Clydebank Rugby Club women's team hosts first tournament

The team donned new kits and a sense of community pride as they walked out onto the pitch on Sunday taking part in the first development event for the club’s ladies section.

The group faced seven teams from across Scotland, playing two games and winning one.

Clydebank Ladies Rugby Football Club coaches Ashley Kean and Joe Connolly. [Photograph by Connor Bryce]

However, Joe Connolly, who coaches the women’s team, said the event wasn’t about winning.

He said: “The main thing was to make sure that we got the girls out there learning contact rugby so they can develop.

“I think they actually achieved that today certainly the feedback from all the teams was that they just loved it, that’s what it’s all about.

“I’m fortunate enough that I’m able to go out there and coach these girls and actually see the progression coming to fruition on the field.

"But that couldn’t have been done without a lot of the hard work in the background.

“Hopefully all we can do is build strength by strength. It’s about making sure that we let everybody know that there’s a ladies rugby team in Clydebank, and that it isn’t just a men’s sport.”

The tournament was held at Clydebank Community Sport Hub.

Teams travelled from as far as Dundee and Irvine to participate in Sunday’s event at Clydebank Community Sport Hub.

The tournament was also attended by a number of referees and officials from the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU).

Referees Beatriz Casares and Marsha Peasley. [Photograph by Connor Bryce]

Beatriz Casares, one of the referees, said: “It is a very good learning curve for them.

"These kind of events always challenge us as referees because it demands for us to better communicate between ourselves.

“We want the game to flow, we want them to play so the idea is that we don’t blow the whistle all the time.

"I think it was a pretty good day.”

Callum Harris, school & youth partnership officer for Glasgow south at SRU said: "The Clydebank Ladies Development Tournament was an excellent example of the hard work the rugby club, and in particular Ashley and Joe, have put into developing opportunities for women within the area to engage in rugby.

“It was great to see the club pull together to organise and run the event, with strong support for the female players coming from the committee, senior men’s, and junior sections.

“These events are essential to continuing the development of new players coming into our sport.

“They serve as a strong showcase for the hard work and dedication shown by the players and volunteers as they continue on their rugby journey.

“I look forward to seeing the continued progress of this group at Clydebank and the wider impact for women’s rugby across the Glasgow North region.”

Clydebank Ladies Rugby Football Club ahead of the tournament.

Following months of hard work and training, the ladies section can now look forward to a couple of weeks' rest as they ease back into training.

Coaches Ashley and Joe with Clydebank Ladies Rugby Football Club's captains. [Photograph by Connor Bryce]

Ashley Kean, who coaches Clydebank’s women’s rugby team, said: “It’s a shame it’s over.

"We’ve looked forward to it for the past couple of months but it was a really good experience.

“I’m one very happy, proud coach, they did brilliantly considering they’ve never played full games before they just went out there and rocked it.

“It was brilliant - they were ecstatic. Their confidence was up and the second team we went out to play were a bit more of an advanced team.

"But their heads didn’t go down, they still continued to put the pressure on. Even though they lost it didn’t matter they were still smiling and were still happy.

“I think there will be a rest for a couple of weeks anyway. We’ll ease them in gently back to training.

“But I think there’s going to be another couple of things like this - a couple of teams have already said we’re going to host something in the next couple of weeks.

"So hopefully we’ll have an invite out to somewhere in the next couple of weeks that we’ll need to work towards.”

Huddle during the tournament.

Many of those who attended felt the day was a success with Ashley explaining she hadn’t stopped smiling the whole time.

The 34-year-old added: “I’m a very, very happy coach, I’ve not stopped smiling all day and my throats sore from shouting from the sidelines but it’s been worth the hard work.”