York RI: More than just a game
To introduce our new website, we are running a series of blog posts from our players exploring what being part of York RI Women’s Rugby means to them. Captain and fullback Jodie Dixon talks about growing up in rugby and finding a team that feels like home.
I don’t really have a wholesome ‘how I started rugby’ journey. I was lucky –I started playing rugby league at school when I was 12 because we got a new teacher who wanted more girls in the sport. Outside of school he formed a new women and girls section, and so I joined because my friends did.
It was a weird time for female rugby in the North East because there were so few teams competing, so we ended up playing for both league and Union teams. I even debuted at fullback for u18s County rugby union because there weren’t enough girls in the squad! Luckily the scene has grown since then. It’s amazing to think how much the women and girls’ game has changed - there’s not a chance I’d get into u18s now with the unbelievable talent coming through the girls section, they would totally destroy me.
When I left school and went off to uni, there was no rugby league team, so that’s when I fully joined union. Since the only position I’d ever been put at was 15 that’s what I went for, and happen to have loved it so much, I’ve played it ever since.
University rugby shaped me as a player and a person. Beforehand I never really felt like I excelled in rugby, I just played because my friends did and I enjoyed being part of a team. But uni rugby gave me confidence to actually try hard, and it showed. Scoring trys and winning games with my best friends is an indescribable feeling, possibly only matched by socialing and getting a bit silly with the gang after a game day.
Moving to York I knew I was going to join a team no matter what. What drew me to RI was how sociable, friendly and fun they looked on social media, which can of course be deceiving. So I went along, knowing it could be all about the game and not so much the camaraderie, which I longed for after leaving my lovely uni family behind.
I quickly realised everything I’d seen was true and more. The team welcomed me like a long lost friend and I instantly felt at home, like I’d been there all along. Within a year I was captaining this lovely bunch and I’ve never been so proud to lead a team.
The love the squad have for one another is immense, and being part of something that’s more than just a game is the best feeling in the world. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without them, something I never thought I’d be able to say after the short time I’ve been here.
York RI, in a nutshell, has my heart. And they’re all absolutely mint.