Caithness women are making their mark
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CAITHNESS is punching well above its weight in girls’ and women’s rugby as the success of players in competitions and at international level is making Scottish Rugby take a closer look at an area which is hundreds of miles away from the heartland of the game.
Over the last three years, Caithness has won national schools competitions and sevens tournaments, with a trio of players winning caps.
Now the club aims to make the next step of creating a senior women’s team that can compete in a league to help boost the game in the Highlands.
Caitlin Harvey, from Thrumster, represented Scotland at under-18 and sevens levels; Katie Mackay, from Wick, has been picked for the Scotland under-19 squad; and former Thurso High School pupil Jayne Paterson, from Strathy, represented Scotland at senior level in an uncapped match versus Spain.
Caithness RFC club development officer Colin Gemmill has been handed the task of helping the female game in the far north grow and to capitalise on its successes.
He said Scottish Rugby is aware of what the club has achieved and is keen to support the development of the game for girls and women in the county.
“In the past, it was up to the coaches to get in touch with the SRU about players who could potentially play for Scotland,” he said.
“Now, due to the success of players and teams at school and international level, they have already been asking for details of two of our under-15s to monitor their progress.
“For a small place, Caithness is making a lot of noise in women’s rugby.”
Caithness prop Anja Johnston is the women’s team manager at the tender age of 19.
She was in the team that won the Scottish under-18 Shield at Murrayfield last season and has also been part of teams which won the National Emerging Sevens and the Tay and Fife Sevens invitational.
From being a makeweight in a school team eight years ago, she has become one of the brightest talents in Caithness. “I got asked when I was 11 to make up the numbers of the school team,” said the Thurso student, who has been on the fringes of national selection.
“I used to be involved in football, gymnastics and netball teams but I quit them to concentrate on rugby.”
Johnston added: “It is a massive responsibility being team manager as I have to deal with the organisation of the team on top of college work.
“But I love being involved in rugby as it feels like being part of a family. “We’ve done training sessions in the National Development League where the standard is quite high, and it has given me the chance to develop as a player.
“I got the opportunity to train as part of a Scotland international team open session, and I think I can push myself to become an international player.”
Caithness has female teams which compete at under-15, under-18 and senior sevens.
Currently the club does not have enough players to field a 15-a-side women’s team, but players join up with other clubs from across the north to form combined teams.
Gemmill (24) said: “In the past we have joined up with teams such as Banff and Inverness Craig Dunain, which gives us the chance to play in 15-a-side matches.
“In the last couple of tournaments we teamed up with Robert Gordon University – our aim is just about building up numbers and having some fun.”
With the strength of the schoolgirl game in Caithness, it is hoped Caithness will soon be able to field its own starting XV and see more players in the future represent their country.
“We want to build a team to integrate it into the leagues,” said Gemmill.
“We’ve got a good pool of first year girls this season who have had an initial taste of contact rugby at primary school level which has made them strong.
“Orkney currently has 20 women in its squad and has a strong team.
“If we can get a similar structure in place at Caithness, it would mean we have two competitive teams in the far north and ensure we make a lot more noise in the women’s game.”
