Team of the Week -31.10.25

Team of the Week - 31.10.25

Resilience and progress headline this week’s Team of the Week.


Women’s sport continues its rise, grassroots basketball gets a major boost, and England’s Wheelchair Rugby League side deliver a strong comeback. Add Tom Lockyer’s inspirational return to the pitch, and you’ve got a week that sums up everything great about sport.


Who’s in your Team of the Week?


England Wheelchair Rugby League

Wheelchair Rugby League Ashes: First Test

The first Ashes test of the series was claimed by England, securing a commanding 56-28 victory over Australia. World champions, England, trailed 28-26 on Queensland's Gold Coast before their late rally, scoring five unanswered tries in the final 23 minutes, with Halifax Panthers’ Rob Hawkins scoring a hat-trick.

Basketball England

Investment in grassroots basketball

More than £600,000 has been invested to renovate 17 basketball courts across Birmingham, inspired by the success of England’s teams at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The upgrades aim to boost grassroots participation, providing safe, free spaces for young people to play and develop a lasting basketball legacy in the city. 


Tom Lockyer

Bristol Rovers defender

If you had told Tom Lockyer at the start of 2024 that he’d ever return to a football pitch, he would’ve told you that you were crazy. After suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch in December 2023, Lockyer’s heart stopped for almost three minutes — something that would usually be a career, if not life, ender. But not for Tom. Just 22 months later, he returned to the pitch for Bristol Rovers, and despite the result not going his way, I think we can all agree that the result wasn’t the most important thing.

Women’s Sport

More growth for women’s sport

There’s been a significant increase in the number of people watching women’s sport, according to a report by the Women’s Sport Trust. Women's sport was watched by record female audiences in the UK this summer across both broadcast and digital platforms, with record viewing hours and strong engagement across this summer's major tournaments.

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by Nicholas Rewcastle 13 February 2026
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by Nicholas Rewcastle 13 February 2026
Sport and impact focused PR and communications agency, New Reach, has renewed its partnership with Hampshire Cricket and the iconic Utilita Bowl for a fourth consecutive year. This continued collaboration underscores New Reach’s commitment to delivering exceptional PR and media relations that has amplified profile for the club and venue, alike. Since 2022, New Reach has worked closely with Hampshire Cricket to deliver strategic media relations, innovative campaigns, and impactful storytelling that showcase the club’s achievements both on and off the pitch. New Reach has led PR campaigns including the historic solar project in partnership with Utilita, established new and improved relationships with media brands, driven global announcements and managed key media moments including media days, the signing of cricketing icon Ellyse Perry and the club’s acquisition by GMR Group. Throughout 2026, New Reach will closely align with a new-look team at Utilita Bowl, delivering PR strategy across key moments inside and out of cricket. This will include The Hundred in its new format, the stadium’s 25 year anniversary, positioning the club and venue as leaders across T20, women’s and international cricket, ongoing cricket and regional media engagement, celebrating impact in the community and placing the club’s leaders at the heart of the industry. Nick Rewcastle, Managing Director at New Reach, commented: “We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with Hampshire Cricket for another year. Utilita Bowl is one of the most exciting venues in global sport and entertainment, and we look forward to continuing to help Hampshire Cricket and the venue tell its story and connect with audiences in meaningful ways. “Every year is an exciting year at Utilita Bowl, and we’ve enjoyed working across such a variety of powerful projects and initiatives. 2026 is set to continue in that trajectory, but with some new faces internally at the club and the first full year of new ownership. We’re truly looking forward to backing the Rose and Crown again this year.” Jonathan Peace, Head of Brand, Digital and Marketing at Utilita Bowl added: “New Reach has been an invaluable partner in elevating our communications strategy. Their expertise and creativity have helped us build stronger relationships with fans and media alike, and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together in 2026.” With deep-rooted expertise in sport, media and events, New Reach crafts tailored campaigns across PR, social media and video that inspire action and create lasting impact. New Reach’s commitment to transparency and authenticity drives everything the agency does, with partnerships going beyond business; ensuring every collaboration is rooted in integrity, trust, and a shared purpose. New Reach will not compromise trust, morals or rules to profit.
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Sport and impact focused PR and communications agency, New Reach, has renewed its partnership with Hampshire Cricket and the iconic Utilita Bowl for a fourth consecutive year. This continued collaboration underscores New Reach’s commitment to delivering exceptional PR and media relations that has amplified profile for the club and venue, alike. Since 2022, New Reach has worked closely with Hampshire Cricket to deliver strategic media relations, innovative campaigns, and impactful storytelling that showcase the club’s achievements both on and off the pitch. New Reach has led PR campaigns including the historic solar project in partnership with Utilita, established new and improved relationships with media brands, driven global announcements and managed key media moments including media days, the signing of cricketing icon Ellyse Perry and the club’s acquisition by GMR Group. Throughout 2026, New Reach will closely align with a new-look team at Utilita Bowl, delivering PR strategy across key moments inside and out of cricket. This will include The Hundred in its new format, the stadium’s 25 year anniversary, positioning the club and venue as leaders across T20, women’s and international cricket, ongoing cricket and regional media engagement, celebrating impact in the community and placing the club’s leaders at the heart of the industry. Nick Rewcastle, Managing Director at New Reach, commented: “We’re thrilled to extend our partnership with Hampshire Cricket for another year. Utilita Bowl is one of the most exciting venues in global sport and entertainment, and we look forward to continuing to help Hampshire Cricket and the venue tell its story and connect with audiences in meaningful ways. “Every year is an exciting year at Utilita Bowl, and we’ve enjoyed working across such a variety of powerful projects and initiatives. 2026 is set to continue in that trajectory, but with some new faces internally at the club and the first full year of new ownership. We’re truly looking forward to backing the Rose and Crown again this year.” Jonathan Peace, Head of Brand, Digital and Marketing at Utilita Bowl added: “New Reach has been an invaluable partner in elevating our communications strategy. Their expertise and creativity have helped us build stronger relationships with fans and media alike, and we’re excited to see what we can achieve together in 2026.” With deep-rooted expertise in sport, media and events, New Reach crafts tailored campaigns across PR, social media and video that inspire action and create lasting impact. New Reach’s commitment to transparency and authenticity drives everything the agency does, with partnerships going beyond business; ensuring every collaboration is rooted in integrity, trust, and a shared purpose. New Reach will not compromise trust, morals or rules to profit.
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