AN England Women’s rugby star is inspiring the next generation in a unique way – by appearing on TV show Gladiators.
Jodie Ounsley, also known as Fury from BBC Gladiators, played for England‘s rugby sevens team as well as Sale Sharks and the Exeter Chiefs.
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She was forced into an early retirement aged just 23 because of a shoulder injury, but has put her rugby skills to good use in her new role.
The Gladiators star told SunSport: “I naturally miss playing and just to see how much the sport’s growing. But on the other hand, I feel very privileged in what I’m doing now.
“Obviously being in a different field of work, on TV in a show like Gladiators, I love that I’m able to still showcase women’s rugby in a show like that through my character, Fury.
“Kids might see me as Fury tackling contenders and think, oh, she must play rugby and then now follow rugby. And I think that’s really powerful. I take so much pride in that.
“I just think of the bigger picture and if I can try and inspire the next generation to get into rugby, then that’s enough for me.
“I’ve stepped away now but never say never, I could go back to rugby in the future, but I’m gonna do everything I can to push the game and bring a new audience, new people to the game as well.”
Ounsley was born deaf and wears a cochlear implant, and has followed in her father’s footsteps by appearing on the show.
She is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu British champion and a five-time World Coal Carrying champion, but despite her individual accomplishments she still misses the team environment of rugby.
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The 24-year-old continued: “It’s really different from going from a full-time team environment to then being pretty much on your own.
“So still very much lots of training. I mix it around now and I’m obviously not around a team, which is a bit different, but that’s the beauty of rugby.
“I miss my team because that’s what rugby’s about. It’s about being surrounded by your team-mates and you go through so much together.
“Big tournaments like the World Cup, even training, injuries, there’s so much to the game that people don’t even sort of get to see.
“So that’s the part I miss but I’m very happy where I am at the moment.”
Ounsley is also a proud supporter of the See It. Believe It. campaign as part of her role as a brand ambassador for Vodafone.
The campaign aims to dismantle misconceptions surrounding women’s rugby, with research showing 70 per cent of Brits who hold a negative opinion of the sport have never watched a match.
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Ounsley said of the campaign: “It means a lot to me because obviously I’ve had my own journey in rugby.
“The whole meaning behind it is there is a whole misconception from people who have a negative view about women’s rugby. It’s people who haven’t even watched a game of women’s rugby.
“So I think it’s about trying to change that misconception but also getting a new audience and new people to watch the game.
“And then funnily enough, they come and watch the game and they realise they might actually like it. It’s like that throughout all women’s rugby, you always have those different opinions and how people sort of expect it to be.
“I think it’s just how we can change that and flip it to more of a positive light.
“The biggest thing is people try and think we’re trying to say, oh, it’s the same as the men’s game, but it’s really not, it’s just about showing that women love the game as much as anyone else.
“It is a really special game, regardless of what gender is playing it.
“It’s a game of rugby. It’s an exciting thing. It’s really just coming to watch a game of rugby. If you enjoy sport, then it shouldn’t really matter who was playing.”
Jodie Ounsley is proudly supporting Vodafone’s ‘See it. Believe it.’ campaign, which aims to challenge misconceptions about women’s rugby and connect the sport with new audiences.
As part of the campaign, Jodie is working with storytelling experts Goalclick to provide exclusive behind-the-scenes content from all levels of the game.