TWO Letchworth Rugby Club girls have got the call for England. Despite missing out on the regionals this week (see below), Hayley Guilder has still been selected as one of the top under-17s in the country and will attend this summer s England under-19 pe

TWO Letchworth Rugby Club girls have got the call for England.

Despite missing out on the regionals this week (see below), Hayley Guilder has still been selected as one of the top under-17s in the country and will attend this summer's England under-19 'performance camp' in Guildford.

And she will not be alone because, as a result of her efforts on Monday when East under-17s finished fourth, Letchworth's Sasha Acheson has also been selected.

Both girls are only 15 and are playing in their first season of under-17 girls' rugby.

Although Sasha has played for a while, Hayley only started playing last season.

The 'performance camp' runs over two weekends this summer and is used to develop the most talented players in the country and also select the England under-19 squad for next season.

The pair are unlikely to get into the England squad this year as the RFUW do not let 15-year-olds play under-19 rugby regardless of talent. But selection for the camp at such an young age is a clear signal that their potential has been spotted.

Guilder missed out on the regional championships at Rugby School due to a freak accident.

She was preparing for her championships on Monday helping Ashwell Scout troop in her role as an explorer scout.

Unfortunately while letting off steam on a bouncy castle she was rugby tackled by a Letchworth team-mate.

The result was a severely sprained finger and a withdrawal from the regional team!

Two more Letchworth girls, Nikki Alcock and Emily Vivian, played for the East Region under-14 team on Sunday which finished runners-up in the national championship.

The East stormed through their group, scoring 110 points in three games against Thames Valley, South West and North East without conceding a point, then beat West Midlands 5-0 in the semi-final.

But in the the final they found themselves up against the South - comfortably the team of the tournament - where they conceded their first points of the season and lost out 20-0.

P Girls' rugby in East Anglia has exploded in recent years.

What only two or three years ago was one of the weakest regions is now one of the biggest and most successful.

Another demonstration of the strength of girls' rugby can be seen on Sunday, May 14, when one of the largest girls' rugby festivals ever held will take place at Letchworth.