BUILDING young girls' confidence through rugby league is Emily Grundy's forté and now she will be doing it for Woolston Rovers.

Grundy, a Widnes Vikings player, has been named as the new head coach of the Woolston Rovers Girls Academy.

She takes over over from Jen Lowe, who has been similarly inspirational in growing the girls' game at Woolston with numbers on the books rising to as high as 30.

“I am looking forward to working and building the Woolston Rovers Girls Academy," said Grundy.

"Over the past five years I have had the opportunity to go into multiple primary schools teaching and encouraging young girls to take part in a sport that means so much to me.

"Rugby has been a huge part of my career and I have had the opportunity to build young girls' confidence and joy to take part in the sport that has had a huge impact on my life.”

Rovers community development officer Dom Ball added: “Emily has extensive experience working in primary schools, high schools and colleges to promote rugby, and also with her background in coaching for the Warrington Wolves Foundation and playing for Thatto Heath and Widnes Vikings she will bring a wealth of knowledge to the girls academy.

"This appointment also shows that we as a club are working hard to be an inclusive community based club and giving as many opportunities as we can for our community to be involved with our great club.”

Anyone interested in joining the girls academy as a player, age seven and over, can contact Emily on 07885 669996 or email wrgirlsacademy@gmail.com.

The academy are also looking for sponsors to help kit the girls out and to fund more equipment. If you are interested, email wrgirlsacademy@gmail.com for more information.