Meet Norton’s budding Red Rose representing England at inaugural Six Nations U20s Women’s Summer Series.
While the nation’s eyes might be fixed on the Lions for a big win this summer, a budding young Red Rose from Norton is hoping to play her part in bringing home the silverware for England.
Amelia looks set to face her biggest competition yet after being called up to the England rugby women’s pathway squad, competing in the inaugural Six Nations Under 20s Women’s Summer Series.
For the teenager, who says she first tried her hand at rugby as a way of simply keeping fit, it’s more than she ever could have dreamed of.
Now part of an England squad of 30 competing in Parma, Italy, Amelia said: “It seems crazy to me to be picked to represent England at this level.”
Also selected for the Sale Sharks this year, it’s been a hectic few months for the Bede Sixth Form College student who is awaiting her final results next month with an offer to study chiropractic science at Teesside University.
“I come from a family that likes rugby, so I have always grown up around the sport,” she said, but it wasn’t until she started college that she gave it a proper go.
She explained: “We had played a few times at school, but I used to be more of a swimmer.”
Swimming for a local team and training up to ten times a week, Amelia was clearly no stranger to the demands of high-level training.
Signing up to the women’s rugby academy at Bede’s Institute of Sport and Education (ISE) she remains modest about her clear talent for the sport.
Now still just 19, she said: “Everything came about quite quickly.”
Getting into the Durham County Under 18s and playing for Bishop Auckland Rugby Club, she added: “I started to get a bit obsessed with it, and really started to enjoy it.”
Spotted by the North East Centre of Excellence Academy Team and most recently premiership women’s rugby team, Sale Sharks Women, Amelia got her first England cap in May this year when she played for England Under 20s Women against Wales.
With ambitions to build her rugby career with Sale Sharks, she said: “It was my mum that suggested I tried rugby as I was looking for something new. It was just a way to keep fit and train.”
As well as offering the chance to compete on a national and now international level, she said: “Rugby has built my confidence so much. I used to be quite shy but now I have friends all over the country.”
As for the ultimate ambition, that is to work her way up to the England Red Roses senior squad of course!
Amelia on ISE at Bede said: “The coaching through the ISE Academy has really benefitted me. It is hands-on training, going through the matches and giving feedback, it’s been great.
"The ISE rugby coaches are very experienced and have helped me with all the specifics. Dedicated to my training, they have offered extra sessions and one to ones on the pitch and supported me through the ups and downs. It is only when you look back that you realise how much they do for you.”
