When/why did you get involved with Women’s Rugby at Strathclyde?
I got involved with women’s rugby my first year at Strathclyde, actually the first weeks of university. I met Rhianne, who was then captain of the club, at the Sports Fair that year and then went along to the first training after that. Why I got involved? Well looking back I hardly know. I had never played rugby before. In fact, I had barely heard of it, let alone seen it, since it’s very uncommon in my home country. I guess I wanted to try something new, something I’d never done before and meet new people. And I liked it right away; the girls in the team were very nice, the training was a good workout and the game itself, all though I was pretty terrible at it at first, agreed with me somehow.
What is the training like?
We used to train out at Stepps training grounds. Training usually meant that we met up outside the Union and then got the bus out together. We always had a great social life in the club and my team mates are also my good friends, so the time we spend together going to and from training was always good fun. Then we’d train for an hour and a half or so, depending slightly on the weather. We’d either have a coach; Mark, there or the team captain would be in charge of training. What exactly we’d do at training varied greatly depending on if we had a game coming up, if we needed to work on a specific skill etc. Rugby training can be tough at times; you’re outside in the freezing cold Scottish weather, in gale force winds, rain, hail and snow, you’re running, you’re up and down of the ground and obviously rugby is a contact sport. And that’s what it’s supposed to be. Still, we always kept it fun, mixing the ordinary training up with the occasional fun and games, for example our much loved hippity-hop race.
Our ordinary training was mixed with the occasional training-days organised by Scottish Rugby, when we trained with other women’s rugby teams. Those training-days were always good fun, both socially and the training we did. You got to meet other women who played rugby, train with new coaches and just generally get some new in-put to the training.
However, this last year, when I’ve been on an exchange year, training has changed a lot and since I haven’t been a part of the team this year I’m not the right person to describe what training looks like at the moment.
How many matches do you get per term/who do you play?
We struggled to get games; because we were such a new team, we lacked players and there are not that many other teams on our level. Still, we played a couple of games every year. We had a game against “the rivals”, Glasgow Uni, every year and we’d part-take in tournaments arranged by Scottish Rugby.
Does Women’s Rugby team at Strathclyde have a close relationship with the Men’s Rugby team?
No, not really. We saw them at training once in a while, but no more than that.
How popular would you say Women’s Rugby is at Strathclyde?
Sadly, not very popular at all. Apart from the women who have played before they come to Strathclyde, I think a lot of women are hesitant to even give rugby a try. Unfortunately I believe this is a lot to do with the fact that there is, not just at Strathclyde but in general, a preconceived notion of what women’s rugby is. There are a lot of false stereotypes about women who play rugby and about what rugby is like in general. And it’s a shame that these things keep women from even giving rugby a chance.
Moreover, women’s rugby at Strathclyde is still a fairly new team, which sometimes means that it doesn’t have the resources or gets the recognition it deserves.
What does Women’s Rugby offer which other sports at Strathclyde don’t?
If you’re like me and you’ve never played before, it offers the chance to test something quite different from anything else. Women’s rugby is a sport where you can really push yourself, increase your strength both mentally and physically and go beyond what you previously thought yourself capable of. And you get to do all this in a club where you have supportive team mates to help you and encourage you. I’ve never had a harsh word from any of my team mates, in spite the fact that I was pretty rubbish when I first started and I’m far from a talent after these two years. I mean, it took me a semester to grasp the fact that you can only throw the ball backwards… Instead they’ve always been friendly and supportive, which has allowed me to develop more than I thought possible. After all, if someone had asked me three years ago if I’d ever play rugby, well first of all I wouldn’t have a clue what they were talking about since I barely knew what rugby was, but I’d definitely said that I was too small, or too weak, or not tough enough. But being a part of the women’s rugby at Strathclyde proved all that wrong. It proved that there’s no such thing as being too weak, too big, too small, not being tough enough, not being athletic enough, to do anything. And I think that the Strathclyde Women’s Rugby team is unique in that way, it’s a very inclusive team that supports you and allows you to develop both as an athlete and a person.
Any advice for anyone interested in joining?
Forget about all the negative preconceived ideas you might have about rugby and women’s rugby in particular! Any woman, regardless of what you look like, act like, live like or how old you are can play rugby and everyone is welcome in the team. My advice would be; give it a go! If you don’t like it, well then at least you’ve tried. If you’re like me, you’ll sit on the bus on the way back from the first training and think “well, this was madness, but I quite enjoyed it. It was a great work-out and the other girls seem really nice”. If that’s the case, then come along to the next training as well. Who knows, you might end up having a similar experience to what I’ve had: make great new friends, play a sport that is both physically and mentally challenging and rewarding, have some really fun times both on and off the pitch and push yourself beyond what you thought yourself capable of.
If you’re interested, send an email to strathclydewr@gmail.com or find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/198599860217020/ or on the Sports Union’s webpage www.sportsunion.co.uk/index.php/9-sports-clubs/62-rugby-w or give team captain Kaila Hall a ring on 0782 8132427.