Border Telegraph | Sport | Ladies rugby stuck in a ruck

Friday, 5th December, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 15th October, 2008 09:00

Ladies rugby stuck in a ruck

By Alexa Brown

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LOCAL LADIES have been encouraged to get into rugby as it was revealed that the Borders bucks the national trend for growth in the womens’ game.

Statistics released by Scottish Rugby last week showed that the number of senior women registered to play in Scotland is up by 12% this year.

But, a Borders-based coach this week stressed that the trend is simply not filtering through to clubs in the region, where ladies rugby has seen a huge decline over the last decade.

Mike Bleasdale, the Melrose Ladies coach, told the Border Telegraph: “Ten years ago there were senior ladies’ teams in Peebles, Hawick, Lanholm, Duns and Berwick. Now we are the only team left in the Borders.

“This trend (for growth) doesn’t seem to be filtering through to clubs at all. The SRU have a habit of over-exaggerating these things.”

“One of the problems is that girls start when they’re 17 or 18, then leave to go to university and we don’t seem to have many new youngsters coming through.

“You tend to find that girls are sometimes more comfortable coming along in pairs or groups of friends. If ladies want to come along with their pals to try out the game at Melrose then that’s fine. New faces are more than welcome.”

If you’re interested in getting involved in Melrose Ladies’ rugby, call Mike on 07798 927 237.

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