Red Roses duo launch national campaign
'I'm really excited to be part of it,' said Dow, speaking at the initiative's launch at Hazelwood in Sunbury-on-Thames. 'It's an opportunity to get diversity in hobbies and showing that anyone can support rugby and be part of the sport.
'It's a family event and an opportunity for people to pick up a hobby and combine it with sport to show off their personalities.
'Crochet has stereotypes but we deal with that in rugby as well in terms of who you have to be to be a rugby player and we're showing that it's not just a male space but a space where anyone can get involved.
'There are so many parts in life where that's true and crochet is a perfect example. Anyone can pick up a ball of yarn and a hook and start making whatever they want.
'It's the same in rugby, you can pick up a rugby ball and start playing and having fun the way you want.
Heard added: 'Crochet is quite a niche hobby but a lot of us Red Roses are interested in it so to be able to have this campaign heading into the World Cup is exciting.
'Abby's big on crocheting and quite good at it and thought it'd be quite relaxing so she has taught me and a few of the other girls in the 6 Nations and I just liked it.
'It'll be really cool to see people getting on board and getting behind us heading into a home world cup. To have people supporting us whether that's in crochet or any other craft is exciting and will be a good boost to us as a squad.
'It's really cool to be a part of something, whether that's crochet or rugby. Being part of a community is huge and making people feel like they're part of something where they can make friends is really important, whether that's through crochet or rugby or any other crafts and hobbies.'
Dow learnt to crochet during the first national lockdown in 2020 and quickly fell in love with the craft.
Red Roses tradition dictates that a member of the playing squad receives a real red rose for getting a first cap, but with the gift difficult to preserve when away on tour, Dow has taken it upon herself to crochet gifts for players reaching special milestones; a red rose for first caps, silver for 50 and gold for 100.
But she insists that her gifts only scratch the surface of what you can achieve with crochet, with the craft lending itself to the creation of almost anything you can set your mind to.
She added: 'With crochet, I thought I could just make something and the rest was history.
'You can't kill a crochet flower and my love language is gift-giving so it's a really easy gift to show someone that I like them.
'Flowers don't take long to make and you get a quick sense of accomplishment because of that so lots of people took it up.
'It's an easy way to switch off from the rugby and the noise and the pressure and there are different disciplines and things you can do in crochet, like granny squares, clothing, toys, flowers or hairbands.
'You can go so far into it and it's really nice going into different disciplines and seeing what people do.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
44 minutes ago
- BBC News
Ireland earn comeback win over Scotland in warm-up
Ireland (12) 27Tries: McGrath, Deely, McGillivray, O'Dowd, Nic a Bhaird Con: O'BrienScotland (14) 21Tries: Thomson, Scott, Orr Cons: Thomson 2, Scott Ireland recovered from a slow start to beat Scotland and begin their Women's Rugby World Cup preparations in impressive fashion. Having lost to Italy last week, Scotland raced into an early 14-0 lead in Cork through Lisa Thomson and Lucia Scott tries. But after Scotland lost hooker Lana Skeldon to injury on the half-hour mark, the tide turned in Ireland's favour as Sabdbh McGrath and Meabh Deely crossed to leave just two points between the sides at half-time. Ireland were dominant for long spells in the second half and scored their third when debutant Nancy Gillivray touched down. Scotland hit back thanks to a fine solo effort from Emma Orr, but Ireland rallied in the closing stages through Niamh O'Dowd and Deirbhile Nic a Bhaird. Having avenged their Women's Six Nations defeat by the Scots earlier this year, Ireland will look to maintain their pre-World Cup momentum when they host Canada in Belfast on 9 August (12:00 BST).Scotland, meanwhile, must regroup in time for their tournament opener against Wales at Salford Community Stadium on 23 August. More to follow.
