Role model lifts women and girls higher through rugby

The first Sikh woman to represent England at rugby is continuing to break down barriers in the sport here in Brighton & Hove.

Manjinder Nagra was selected for England Students while studying at the University of Bath 30 years ago.

Having never picked up a rugby ball before, she progressed quickly – earning national level representative honours at student level but often found herself the only player of Asian heritage on the pitch. 

Significant barriers

And she found that despite her rapid rise into representative rugby, there were still significant barriers in place.

Manjinder explained: “Back in the early 90s, an Asian woman playing rugby was very unusual. I grew up in Slough, in an Indian household and had no connection with rugby whatsoever.

“After uni, when I went home, I had hopes to play for the senior England women’s team but, unfortunately, the expectation for me was to stop playing rugby, to start looking for a job, to think about getting married and have children.”

Undeterred, Manjinder not only found her background in rugby and representing England helped her successful legal career but is also sparked a determination to break down those barriers for others.

Making the game more inclusive

Having moved to Brighton & Hove, Manjinder joined Hove Rugby Club where, as well as playing, she set out to make the game more inclusive to women and girls.

In 2016 she launched girls rugby at the club, which has one of the country’s longest-established women’s sections.

What started as half a dozen girls has blossomed into a thriving girls section with more than 80 regular players.

She still coaches young players and has launched a mixed walking rugby session for adults and runs the Hangleton & Knoll Project’s multicultural women's walking rugby group.

Sport's vital role in empowering girls

Speaking in support of the council’s Sport Lifts Her Higher campaign, which aims to establish Brighton & Hove as the UK capital for women and girls participation in sport, Manjinder said: “Having played for almost 20 years, I recognise the pivotal role of sports in empowering young girls. 

“I didn't have role models when I was growing up, but if girls can see the change and see role models, it will encourage them to think about a sport that they may not have otherwise a thought of.

“Rugby has been a powerful source of resilience and confidence for me. It permeates other areas of life and has afforded me opportunities I may not otherwise have had.

“I want other women and girls to have those same opportunities, that’s why I think the council’s campaign is so important.”

Manjinder’s impact hasn’t just been in rugby. She was approached to become a global ambassador for the Sikh Games, which was hosted in the UK in 2024, serves on the Cricket Discipline Panel and is an inspirational speaker and mentor to young people.

Taking on a new challenge

She has also set her sights on further international success in another, very different sport: sumo wrestling.

Having taken up sumo relatively recently, Manjinder is already a national champion, having won gold in her weight category at the English National Sumo Championships in March. She also won silver in the open weight category.

Those successes mean Manjinder has qualified to represent England at the European Sumo Championships in Scotland in June.

Incredibly special to represent England

She said: “If you’d told me I’d go from rugby to sumo at 51, I wouldn’t have believed you.

“But here I am preparing to compete in the Euros.

“I’ve stepped into something completely new and it’s scary but I’m grabbing this opportunity with both hands.

“Representing England once is an honour and doing so twice is incredibly special.”