Women’s rugby at Worcester is a new phenomenon, and it is with great pride that I can say, its really taking off. This time last year a group of girls began chucking a rugby ball around every Sunday before brunch and soon enough we were hooked. We decided between us to elect a captain, vice captain and social secretary, and to my delight, I got the captaincy role. I knew from the kick-off that I wanted to introduce contact rugby to the girls, but I faced a rather big problem, that is, that I myself had never played the game! So I set out to learn everything I could about rugby, as quickly as possible.

I started going to the OURFC development sessions at Iffley Road, encouraged some of the girls to come with me, and set up weekly training sessions. Soon enough, we had 20 odd girls signed up and ready to play in the first ever full contact women’s rugby match between two single colleges. Of course, the university women’s rugby team has been going now for 30 years, but there had never been a full-contact inter-collegiate women’s ruby match until Worcester Ladies took on University college at the end of Michaelmas term last year. Unfortunately, as Univ were a more established and experienced team than ourselves, we did not take home the victory.

We recently competed in the women’s rugby Cuppers which involved a series of rugby 7’s matches, we have since been knocked out, but are so proud to be one of only three colleges to have been able to supply their own team (the other teams were made up of a cluster of colleges).

I come from a rugby loving family, (my Dad coaches my brothers team at home) but it was never a sport that I had really considered playing myself, and even if I had considered it, it was never offered to me. I’m so glad that rugby is now a part of my life and I can confidently say that the other girls would agree. We are going from strength to strength and I hope that women’s rugby at Worcester will continue for many years to come.

Ruby James