Here Come The Rugby Girls

Have ball, will travel…

here was a time, of course, when rugby was played exclusively by the male of the species.

Ever since the game first emerged, in the 1880s, it was conceived and perceived as a sport that could and should be only played by men.

By men with, of course, odd-shaped balls.

The fact that it took over 100 years to pass before the formation of the Ireland Women’s Rugby Football Union is pretty darn shocking, this trailblazing team making their international debut two years later – on February 14th, 1993 – against Scotland.

To be fair to Ireland, this was Scotland’s first international too, as Europe and the rest of the world began to open up to the possibility that women could not only play rugby, but they were also pretty darn good at it.

Just how good has been plain for all to see down at Greystones Rugby Club, especially over the last few years, as girls of all ages have been responsible for some of the finest moments in the club’s history.

It’s hardly surprising to learn that more and more young girls are now signing up for this magnificent sport, with one particular team, the Under 12s, now heading to the big city this Sunday for the Aviva Mini Rugby National Festival. Our wildcard wildcats will be playing four of the country’s most-acclaimed girls rugby teams.

As practice got underway this evening, we talked to two of the team, Annie Fitzimmons and Ruby Scanlan, about their love of rugby, Sunday’s big game, and why girls are better than boys in pretty much everything…

You can find out more about Greystones Rugby Club right here.