On Saturday 28th of April, Celine was selected to play rugby in the Sarah Beaney Cup Final on Silver Saturday at BT Murrayfield. She speaks to us about that day and her experience as a woman rugby player.
Silver Saturday is a great rugby event in Scotland and this year was even more special since seven rugby finals happened at BT Murrayfield the same day. This included the 1872 Cup between the professional teams of Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby. My team, the Watsonians FC ladies team, qualified for the final of the Sarah Beaney Cup, which is the highest trophy for women’s rugby in Scotland. It was an amazing experience for me to be a part of, especially since a year ago I had never touched a rugby ball. Reaching the final was a first for my team and everybody around us made sure that it would be a day to remember. The build-up in the weeks before the game was exciting to live and we tried to prepare the best we could for a game we knew would be tough against the team of Hillhead Jordanhill that has many international Scottish players. We lost the game but we experienced and learnt so much in one day that the result is only encouraging for the future.
Not many people have run on the grass of BT Murrayfield and it was a proud moment for all the ladies of my team to play there and promote women’s rugby in front of our friends, relatives but also in front of the rugby community.
It has been almost a year since I started to play rugby and it’s one of the best decision I have taken. I used to love watching rugby when I was a kid and hear all the great stories about what a friendly sport it is but no one can imagine how much this is true until you’ve actually joined a team. The human values that the sport carries have no equivalent. How often do you see people tackling each other and then laughing together around a pint 80 minutes later?
As a newbie, I was warmly welcomed to the team and the club, it didn’t matter that I had no rugby experience, every player and coach made sure I would feel comfortable and confident, and that’s what has made me progress over the season.
Many people wouldn’t expect a woman architect to play rugby after work but it has given me a life balance that I needed. I believe it is important to have an activity outside of the working hours that allows you to “switch off” and disconnect from all the issues you might have had during the day. When we put the boots on, we are all equal, no matter what background and professions we come from. I could only recommend for all women to give rugby a try as it completely changed my life.
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