ANOTHER Darlington Mowden Park player is on the first rung of the ladder towards winning selection to play rugby for England.

Seventeen-year-old Ashleigh Wright has been selected for the under-18 RFUW England Performance Camp at Loughborough University in July. There she will be put through her paces in a challenging weekend packed full of strenuous tasks and exercises to assess and develop skills and stamina.

Those attending Loughborough have been picked out by the England coaches for their talent and potential to progress further in the world of women's rugby.

Ashleigh said: "I am thrilled to be chosen for the Performance Camp. It is every player's dream to play for their country and this will take me one step closer."

Ashleigh started playing rugby three years ago when Mowden Park first set up a girls' side and she has never looked back. Selection for the Durham county and North-East regional teams soon followed and she came to the notice of the England selectors at the Regional 12s competition at Lichfield in May.

Her next step, after Loughborough, will be to participate in trials for the under-19 England squad later in the summer.

Two Mowden girls - Rosie Mangle and Abby Blackburn - are already full members of the under-19 squad and Ashleigh has an excellent chance of joining them next season.

She combines rugby with her other great sporting interest, netball, and studies at Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.