A TOUCH rugby player from Redditch has undergone meteoric rise after being selected to play for England at the Touch World Cup in Malaysia.
Olivia Jones, aged 41, started playing touch rugby only five years ago, when she first joined Redditch Queenfishers on a friend’s recommendation.
But despite her short career, she says she is more than ready to lace up her boots and represent the Womens’ over 35s category at the tournament in April.
“A soon as I was introduced to the sport I fell in love with it” said Olivia, “And one of the reasons was because of my job as a personal trainer.
“The minimal contact aspect of touch rugby means I can avoid major injuries.
“My coach Garry Mills has also helped me a lot too, he’s been with me every step of the way and I couldn’t have done it without him.”
After playing for the Queenfishers, a Midland’s team called Revolution Touch and a regional team known as Wildcats, Olivia’s talent was spotted by an England scout.
She was asked to train with England’s High Performance team in late 2017 and was told if she impressed, she would make it to the Euros in 2018.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t selected on that occasion.
“But that only encouraged me to keep going and I’m so glad I did.
“We will do everything we can to go as far in the tournament as possible and we can’t wait to pit our skills against some of the best teams in the world, which includes the usuals – Australia and New Zealand.”
At the World Cup Olivia will be joined by three of her close friends, and Revolution team mates, who were also selected for the over 35s and 45’s England squad.
To help cover the cost of travel, kit, training, flights, hotel and tournament fees, Olivia has set up a GoFundMe page.
“The total adds up to around £3,500 so I am looking to raise somewhere in the region of £2500,” said Olivia.
For anyone interested in helping Olivia and the England team reach their goal, you can sponsor them here – www.gofundme.com/world-cup-funding
