Declan, 16, hopes Rugby World Cup can change game's 'violent' image
The teenager has played grassroots rugby for the last 10 years
A teenage rugby player ses other players sharing their experience can help change the image of the grassroots game in Cambridgeshire.
Declan is 16 and has played at St Ives Rugby Club, which fields senior and junior teams, for the last 10 years.
One of the issues he feels exists in the grassroots game is how it's seen by adults and children as possibly a violent sport, which he wants to try and change.
"Rugby's seen as quite a violent sport, so attracting people to come and play rugby is quite hard," he said.
"I tell them my experiences; I've never been badly injured and I hope this encourages them (to play).
"There may not be as many players as there once was; for example, we've not got an under 14 setup at the minute, but we have lots of other age groups."
Grassroots rugby heading in 'promising' direction
Sport England has invested more than £70 million into improving the infrastructure in grassroots rugby across the last 10 years, such as providing good quality pitches.
Declan believes that the future of the grassroots game is in a good place, helped by this year's Rugby World Cup on and off the pitch.
"It looks quite promising; there's a lot more funding than there was, such as for equipment," he said.
"It's good to watch the elites of the game, see what they do and it's good to adopt some of their strategies into our game."
England's Rugby World Cup fixtures
September 23 - Chile: Stade Pierre-Mauroy – 4.45pm
October 7 - Samoa: Stade Pierre-Mauroy – 4.45pm