A LADIES’ rugby team have triumped over dozens of others to win the chance to train with Newcastle Falcons.

Darlington Rugby Football Club women’s side have been announced as winners of QBE Insurance Group’s Rugby Pro competition and are one of 12 grassroots teams in the UK who will a training session with Premiership players and coaches, as well as £1,000 worth of training equipment.

The Darlington RFC players will also receive specialist advice on technical and physical rugby skills which have been identified as areas for their improvement.

The club won after demonstrating to judges how winning the training session and equipment would benefit their development.

The judges were impressed by Darlington’s community spirit and their commitment to introducing more women to the sport, as well as their enthusiasm and ambition to gain promotion.

Lindsay Evans, of Darlington RFC, said: “We are so proud to win this fantastic prize. At Darlington we are constantly trying to grow our player base by increasing the number of female participants in rugby. It will undoubtedly reward and benefit our existing squad of players and coaches to train with professionals from Newcastle Falcons.”

Cath Timberlake, commercial manager at QBE, said: “We are delighted that Darlington RFC has won. Their entry was a great example of how sport helps inspire the community, and we hope that the contribution of a specialist training session and new equipment from QBE will help the club to develop and introduce more people to the game.”