IT MIGHT not have been the best World Cup for England's men but rising women's rugby star Jade Shekells says the tournament has inspired her to make it to the top of her sport.

On the pitch, the England men suffered the ignominy of becoming the first host nation to go out in the pool stages.

However the tournament as a whole proved to be a big success with fans and players both enjoying the best that world rugby had to offer.

Shekells, who plays for England Under 20s women after first turning out for Worcester girls, was a keen spectator herself.

And having seen England’s women team lift the World Cup in France last year, the 19-year-old Cardiff Met university student is determined to emulate her heroes and make it on the biggest stage of all.

“Watching the World Cup was brilliant and I think it really gave me a sense of where you can go in the sport if you work hard,” said Shekells, who benefits from being part of the SSE Next Generation scheme.

“You see the kind of support the players get from people in this country as well and it really just drives you on and keeps you motivated.

“My goal is to keep playing well at university and getting games for England under-20s and then see where that can take me.

“But I want to move through the age groups and play for the national side one day – that would be a dream come true.

“The goal for any player is to win the World Cup and so that's the dream and to do it would just be an indescribable feeling.”

While there is still plenty to do for Shekells, she is in a strong position for improvement with Cardiff Met and England under-20s places secure.

But she knows that, to make it to the top, there is a lot more hard work still to come and is keen to get her head down and keep edging her way closer to her dreams.

“The season has been going really with my university and I have had three camps with England under-20s,” she added.

“I am at Cardiff most of the time and I love playing there and being in an environment where you are with your teammates a lot.

“It's great to have a game to look forward to every week and to have training geared towards that so it's been nice.

“Hopefully it will help me to become a better player and I can kick on and make sure I keep improving so I can make the full England team one day.”

SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen