Women’s rugby club strip off for racy calendar featuring lingerie line-out
A women’s team in New Zealand have raised pulses by taking off their rugby kit – in order to be able to put it back on in private!
Gore’s Pioneer Women’s Rugby Football Club are now selling copies of their new calendar, complete with revealing pictures of the players. But the irony is that funds raised from the venture will go towards purchasing a new shed for the side to be able to get changed away from prying eyes.
However, the saucy initiative has raised eyebrows for reasons other than the content. And prop Leah McMath has explained that some fans and family members needed persuasion to support the brave idea.
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(Image: Salt&She photography)
“There were a few old-fashioned parents who said ‘you shouldn’t do that’ and now that we have got a little bit of attention and some donations they are changing their tune a wee bit,” she told Stuff. “As far as the club goes, all the old boys on the committee – they have been all about it.”
McMath explained that the inspiration behind the calendar came from attending a maternity photo shoot for a friend. And she isn’t worried about the potential for a judgemental reaction.
“I think when you look at the photos they are not hyper sexualised or posed, it is really natural,” she continued. “With rugby there are a lot of different body types. We need girls that can push the scrum, and we need fast and fit girls who can run the ball off it.”
Anything wrong with female players getting their kit off to raise funds? Let us know in the comments section.
(Image: Salt&She photography)
The Pioneer women’s team have been competing in the Southland competition for five years, whilst the male side have been established since 1905. And a lack of changing facilities means the lady players are bussed to a local high school to get kitted up and then shower after a match.
But it will take more than an eye-catching calendar, with McMath targeting profits of over £8,000, just a fraction of the £209,000 needed. The team may be helped by the current profile of the women’s game in New Zealand though, with the Black Ferns having recently won the World Cup on home soil.
The calendars currently cost £25 and can be bought via the club’s Facebook page. The idea has previously been used in the UK, with Whitland ladies’ team in Wales previously selling naked calendars to raise money for charity.
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