The Guardian
7 hours ago
- The Guardian
I'm no sportsman, but a rugby legend's simple, sage advice struck a chord
One of the benefits of a habitual tendency to say yes to anything that will get me on television is the unexpected friendships that can bloom on the dancefloor, in the jungle or, in this case, in the MasterChef kitchen. I was a contestant in 2016. Among the others was the England rugby international Neil Back, who had been part of the World Cup-winning squad of 2003 and could make a Russian oligarch's close protection team look like the Cheeky Girls. I was not a noted sportsman in my youth – I have grown to enjoy watching sport but have never been at home in the culture of the clubhouse, the changing room or the training ground. However, Neil and I hit it off instantly. Within two days we were breaking into wardrobe to find out from the names on the aprons who our opposition would be. Within a week he was holding me aloft in an improvised lineout, a testament to his strength rather than my athletic grace. We talked about all sorts of things – shared life experience, unshared life experience – and one day he taught me something that changed my life. It is not an insight that others have not had. Indeed, it is obvious, a simple thing, but like so many obvious and simple things it is inexhaustibly difficult, too. It came up when we were thinking about which chips are best with burgers. I'm a french fry man myself, as slender and light as you like, but Neil goes for the chunky kind – cut immaculately, thrice cooked, then stacked as neatly as a Le Corbusier brise-soleil. I was struck by the intense focus Neil brought to this task, which he rehearsed over and over at home before we got to the kitchen. I asked why and he said: 'Perfect practice makes perfect performance.' Of course it does, I thought, but then he said this was a mantra in the England team that won the World Cup. And of course, if Jonny Wilkinson had not practised and practised and practised kicking goals, we would have gone home as runners-up rather than winners. Perfect practice makes perfect performance, for what is a perfect performance other than practice that does not go wrong? I knew a bit about practice because I am a pianist and have been since childhood. I have practised countless pieces, scales and arpeggios, acquiring the 10,000 hours of experience that doing anything decently requires. But I was lackadaisical, and while I found it quite easy to execute some tricky passages, there were others that were too much for me – too quick, too dense, too complex to play accurately or musically. When I was young I used to busk my way through them, hitting the sostenuto pedal when I got to an unplayable bar to blur the inaccuracies. I would also affect what I thought were Lisztian flourishes at the keyboard as a distraction. I don't suppose I fooled many people, but it got me through. When I ran away to London and joined a pop band, I had to learn to play in a different way. It is only now, in my 60s, that I have returned seriously to the classical repertoire I played in my teens. It is interesting to revisit who you were as a teenager 45 years later, and discover what has endured and what has changed. What has endured for me is a deep love of music, and what has changed is a willingness to try to play it properly; not to busk my way through difficult passages but to face them squarely, break them down, put them together slowly and methodically, to practise and practise and practise, and to discover the obvious thing: if you practise, you get better. This has not only made me a better pianist than I was then, even if I am not yet back to peak technique; it has made me a better musician. By that I mean more patient, more focused, more willing to engage. It's been a life lesson, too. I read a story recently about a man who visited Rachmaninov, the greatest pianist of his day, at home in Los Angeles. As he approached the front door, he could hear the great man practising in his music room. What titanic flourishes, what miracles of touch and dexterity poured forth? A chord of two notes, played very slowly, over and over and over again. Richard Coles is a writer, broadcaster and former Church of England clergyman
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Son Heung-min set for Spurs reunion with star he had 'beautiful' bust-up with at new club
Tottenham star Son Heung-min has already confirmed his exit from the North London club ahead of the new season with all the signs pointing to just one future destination for the forward Son Heung-min is set to be reunited with Hugo Lloris nearly five years after the pair had a furious dressing room bust-up. The South Korean forward has announced that he will be leaving Spurs this summer after nearly a decade. And once a move is formalised, he will be reunited with a familiar face - former Spurs teammate Hugo Lloris. The pair were teammates for over eight years before the French goalkeeper completed a move to the United States. Between them, the pair made 901 appearances for Spurs, twice going close to winning the Premier League together. And while the pair enjoyed plenty of success, they did not always see eye-to-eye. The pair had to be physically separated in 2020 after coming to verbal blows at half-time of a 1-0 win against West Ham - an altercation that continued in the dressing room. Speaking at the time, ex-Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said: "It's beautiful. "It's a consequence, probably, of our meetings. If you want to blame somebody for that, it's me. I was critical of my boys because they are not in my opinion critical enough with themselves, I asked them to demand more from others, I asked them to put their colleagues under the pressure of the team spirit you have to give. "It was a situation where an amazing kid, who everybody loves, Sonny, the captain [Lloris] thought he had to do more for the team and give a different effort. "There were a couple of bad words, but I think it was something very important for the team to grow up, for that to happen you need to demand more of each other and be strong personalities. At half-time, I said when I saw the reaction I had no doubts they would stick together until the end." Asked during his press conference where he would be going, Son refused to name a team, but did suggest that next summer's World Cup would be taken into account. He said: "For now it's to focus on tomorrow's match. 'I would not give many comments on the next team. Obviously I would like to focus on tomorrow's match and the future and the next team will be decided afterwards. 'In choosing the next team, the World Cup will definitely be one of the key points that I will consider. It might be my last World Cup so I need my new environment to give all that I've got for my football career. As well as the World Cup, I will also need to find a team that will make me happy while playing football." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
