By Oli Dickson Jefford, Sportsbeat

MANSFIELD rugby ace Georgina Tasker revealed it was ‘surreal’ to see her Loughborough Lightning teammates star in a blockbuster TikTok Women’s Six Nations.

Tasker, 19, regularly trains alongside England stars Emily Scarratt, Sarah Hunter and Lark Davies, who featured heavily for the Red Roses as they won the Championship without losing a match.

With Lightning stars Rachel Malcolm, Emma Wassell and Helen Nelson also in action for Scotland, Tasker revelled in seeing her colleagues thrive in front of a growing audience.

She said: “It’s really nice to be able to watch people you train with every week perform on that kind of stage, whether it’s for England or for Scotland.

“Playing with people you see perform, especially in international matches, it’s quite surreal. You train with them every week and then you see them doing something really big at the weekend.

“Then they’ll come back to the club and they’re training with you again. It’s such a good opportunity for myself and younger players who are developing to learn from them.

“The kind of crowds they managed to attract at the England games, it was really nice to see the growth of women’s rugby and how far it’s come.

“Seeing records like the crowds is that it is the more tangible way of tracking how far we’ve come in the women’s game. It’s nice to see the hard work put in behind the scenes coming to light.”

Tasker’Ss career is financially supported by a partnership between Entain – owner of Ladbrokes and Coral – and SportsAid, set up in 2019 and part of the company’s innovative Pitching In initiative.

Though enjoying the success of her teammates, Tasker has had a stellar season herself.

Having made more appearances for Lightning in the Allianz Premier 15s, she also won a bronze medal for England’s Sevens side in Seville and represented her country in an Under-20s match against France.

“In comparison to last season, the amount of game time I’ve managed to get has been quite high. I’d say it’s been quite a good season for me personally,” she said.

“When I was out in Seville winning the bronze, I think I was quite shocked to even go and even get game time.

“Just being around incredible athletes and people I looked up to for ages, it was really inspiring to be around that. Especially when we won bronze, that was probably the highlight I’d say of the past 12 months.

“I did really enjoy the France away game for the U20 as well. I feel like when you’re growing up, that is a big fixture that you look at, look forward to. To be selected and play in that was really great.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.