Too Pretty to Play Rugby

I am not a particularly observant individual. I have also not done too much research into this; so it comes entirely from what I have (badly) observed when I say that I'm pretty sure that women's sport has seen much better coverage over the last few years than it ever has. With the women's World Cup being shown on BBC this Summer, it bodes well for what looks like an upsurge of coverage in women's sports. Which will hopefully lead to an abolition of any sort of negative stigma towards women who play and will help people to see that women are no less important than males in sport.

Despite this, I do believe that there are some differences between men and women - they tend to play differently. Referring more to rugby, I would argue that in-play, women are more calculative in their decisions when playing whereas men tend to smash each other up and hope for a good outcome - both excellent methods, but still different. Of course, these are massive generalisations and are not always so black and white, women can be just as vicious as men, and men can be just as tactful in their decisions as I have seen women be.

This does not mean that we (women) are not made for contact! Our legs are fast, our bodies are strong and at times, playing rugby is not a walk in the park! Some girls I know have taken some bloody hard hits, sustained some pretty nasty injuries and have also been at the giving end of them.

Some LUWRU injuries, just in case you're interested -

Sian was given this gorgeous shiner only 10 days before starting her new job having graduated from Liverpool University. The other picture is of Amy Brady's leg after it endured a particularly rough game. No one (including herself!) realised quite now bad it was until we stepped off of the pitch. She may bruise like a peach, but no one ever hears her whinging!

Our Tammy dislocated her finger during one training session and STILL came back fighting to be awarded Back of the Season for this year.

Emily Oliver ruptured the cruciates in her knee and has subsequently been absent for the end of the season, we're wishing her a speedy recovery as she's currently undergoing a long course of physio and potentially another operation!

Buzzy Bee, one of the only two fresher second rows, broke her collar bone and had to be cut out of a shirt in A&E. No one had any idea that she'd actually broken anything as she didn't even feel any pain until we were almost back in Liverpool.

Eleanor, (conveniently, the other second row) was also badly injured this season before she'd even set foot on the pitch! In the same training session that left Tammy with a finger at a 90 degree angle, Eleanor broke two bones in her foot. She hopes to return this season with a vengeance!

They're a bunch of bloody hard girls! 

So why do we play if we end up getting smashed up and constantly look like we're wearing black and blue tights?

Because playing Rugby is exhilarating. There are few words on this Earth to accurately describe how you feel when you're on the pitch. The adrenaline is so intense you feel as though you're going to burst as you create an indestructible force against another team alongside your best friends. What feeling could top this? 

I was 14 when I first decided that I wanted to play rugby, but it wasn't until I was 18 and at Uni that I actually joined a team. Becoming involved in sport isn't always easy, especially when the sport you want to play isn't widely offered and therefore I played in my school team which only consisted of one game and a 7s tournament before the only female P.E. teacher willing to teach us left to work at another school. 

Although, I learnt that it is never too late to start! University opens up so many windows of opportunity and becoming involved in sport is one of the most rewarding and exciting ones. I can't recommend it enough, if you can't do it at Uni, when can you?! During my time with LUWRU, I have been lucky enough to play with players of all different abilities, from players who had never touched a rugby ball to some extremely experienced players. This is a photo of Catherine O'Donnell, she is part of the England u20s squad and she also plays for LUWRU. We have the pleasure of playing (and partying) alongside her in the BUCs league. The dynamic of having experienced and inexperienced players only makes us stronger as a team as we learn from each other and we develop pastoral relationships on and off the pitch.

Winning or losing, Rugby is an incredible sport and the people you play against generally mirror the attitude that you give to them. If you're looking for a good, clean game, that's what you'll get. Rugby is a game that is traditionally played by 'gentlemen' and any decent rugby player will recognise that this is a standard that is in our interest to maintain.

But how we feel about the sport doesn't change the sneers and comments that we get from people when they learn that we are rugby players. So I'm just going to share with you some of my least favourite things that have ever been said to me.

• "So you're a lesbian then?"

Something that I have heard way too many times. No I am not a lesbian, but if I was - who cares? The assumption that rugby players are all lesbians is uneducated and wrong. Some people who play rugby are lesbians, some people who play netball are lesbians and some people who don't play any sport at all are lesbians. The fact that a few people still have this ridiculous assumption only shows their ignorance not only to the sport, but to culture today.

• "Oh but don't you have to get up close with lesbians? Doesn't that make you feel uncomfortable?"

I would have absolutely no problem in getting up close to a lesbian on the pitch to tackle them/to scrum alongside them/etc. etc. etc.. Lesbians don't instantly fancy you just because you're female and if you think they do, then you need to deflate your ego. I don't care if there are lesbians on my team or lesbians on the opposing team, we are there for one reason - to play rugby. AND if you're referring to the relationship we have off of the pitch - I care even less about having friends that are lesbian/bisexual/straight/anything else under the sun, because I'm not an arse.

• "But you don't look like a rugby player!"

Of course I look like a rugby player! That is what I am. Whatever your idea is of what a stereotypical rugby girl looks like - forget it and look no further! We are rugby players and as you can see from the picture on the left - we are sexy, so the insinuation that you made that all rugby players are butch and ugly, couldn't be more wrong.

• "You're too pretty to play rugby!"

By far the worst. Since when has being pretty had anything to do with playing a sport and enjoying yourself? Never. You are never 'too pretty' to do anything that will make you happier or a better person. Besides, we can be pretty AND play rugby.

• "But aren't you scared of being hurt?"

I'm scared as much as I would have been had I taken up crochet knitting, except I try to live my life on the more exciting side. Every sport has the potential to injure you and I have seen some fairly brutal injuries during my time playing hockey. Not only this, but you rarely hear people saying to boys - "aren't you scared of being hurt?" No they're not, and no, we're not either.

But aside from the negativity occasionally shown from these imbeciles, joining Rugby was the best thing I could possibly have done at Uni. I have met some of my best friends through it. They are great girls; I don't have a bad word to say about any one of them and you're sure to find at least a couple of girls who are up for a night out, whatever day of the week it is.

Finally I would just like to say that Sport England's 'This Girl Can' campaign is absolutely brilliant. Women deserve to be able to play sport for enjoyment and not feel intimidated or like they're being judged. Although different sports will suit different people, I can't emphasise enough how rewarding it is to join a sports team; team sports improve your life in so many ways, fitness, friendships and your general happiness. No matter how old you are or what your ability is - do it, you won't regret it.



http://www.sportengland.org/our-work/national-work/this-girl-can/