A thinking woman's guide to hacking it.

Byline: By Stuart Rayner

A women's team have chosen the scientific route to success in rugby union reports Stuart Rayner.

When Blaydon turned to the appliance of science to establish themselves as one of the leading forces in women's rugby union, the local university seemed an obvious choice.

This summer the newly-promoted side joined forces with Northumbria University to create Blaydon-Team Northumbria and the result is a far more professional set-up the club hopes will establish them at the top end of Premier One Division.

Part of the package is head of rugby Bruce Cornelius, who along with Rob Thompson and Ed Hall forms the club's coaching team.

Although the New Zealander is a full-time coach, he is conscious his players are still amateurs. And with Lancaster side Vale of Lune the nearest thing to local rivals in the London-dominated division, the commitment required is even greater.

"We're professional in the way we train and treat the girls but they're not professional players," says Cornelius. "Even though I'm employed as a professional I'm very mindful of the fact these girls are not.

"A lot of them are students, a lot are mums, or have a job to do so it fits in with the girls. I can't have them out there training six or seven days a week.

"My job is to find a balance where we can cram in as much as we can into the sessions I've got. I've tried to bring a lot of simple stuff: training habits, good habits, time-keeping, technique."

Although the university have given Blaydon access to cutting-edge sports science, Cornelius makes only limited use of it. "When I have time I do," he says. "We have a guy called Luke Woodhouse who does that but really my hands are so full I let him run with it.

"He does his thing and I do mine and we just meet up once a week and have a yarn. It's not overly-technical."

Cornelius, who worked as a teacher in his homeland before taking up coaching, identifies the range of abilities in the women's game as his biggest challenge.

"Initially I was employed by Northumbria University as head of rugby so I was looking after all the university sides," he says. "The men's side was just branching out as Team Northumbria and playing club rugby and they wanted to do the same with the women.

"The girls are very keen but because a lot of them have only taken up the sport relatively recently, technically a lot of them need a lot more work than the men.

"Here there are a lot of girls with a lot of ranges of ability. You get some like Kate Storie who's an England international and some who have never played before.

"With the men there's not such a differential, they're generally all around about the same skill level.

"But the players who've been at Blaydon for years have been very receptive. They're like sponges because they want to learn. A lot haven't had the coaching support they've deserved over the years or have taken the game up at quite a late age.

"You've got to adjust with any team. Most men's teams are different personalities and different levels. But it's a very tight set-up because of the work Blaydon have done in previous years."

With that grounding and the university's help, Cornelius sees no reason why BTN cannot achieve their goal of establishing themselves as a top-three side within two years.

"I really don't know what other women's teams are doing but I would really doubt if other they're getting the same support," he argues. "The university should take quite a bit of credit for that ( and the Blaydon girls for the way they've taken to it.

"The advantage Blaydon has is the resources we are putting in. We have five coaches at any one session. Players that are learning the game or need specialised coaching can be taken aside and worked with. That allows the more competent players to develop their skills.

"This year we're playing in a higher division and if we can consolidate we can really build on that. We'd love to establish ourselves as a top-three or four side and putting in the resources we are now, realistically there is the potential to do that. These things don't happen overnight, but fingers crossed.

"In the Northern regions there's a niche for women's rugby and if we get in there and acquire it we can really develop the women's game."

Cornelius believes local rugby fans who want to come and see what all the fuss is about will be pleasantly surprised.

"I think people will be surprised by the intensity," he says. "I'd be lying if I said men's and women's rugby were the same, just as I'd be lying if I said men's and women's tennis were.

"They have different skills but in terms of commitment, people who came along would be quite surprised at how willing it is. It really is pretty hard out there."