With the Women’s Six Nations well underway, Brig caught up with Stirling’s very own Women’s Rugby Club President, Brooke Barr.
Brooke began playing rugby early on in high school when she was offered the chance to get out of a boring class and try out rugby instead. She was supposed to be looking after a bag of flour and pretending it was a baby, which she couldn’t be bothered with. So, when she was offered the chance to skip that class and try out rugby instead, she thought “I’ll come along, I’m getting out of class.” And that was a decision that changed her life.
“Before that I didn’t play any sports, nothing seriously, and since then I’ve never looked back.”
What SUWRFC Entails
Brooke joined the university rugby team when she started at Stirling. Now, alongside her studies, her week consists of training twice a week, on Monday and Thursday evenings. On top of that the team have strength and conditioning on a Tuesday ahead of their usual Wednesday fixture.
Like many other BUCS events, games are normally on a Wednesday. These matches can take them across the country, which can add a little bit more stress trying to fit all the pre-match activities in with the commute. Brooke said: “Home games are definitely my favourite because I get a little bit more of a lie in, and I don’t have to drive somewhere else.
“Nevertheless, home or away, we meet half an hour before our warm up, which is usually an hour before kickoff. We’ll get the tunes on in the changing room, get the morale and hype going, people are doing braids, people are putting ribbon in their hair, putting on the kit – and hopefully someone good washed it otherwise it smells.
“And then we go out and play an 80 minute fixture, have post match teas, and then we go out!”
Recent SUWRFC Success
Their efforts aren’t for nothing. SUWRFC perform very well on the leaderboards. In BUCS Women’s Rugby there are currently two tiers, Scottish Tier 1, and Scottish Tier 2, Brooke explained: “We have been in Scottish Tier 1 for three years now, we were battling relegation for the past two years, but this year we came third, which is good!” So when SUWRFC play their games, they play against other teams in Scottish Tier 1.
Brooke is especially pleased with their current spot in the table: “In our club development plan at the start of the year, I set out that we would sit comfortably mid table, and we have absolutely smashed that goal.”
On top of their improved table position, SUWRFC made it to the second round of the National Trophy after a home win against Strathclyde.
They then travelled to Liverpool to play their next game: “It was brutal to say the least. I think it definitely shows that there is a bit of a difference between English and Scottish sides. I think the English rugby is in a bit of a better spot compared to us, because they didn’t absolutely wallop us but they did put a good score past us.”
Despite not getting the outcome they wanted, SUWRFC remained proud of their efforts regardless. Brooke was awarded the President’s Award at this year’s Sports Ball, winning alongside SWURFC’s own Orla Duncan who won the Michael Stewart Memorial Trophy for Volunteer Coach of the Year.
Why Should You Join SUWRFC?
SUWRFC isn’t all about celebrating wins and losses; it is also prides itself on its warm, approachable environment. Brooke said: “From my experience, and everyone I’ve spoken to, it’s an extremely inclusive environment. You can take anyone from any background – it doesn’t matter if you’ve played a sport before or not – you can be literally anyone and you’ll be welcomed with open arms, I think that’s the biggest thing for me.”
Brooke added: “Sport is what has made my experience at university, it just isn’t quite the same without that support network. People go above and beyond for each other… I think that university rugby kind of gets rid of that seriousness that you get everywhere else.”
Brooke’s advice for anyone considering joining SUWRFC – or any other club – is to just “take those chances. Do something that’s outside of your comfort zone, I mean I didnt expect myself to run for president last year and I did.
“I think the biggest thing the club has given to me is my leadership skills, and working alongside other people – cause it’s hard running a club, and I think a lot of the people that I look up to in club rugby are the people who run the club behind the scenes, I think that they are so important, and it is so nice to have women in those roles, because a lot of the time in club rugby it’s just run by men.”
So if you’re looking for a new hobby to try out, why not listen to Brooke and try women’s rugby?
Image Credit: University of Stirling Women’s Rugby Club.