North Shields Blue Roses Women's Rugby

💙🌹 NEXT MATCH 🌹💙

The Blue Roses are back at home! 🏉

📅 Saturday 29th August
🆚 Billingham Ladies
📍 North Shields RFC
⏰ KO 2pm

Our final pre-season friendly before the Inner Warrior Series gets underway! 💪🏼

Come down and support the girls! 💙🌹

Redcar Sirens vs North Shields Blue Roses 23.08.2026 📸

Our stand out players from yesterday’s away match.

Forward of the match: Rebecca Hunter.
Rebecca played a full 80 minutes in a brand new position. She showed her strength in the scrums, and has found a new home in the front row union. Becca made some good hits, some strong carries and showed her determination throughout. Well done Becca.

Back of the match. Callie Dickinson. Callie did what every good Fullback does, identifying weaknesses within both teams, and told us to get our act together. Callie is fearless, and is not afraid to put her body on the line. Well done Callie.

Oppositions choice. Emily Caroll, kindly loaned from . Emily made herself a menace on the pitch, breaking lines left right and centre, even pulling a weave or two on the way. It was an honour to share a pitch with such a skilled player, we hope this isn’t the last time we see Emily in blue and white.

Well done to all our players.

Match report from Forwards Coach, Jack Bennett.

The Blue Roses opened their pre-season campaign with a tough away fixture against a strong and experienced Redcar Sirens side.

North Shields started brightly, putting Redcar under pressure early and getting their first points on the board after just 3 minutes, with Lauren Thomson crossing for the opening try.

Redcar responded quickly, but the Blue Roses continued to show attacking intent. At 11 minutes, Caitlin Hills went over for North Shields’ second try of the afternoon.

Redcar then began to build momentum, scoring three tries between the 15th and 25th minutes. The Blue Roses continued to work hard and didn’t let the shift in momentum affect their effort.

With the first half coming to a close, Imogen Farrell crossed at 39 minutes, keeping North Shields within touching distance going into half-time.

Half-time: Redcar 22–15 North Shields

Just seven points separated the teams at the break.

Redcar came out strongly in the second half, scoring four tries during the first 30 minutes and extending their advantage.

The Blue Roses continued to battle, with the squad showing plenty of determination despite the growing scoreline. The defensive pressure from Redcar made it difficult for North Shields to regain the momentum they had shown earlier in the match.

With around 10 minutes remaining, North Shields found their reward.

Amy Amos crossed after 29 minutes of the second half, followed shortly afterwards by Imogen Farrell converting to bring North Shields to 22 points.

The late score was an important reminder of the character within this squad. Even with the game moving away from them, the Blue Roses continued to play for each other and look for opportunities right until the final whistle.

Full-time: Redcar 44–22 North Shields

Four tries from North Shields — Lauren Thomson, Caitlin Hills, Imogen Farrell and Amy Amos — gave the Blue Roses plenty to take away from the afternoon, with Imogen Farrell also adding a conversion.

While Redcar’s experience ultimately proved the difference, the match gave North Shields valuable minutes against a seasoned side and highlighted plenty to build on ahead of the Inner Warrior Series.

Most importantly, this was pre-season. It was about getting game time, putting training into practice, building combinations and enjoying being back out on the pitch — and the Blue Roses did exactly that.

A huge thank you to Redcar Sirens for hosting us and providing a great first test.

We also want to say a massive thank you to the Hartlepool lasses who stepped in and helped us with numbers today. Women supporting women is what this game should be about, and we genuinely appreciate you pulling on a Blue Roses shirt and helping us get this match played. 💙🌹

And to every player who pulled on the Blue Roses shirt today — be proud of yourselves. You battled, supported each other and kept going until the very end.

The first one is in the books.

Next up: Billingham at home.

POST MATCH 💙🌹

Full-time: Redcar 44–22 Blue Roses

The scoreline might not have gone our way, but the Blue Roses should be so proud of the effort they put in today. Every single person who pulled on a shirt gave it everything, showed the skills we’ve been working on and supported each other right until the final whistle. 👏

A really good test against a seasoned Redcar side, and plenty for us to take away and build on. There were some brilliant moments out there, and we’re incredibly proud of everyone who stepped onto that pitch today. 💙

A huge thank you to Redcar for hosting us and for a great friendly — we’ll see you again in the Inner Warrior Series! 👊

A special thank you to Hartlepool for their support and for helping make the day possible. 💙

Now we dust ourselves off, take the lessons, and get ready for the next one…

🏉 NEXT UP: Billingham at home 💙

MATCH DAY 🌹

Today marks our first pre-season friendly of 26/27💙🤍

The Blue Roses are back in action as we take on Redcar Sirens! 🏉🔥

A massive thank you to the ladies from Hartlepool for stepping in and helping us out this weekend. 💙 It means so much to have another women’s team willing to support us and help us get a game on.

Now it’s time to get out there, put the hard work from training into practice and enjoy our first taste of matchday rugby ahead of the season!

Let’s go, Blue Roses! 🌹💙🤍

Team Sheet Drop 💙🌹

Your Blue Roses team sheet is here! 👀🏉

We’re ready to get stuck in and represent the shirt this weekend 💙

A huge thank you to Hartlepool for helping us fill the numbers and making the fixture possible — we really appreciate the support and sportsmanship! 🤝

Now let’s get out there and put in a shift. 💪🌹

Locked In 🔒💙

Another quality training session in the bank as we build towards Sunday! 🏉🔥

Plenty of hard work, plenty of laughs, and the team looking sharper every session. Now it’s time to take everything we’ve worked on onto the pitch. 💪

Sunday, we’re coming for you 💙

Also, welcome to our newest Blue Roses, Lou and Chloe ✨

Great session tonight 💙🤍

Another brilliant training session tonight and the girls put in a proper shift! 💪🏉

We were absolutely delighted to welcome our new Chair of Rugby, Dougie Hall, down to training this evening. It was fantastic to have him there, sharing his knowledge and expertise with the team and helping us keep building and developing. 👏

Plenty of hard work, plenty of learning and plenty of progress — exactly what pre-season is all about!

A massive thank you to Dougie for coming down and getting involved. We’re excited to see what the season brings! 💙🌹

Congratulations Dougie 💙

🔵⚪️🔵 Club Appointment 🔵⚪️🔵

We are delighted to announce that Dougie Hall has agreed to step up and become Chair of Rugby and Lead Coach. Dougie brings a wealth of experience gained across North East rugby, including coaching youth, setting up women’s teams and successfully coaching senior men.

Dougie’s role will include oversight of all aspects of rugby, from minis, to senior women and men, and will focus on improving player development pathways which align to our team structures and are consistent with the values of the game.

Dougie said…

“I'm looking forward to the challenge of stepping up to the lead role as Chair of Rugby. My ambition is to create a unified rugby culture across the whole club, support player development at every level, and drive a competitive, sustainable standard, both on and off the pitch”.

Please congratulate Dougie when you see him!!!