# Waterloo Ladies

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**Waterloo Ladies Rugby Football Club**, known for sponsorship reasons as **Firwood Waterloo Ladies Rugby Football Club**, is a women's rugby union club based in [Blundellsands](/source/Blundellsands), [Merseyside](/source/Merseyside), England. They are the women's team of [Waterloo FC](/source/Waterloo_FC). They were established in 1989 by [England national women's rugby union team](/source/England_national_women's_rugby_union_team) player [Gill Burns](/source/Gill_Burns).[1] In 2020 they lost their place in the [Premier 15s](/source/Premier_15s) after their re-applications were rejected.[2]

## History

Waterloo Ladies were founded in 1989 by Gill Burns as a way for local women to be able to play rugby in their hometown.[1] By 2001, Waterloo Ladies were playing in the Women's Premiership.[3][4] A large number of Waterloo Ladies' players took part in the [2006 Women's Rugby World Cup](/source/2006_Women's_Rugby_World_Cup), which meant that Waterloo Ladies were unable to put out strong team leading to relegation from the Women's Premiership.[5] Despite this, they became the most successful women's rugby club in Merseyside.[6] In 2012, the club's name was changed to Firwood Waterloo following a sponsorship deal with a [Liverpool](/source/Liverpool) based timber merchant, which included all of the club's teams including the Ladies.[7] In 2013, Waterloo Ladies joined the [Sale Sharks](/source/Sale_Sharks) men's team for training.[8] In 2016, Waterloo Ladies were champions of Championship 1 North.[9]

In 2017, Waterloo Ladies were selected as one of ten successful bids for a franchise in the new Women's Super Rugby competition, later renamed Premier 15s, designed to replace the Women's Premiership due to a reconstitution of women's rugby in England. The decision was welcomed by [Lichfield Ladies](/source/Lichfield_Ladies) who congratulated Waterloo Ladies on their return, despite Lichfield being controversially omitted from the new league.[10]

## References

1. worldrugby.org (17 November 2014). ["2014 Inductee: Gill Burns"](http://www.worldrugby.org/news/35862?lang=en). IRB. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

1. ["Sale and Exeter join women’s top flight"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/52183337). *BBC Sport*. Retrieved 2021-10-06.

1. ["Spent force?; SATURDAY FEATURE: The move into professionalism was a game too far as so many clubs are being kicked into touch."](https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Spent+force%3F%3B+SATURDAY+FEATURE%3A+The+move+into+professionalism+was+a...-a072950414). *The Birmingham Post*. Retrieved 31 March 2017. – via The Free Library.

1. ["Burns Becomes First Lady of Rugby's Hall of Fame; Waterloo and England Union Star Inducted into IRB's Roll of Honour"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171016122247/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-390909822.html). *Liverpool Echo*. Archived from [the original](https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-390909822.html) on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

1. ["Rugby Union: Back the first ladies of sport on Merseyside; In Touch."](https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rugby+Union%3A+Back+the+first+ladies+of+sport+on+Merseyside%3B+In+Touch.-a0153269158). *Daily Post*. Retrieved 31 March 2017. – via The Free Library.

1. ["Waterloo Ladies Leading the Way on Merseyside"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171016173924/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171842073.html). *Daily Post*. Archived from [the original](https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-171842073.html) on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

1. ["Waterloo RFC to be known as Firwood Waterloo FC after signing five-year partnership"](http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/other-sport/rugby-union/waterloo-rfc-known-firwood-waterloo-3333229). *Liverpool Echo*. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

1. Sharks, Sale (27 March 2013). ["Qbe Rugby Pro Winner Firwood Waterloo Ladies Fc Trains With Sale Sharks"](https://web.archive.org/web/20171016122350/http://www.salesharks.com/news/992.php#.WNzES_krLIU). Sale Sharks. Archived from [the original](http://www.salesharks.com/news/992.php#.WNzES_krLIU) on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

1. ["Thurrock women’s rugby side set to fight for new big money Super League inclusion"](http://www.theenquirer.co.uk/thurrock-womens-rugby-side-set-to-fight-for-new-big-money-super-league-inclusion/). *The Enquirer*. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.

1. ["RUGBY UNION: Premiership clubs put their weight behind Lichfield Ladies' Super League appeal"](http://www.lichfieldmercury.co.uk/rugby-union-premiership-clubs-put-their-weight-behind-lichfield-ladies-super-league-appeal/story-30175296-detail/story.html). *Lichfield Mercury*. 2 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.[dead link]

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Waterloo Ladies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Ladies) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterloo_Ladies?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.