Jones looks to encourage new players of all backgrounds to join the Iron Maidens

Rugby has garnered its fair share of bad press in recent years over its handling of concussion injuries, with several high-profile cases being highlighted, however, Maidenhead’s new director of women’s rugby Stephen Jones insists it’s a safe and fantastic sport for women and girls to play when the right precautions are in place.

Jones is keen to encourage as many girls and women from the area to join the club in the coming months and years and believes Braywick Park can become a central hub for the game at senior and junior levels.

The newly named Iron Maidens are desperate to get back to training as soon as lockdown restrictions allow, and Jones hopes that with some training in the coming months the team can be built up to compete in a league structure very soon. The club also plans to provide young girls with a gateway through to the first team by establishing a u13s and u17s team in time for next season.

He insists safety will be at the top of the club’s agenda for all the teams and says new recruits won’t be rushed into playing contact rugby until they’re ready. He also added it’s a mistake to assume that women and girls need to be treated differently to men and said it’s the contact side of rugby that most women enjoy. It’s one of the reasons they seek out the sport and it sets rugby apart from other sports.

“Rugby has had a bit of a bad press because of the concussion injuries,” he said. “But I still think it’s safe to play for younger people because the precautions we’re going to take are going to be huge.

“We’ll recognise any potential head knocks and, if in doubt, we’ll leave them out. There’s going to be a physio and medical back up for every team. Rugby is a fantastic environment to experience, especially with regards to team bonding. Our girls team have great nights out, and as well as putting together a rugby team we want to be a community that looks out for each other as well.”

He added: “We plan to give people an environment to play, stay fit and stay together. We’ll introduce the girls to contact at a slow rate, but sometimes with girls we can be overprotective.

“The physicality of the game at the top level is astonishing. And the girls who come into the sport do so because they like the contact. That’s what sets the game apart from others. There will be a long time in someone’s apprenticeship to decide if the contact side of the game is for them or not. We’ll teach them to play the game safely and we’ll look after them.”

One of the key attractions for girls and women is that rugby is still a game for all shapes and sizes. This isn’t the case with the men’s professional game, or even some levels of the men’s community game, but it still holds true for women, and Jones hopes to create an ethos which will see players look out for one another both on and off the pitch.

“As well as putting together a rugby team we want to be a community that looks after each other as well,” said Jones.

“Maidenhead is a club that has something about it. It’s a game for all shapes and sizes. We used to have people from public schools and state schools playing together when I was coaching the boys and they tended to all bind together.

“For girls, especially, it is a game for all shapes and sizes. You can be a size zero model and play, but also be bigger and there will be a great role for you.

“You couldn’t be eight-stone and scrummage, but I don’t think there’s any girl or woman who is of a shape which means they couldn’t play rugby. Rugby has lost that in the pro-game now, and even the Maids first team players are a lot bigger now than they used to be, but you can be a tiny slip of a girl and play well if you’ve got that tenacity.”