When Lauren Ebeling relocated from the U.S. to England, the Chicagoan was looking to test her rugby capabilities. She hit those heights, winning two championship finals inside Twickenham, and also found new and different ways for rugby to infiltrate her personal and professional life. When the 32-year-old returns to the states in the new year, she’ll be W RUGBY’s Head of Sales for America and promoting the mission of an organization that focuses on grassroots rugby growth. [lead photo: Danté K Photography]
Ebeling was playing high-level rugby with Chicago North Shore, Chicago Lions and ARTPC when she took her rugby passions overseas. She received a rugby scholarship to Durham University in fall 2021 and earned a second master’s degree in sociology (she also holds a master’s in public health). After graduation, she transitioned to the Cheltenham Tigers, competing on the 1XV in the Championship North. Ebeling won back-to-back titles with the Tigers and celebrated inside Twickenham Stadium.
Ebeling celebrating inside Twickenham
“It was surreal,” Ebeling remembered the first trip to Twickenham. “We beat Leicester in the 78th minute of the [2023] game. Just picture perfect.”
For 7s, Ebeling has spent the past three summers with the Savvy Panthers competing on the U.K. Super Series. W RUGBY is the program’s biggest sponsor and the brain child of co-founders Dovy Cornerford (Wales) and Andy Lewis (Australia). W RUGBY’s primary product is a newly engineered rugby ball with exceptional grip.
“I love the ball. The grip is so nice, especially in 7s with the distant passing,” said Ebeling, whose team trains exclusively with the W RUGBY ball. “But W RUGBY isn’t trying to be the top standard ball in rugby, but the elite ball of grassroots rugby, and that’s where the mission comes into play.”
During a 7s tournament this past summer, Ebeling spent the day handing out mini rugby balls alongside Dovy, who is the engineer of the founders’ duo. Andy is the public health and inclusion piece, which resonates with Ebeling professionally. She walked away with a deeper understanding of the organization’s focus and a desire to bring it to the U.S.
“At the moment, Gilbert really has such a hold on the market,” Ebeling said of rugby ball popularity. “But the more that Dovy and Andy got into it, they found that grassroots and everything outside of the men’s elite game was being neglected, and so they decided to focus on grassroots rugby and help the clubs. That’s how they came up with the Won for Won project.”
Project: Won for Won is pretty simple. For every rugby ball that someone buys, a ball is donated to a grassroots rugby team in need. Thus far, W RUGBY has donated more than 2,000 rugby balls worldwide.
Youth player lining up the kick with a W RUGBY ball
“To help grow the game, let’s get the ball in more people’s hands, and let’s give clubs that might not have the chance to buy a nice set of rugby balls an opportunity to play with them,” Ebeling summarized the goal. “I basically told Dovy to hire me. My degrees don’t have anything to do with sales or marketing, but I believe so much in the mission of W RUGBY and I can probably sell rugby balls.”
W RUGBY did just that and now Ebeling is spreading the good word as she readies for a return to Chicago.
“The nice thing with the Won for Won project is that you can nominate who you want the balls to go back to,” Ebeling explained. “So for example, if the Chicago Lions purchase balls for their senior side, they can then donate those balls back to their youth program. The Lions do a lot of work getting inner-city kids off the streets and away from violence and into the sport, and this is a great way to grow the game.”
Ebeling is digging into her U.S. rugby network and talking partnerships. If anyone has questions about the program or how to get on the donation list, reach out to anyone on the team: Contact.
“With the announcement of [Women’s Elite Rugby] and the USA women winning the bronze at the Olympics, I feel like W RUGBY coming to the states will be amazing,” Ebeling said of natural momentum. “It’s time to get as many people playing rugby as we can.”