Glen Urquhart Rugby Club making early history as Highland satellite club and with entering first all-girls’ team into festival
A newly-established rugby club in Drumnadrochit has already made history twice, just months after forming.
Glen Urquhart RFC formed in October last year, originally starting out as a weekly High Life Highland session for primary school pupils on Tuesday nights before expanding into a second session at Glen Urquhart High School on Sunday mornings.
On the bigger, Tuesday night practices, the club already sees up to 60 children attending and trying their hand at the sport.
The club are supported by Highland Rugby Club as the Inverness outfit’s first ever satellite club, helping funnel young talent into Canal Park – with hopes to eventually progress past primary school age up to under-16 level at Glen Urquhart.
As part of their players’ development, Glen Urquhart have entered festivals to get their youngsters used to playing matches.
Last weekend, they visited Nairn Thunderbolts’ Annual Rugby Festival in Kinloss, and scored another first by entering the first ever all-girls Primary 4/5 team the Highlands has seen.
Generally speaking, teams are mixed up to 12 years old, but festival teams are usually largely comprised of boys, making an all-girls’ team a stand-out.
“As a club, we actually started off with more girls than boys, but we have lost a few girls,” coach Colin Marshall said.
“We are quite blessed in Glenurquhart because we have a lot of girls playing shinty, and it’s a good way into rugby from that.
“The girls didn’t actually win any games, but they fought tenaciously. The boys were bigger than them, but the girls’ teamwork meant they were probably the best unit.
“They played five games in total and ran a couple of teams very close. Four of the girls had played at one festival before, but this was their first time competing as a girls’ team.
“From everyone I’ve spoken to, that’s unheard of at this level. The feedback that we had from other coaches, and even spectators, was that it was absolutely amazing to see.”
Marshall, despite coming from more of a shinty background and also coaching football, has a vested interest in seeing both rugby grow in the Glen and in encouraging girls to take up sport.
“My oldest son, who lives outside Bristol, was struggling with school because he is dyslexic,” Marshall explained.
“He started playing rugby and he is now at Hartpury College on a rugby scholarship, so I’ve seen the different rugby has made to him.
“My daughter plays for the rugby team, sport has done me the world of good too. All the positives that go with team sport – that sense of belonging, the teamwork, the list is endless – but looking at the stats when girls get to a certain age they drop off from playing sport.
“I’m told that girls’ rugby is the fastest sport in the world, so it was just about giving these girls opportunities.
“From my army career, the best thing was playing sport, and being able to give young girls opportunities in sport is something I really want to do.”
