to put the unlucky U15’s Covid years behind them.
The U16’s went to win the national cup 2 years running, but unfortunately the
U18’s weren’t able to pull off the double in 2024.

Ladies

The girls’ section has gone on to supply numerous players at county level, the
Yorkshire centre of excellence and England, plus players trialling for other home
nations as well. They have established a steady supply of players going to
Loughborough College and University to carry on with study’s and supplying first
team players at Loughborough lighting. This is a great reflection on the club’s
training team, Gary, Howard, Chris, Tom and Malcolm. Other notable people who
have played a significant role in Keira’s development are Vicki, Sarah, Mark,
Sean and Michelle, with Ian being there to capture the years through
photographs.
As Keira’s love of the game has continued, she has played her first season with
the women, with the supply of players coming through the girls section of the
club, they have taken to the task of winning like a duck to water. Seeing the
Sandal girls being technically better than the opponents shows they have taken
in the training sessions like sponges and retained skills they have learnt.
As for Keira, at the end of this winning season, she will be leaving the club to
finish her educational learning in the USA ���� on a scholarship, which as proud
parents makes us grateful for the part Sandal girls and women’s section has
played in her life so far.
RV2 is very proud to be a sponsor and help invest in the Women and girls at
Sandal.
Women and girls train on Wednesday evenings if you would like to join
in. New players or anyone that would like to just “give it a go” are
always welcome be it girls or women.
We are always looking for sponsors if your firm would like to be proud
and involved. Please contact Ian on 07 854 853 862.