A Kingsteignton sportswoman has become a World Record holder after participating in the longest ever game of rugby.

Shawna Ball was one of 92 players across four teams who took to the pitch at Mullingar Rugby Club in Ireland last Wednesday (June 18) for the history-making record-breaking attempt.

The feat is even more remarkable as Shawna, who is also a Taekwondo world champion, has only been playing the sport for a year.

‘It is still sinking in, the achievement that I have accomplished. A challenge that ended up being a lot harder than originally anticipated especially with it being so hot during both days,’ Shawna said.

After kicking off at 8am on Wednesday June 18, the women played for 26 hours and 33 minutes breaking the previous record of 24 hours five minutes and 15 seconds.

A men’s game also smashed the previous record, lasting 34 hours and 48 minutes. The previous record was 30 hours 29 minutes and 33 seconds.

Guinness World Records are now verifying the footage before officially entering the games into the record books.

Shawna scored 10 tries during the game and converted six of them contributing to a final score of 1,142 to the Woodenheadz to 1,357 for the LooseSpoons. ‘I scored in every stint I was on the pitch,’ Shawna said. Shawna, who usually plays prop, had a go at every position throughout the challenge.

During the game, players generally rotated playing four hours on and with one or two hours off. However, Shawna explained, ‘after a few hours we started to get injuries where it meant that people had to pull out. Therefore, some people ended up doing up to six hours on the pitch and it also meant that some breaks off the pitch were shortened so you would only get a 30-minute break off the pitch before having to come back on.’

The games were made even more challenging due to the heat. ‘It was around 25 degrees on both days with no breeze,’ Shawna explained.

Shawna had originally planned to push through with no sleep. ‘We were having to refuel while we were off the pitch so there wasn’t much opportunity to get much sleep,’ she said. However, the sun and heat had made her feel unwell so she managed to get a couple of hours rest during the marathon game.

‘It feels amazing to hold a world record,’ Shawna proudly said. ‘And also to have done it for three great charities.’

The event has raised over £115,000 for three charities: children’s rugby charity Wooden Spoon, mental health charity Looseheadz and The Lions Trust.

‘The money will really help people to get help that they need,’ she added.

After the final whistle was blown, players got the chance to shower and catch up on rest before attending the British and Irish Lions game against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin where they were applauded on the pitch at half time.